3 GIRLS MOM

Yo Yo Yo, We Need Some Snow!

2011-11-29T12:26:00.001-06:00

Last night, there was a hint / mention / small possibility of 13-15 snowflakes to fall in Birmingham. Since meteorologists are always completely accurate in their snow forecasts down here (ahem), the girls decided to work their snow magic and help bring the snow a little further south. A couple of years ago, the folks at the weather channel were also predicting snow, and my little southern girls wanted to guarantee it - so we searched online as well as talked to our friends to the north and asked for superstitions that helped bring snow. I think we got 8 or 9 flakes during that time. But my kids are resilient and don't give up on their dreams of wearing 20 layers of clothing to play in wet, cold, slushy, mud. So again, pajamas were worn inside out, ice cubes were flushed (seriously, DOZENS of them - Camille fully embraces the "go big or go home" mentality), and spoons were placed strategically under their pillows. Actually Camille had a fork under hers. Apparently the "go big or go home" mentality is a little lax on rule specifics. They also made up a song to further their chances of snow. Spencer filmed it. Because he puts them to bed every night (praise the Lord - mama's work is done BEFORE bedtime) and because he rocks and wanted to share the awesome with me.

So, without further ado, I present to you "Yo Yo Yo, We Need Some Snow" - written by Mary Emma. Sung (and rapped - yes rapped) by Mary Emma, Tait, and Camille. Please excuse the cell phone quality - Spencer didn't want to miss the moment. :) Also pay close attention to Mary Emma's sah-weet beat boxing skillz, Camille's rhythm section (pat clap pat clap), and Tait's (my shy one) complete embrace of the gangsta attitude. You would never believe they are blonde headed little girls sitting on a Pottery Barn Kids bedspread if you didn't see it with your own two eyes. I KNOW.

Untitled from Robyn Davidson on Vimeo.

And just so you know, we didn't get any snow. However, after seeing this video, my happiness is complete - snow or not. :)

Raising Girls

2011-09-30T10:52:00.001-05:00

Here are my notes from the Raising Girls breakout session at DotMom - lead by Melissa Trevathan and Sissy Goff. I will blog more about the conference later, but wanted to get these notes out asap. What a LIFE-CHANGING session.

I highly encourage you to also buy the book, All You Need To Know About Raising Girls by Melissa Trevathan and Sissy Goff. The notes from the session are basically a cliff notes of the book. The book is much more in-depth and specific than the notes are. But I was writing as frantically as possible in the hour long session. I could have sat there for 10 hours. GOOD STUFF.

Enjoy!

Raising Girls

The Discovery Years - Girls 0-5 Years

She is…

Relational
Caretaking

Baby dolls, mothering instinct

Imaginative

She needs from me…

Boundaries

These makes her feel safe

Freedom

Show her that you trust her by giving her some distance from you – like in a Chick-fil-A playground – but always stay near as she will constantly look for you and needs to be able to see you at a moment’s notice

Delight

She wants you to think she’s FANTASTIC
When she walks in the room, she is WORTHY of my attention.

The Adventurous Years – Girls 6-10 years

She is…

Fearful

Literal, concrete in their thinking

Teach her that God is BIGGER than her fears
Do not be grey – speak in black/white language only. (i.e. don’t shine a light under the bed to scare away the monsters. Teach her that there is no such thing as monsters. And then teach her that God will always take care of her)

Relational

Friendships are IMPORTANT

Responsive

Point this out to her when you catch her caring for a friend, being sweet to a sibling, etc. She needs to know that you notice.

She needs from me…

Opportunity

They need something they can feel confident in (soccer, softball, art, piano, choir, chess…)

Unity

Especially between mom & dad

Grace

Teach her how to succeed AND fail.

The Narcissistic Years – Girls 11-15, 16, or 17 Years

She is…

Relational

She needs friends.
They are a POWERFUL force in her life. Help her choose them wisely and steer her away from bad influences. We still control where they go and who they hang out with outside of school.

Insecure

When guys fail, they blame others. When girls fail, they blame themselves.

Ambivalent

Her lack of decision-making skills is NORMAL.
She will switch from loving you & hating you in a matter of seconds.

As grown up girls, we will blame ourselves for this behavior. This is NOT our fault. Her brain is malfunctioning, and is a normal part of growing up. Love her through it – she will realize that she can count on you even when she isn’t nice to you.

She needs from me…

Space

PRIVACY
She’s working very hard to make and keep friends.
She needs time to decompress

Allow her an hour or so in her room alone after school.
Then require her to come out and be social with the family.
It is not good for her to never have privacy. It is also not good for her to not be required to emerge and be social.

Strength

She needs me to be stronger & more powerful than she is.

If she feels stronger than me, she will feel unsafe.

She needs me to be her mother. NOT her friend.

We want her to be excited about the day when we can be friends (not till after age 23ish)

The Back Door – Sissy wrote a book about this. The Back Door To Your Teen’s Heart: Learning What They Need And Helping Them Find It - Can find it on Amazon.com

I need to be unpredictable in the way I communicate with her. If she thinks I’m looking for info from her, she will shut down. (i.e. have a friend pick up siblings from school one day. Take her, alone, to “run a few fun errands.” Stop by Starbucks (which she will think is cool) & just chitchat. She will tell you so much during this time because she won’t feel like she is required to.)

The Autonomous Years – Girls16-24 Years

§ Sheis…

o Relational

§ Shewill gravitate to 1 friend – often a guy. She wants to belong to somebody.

§ Thisis where some girls experiment with homosexuality. When they gravitate to aGIRL, who shows a special interest in them – some of them mistake this forlove.

§ SHENEEDS STRONG VOICES SPEAKING TRUTH INTO HER LIFE. This needs to be anotheradult. Not you. Youth groups / small groups are KEY here. She will listen towhat she hears. We need to make sure the right people are talking. It’s keythat when they are children we steer them toward friends who have parents whoraise their children like we do.

o Post-pubescent

§ Herbody will be curvier

§ EMBRACETHAT. No girl has ever heard her mom say, “You need to lose weight” and hasthought, “she’s right. I’ll get right on that.” This is where a lot of eatingdisorders start – when their mother tells them constantly that their body iswrong or should be changed.

o Herown person

§ Sheneeds from me…

o Respect

o Roomto learn

§ Giveher a few more privileges. We want them to make mistakes while they are underour roof where we can protect them, instead of sheltering them and then sendingthem off to college where we can’t protect them when (not if) they makemistakes.

o Wings

§ BeCONFIDENT in her.

All About Me. In ABC Form.

2011-09-27T12:00:00.001-05:00

A. Age: 36
B. Bed size: A king. Spencer and I had a queen forever, but switched to a king when we moved to Bham. We have topped it with super soft mattress pads and awesome sheets - we often lay in bed at night and say "I love my bed." It's the best bed in the world.
C. Chore that you hate: Cleaning the kitchen. Hate isn't even a strong enough word for it. HAAAAAATE.
D. Dogs: Piper. Adore.

E. Essential start to your day: Don't really have one. I hit the ground running every morning. I would love to have my quiet time before the kids get up, but that never happens. So I have it after everyone's at school.
F. Favorite color: Pretty much anything in the blue family. If you sit outside on a cloudless day and look straight up into the sky, that's my favorite shade of blue.
G. Gold or Silver: Definitely silver. But gold is making a comeback in my heart. Slowly.
H. Height: 5'3". Shorty McShorterson.
I. Instruments you play: Well, I took about 200 years of piano lessons, so I play piano. But Mary Emma is taking guitar, so I'm learning that with her. So far, I can play B,C,D,E,F,G and the G chord. Go ahead. Be impressed. ;)
J. Job title: Mommy, wife, taxi driver, team mom, cheerleader, nurse, homework helper, cook, housekeeper, & dog sitter. My favorites are mommy and wife.
K. Kids: 3. My heart.
L. Live: Birmingham - I have always wanted to live here and I love it now that I do.
M. Mother’s name: Gini. Short for Virginia. Named my middle daughter after her. Love her!
N. Nicknames: Don't really have any. Have been called Rob or Robby in the past. Had a friend call me Bird for all of high school. Lisa calls me Hosay. My maiden name is Hose. Yes, I've heard every possible joke about that one.
O. Overnight hospital stays: 3 kids, 1 gallbladder, and 1 food poisoning. Boo on the last 2.
P. Pet peeves: Shallow people, rude people, and food smacking.
Q. Quote from a movie: I don't know that I have a favorite quote. I definitely have favorite movies. But not really a quote. Lame. Sorry.
R. Right or left handed: Right hand all the way! Not sure why God even gave me a left hand. It's basically useless.
S. Siblings: One brother, Adam. I adore him. I also really really REALLY love his wife, Lindsay. I'm also a HUGE fan of Spencer's brother and sis-in-law, Stuart & Angela. Good people.
U. Ultimate Vacation: Australia. Or one of those houses with a glass floor that sit out in the ocean in Bora Bora.
V. Vegetable you hate: Cauliflower. It's broccoli's mean cousin.
W. What makes you run late: See letter K.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Nothing exciting. Broke my foot once. BORING.
Y. Yummy food that you make: I can make a mean lasagna. And the white BBQ sauce that I make has been known to make grown men cry.
Z. Zoo animal: Giraffe. Or lion. Fascinating. Why? No idea. But just roll with it.

Thanks, Lindsee, for this idea! It was mindless and fun!

Let The Deliciousness Commence.

2011-08-31T11:07:00.006-05:00

We are currently 3 days from the start most wonderful time of the year for most people in the South. College football season technically begins tomorrow night with a couple of Thursday games, but REALLY begins Saturday. And as you already know, last year was a pretty successful year for my Tigers, so I'm really looking forward to this year.

My real life friend, Boomama, is hosting a DipTacular bloggy event where bloggers post their favorite dips on their blogs and then link over to her blog. Football Saturdays are about football watching, but are also about fellowship, neighborly get-togethers, and tailgaiting. And none of these can happen without food. The better the food, the better chance your team has to win. I fully believe that. So there's a LOT at stake here. Bad food = bad game = you will most likely be excommunicated from the next game day party. And that would be A SHAME, friends.

So I'm participating. All to keep the Tigers winning. And because it's fun. :)

My first dip was one of those "required foods" at every youth group event when I was in high school. The parents always served it with fruit, but let's be honest -we just wanted a spoon. It's that good. I've made it for many wedding/baby showers as well. It's pretty, and it's best served with strawberries (or, again, just sit down with a bowl & a spoon). And you won't believe how easy it is.

Ingredients:
1 large bowl Cool Whip
3 Butterfinger candy bars

THAT'S IT. To make it, put the unwrapped Butterfingers in a ziploc bag and smash them with a hammer or a rolling pin. They crumble easily, but not if you hold them - they melt. Once crumbled, mix them in the cool whip and place it in the refrigerator overnight. The Cool Whip makes the Butterfingers almost dissolve - leaving the flavor and only a few larger pieces. It's DELICIOUS on fruit - we always ate it on strawberries. Your guests won't know what they're eating, but they will LOVE it.

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My 2nd dip is one that I can't possibly improve upon. So I'll just link it. The Pioneer Woman's Queso - here's the link. It's DELICIOUS and lasts for a while in the crockpot. It also freezes beautifully (name that movie). It's a required food on game days at my house.

Be sure to link over to Boomama's DipTacular '11 and let the good times roll. And, of course, I hope you have a successful football season - unless you're Alabama or are playing Auburn. Then I just hope no one on your team is injured during the game.

Happy dipping and War Eagle.

Catching Up.

2011-07-16T18:40:00.000-05:00

Sweet mercy it has been forever since I've posted anything. I always say that our summers are going to be quieter and less busy, and they are always jam packed and full of obligations. But even though we run non stop, we love it. So here are a few pics to catch you up.

Mary Emma & Tait both played All-Star softball this year. This was ME's 5th year and Tait's 1st year. We had a BALL!

Daddy turned 37! I would call him an old man, but I'll be 37 in October. :) So I'll refrain from doing that...ahem.

This sweet one turned SIX in July. She also lost 3 teeth, including 2 at the same time. She's growing up FAST!

Camille finally conquered her fear of the ocean and is now a queen of the Boogie Board. She's also pretty cute.

These 3 continue to make me laugh, warm my heart, and thank God for his blessings in my life. School starts in less than a month and our days will be back on a routine and our bedtimes will be early. But for now, we're enjoying being together and making memories as a family.

Radical Together

2011-04-19T08:06:00.002-05:00

This officially releases today.

If if changes my life like its predecessor, then I'm. In. Trouble.

But an awesome kind of trouble. Looking forward to that trouble. To God be the glory!

Perspective.

2011-04-07T15:43:00.006-05:00

My family sponsors a child through Compassion International. His name is Nevine, he lives in Kenya, and he just turned 17 years old on Valentine's Day. We have been sponsoring him for about 5 years and have enjoyed writing him, and learning about him from Compassion and from the letters we receive from him. We love LOVE getting letters from him. It thrills my girls and absolutely makes our day when we see a Compassion envelope in the mail. Letters that are sent to the kids and letters that they send their sponsor family are screened, and translated if necessary. Nevine can write and speak English (thanks to the schooling he receives through Compassion), and the only translation that takes place is an occasional slang word or geographically specific term that I might not understand. But for the most part, his letters are all him. And I love them.

Because of the screening/translating/distance, it takes a couple of months for letters to get from him to me and visa versa. This week I received a letter from him thanking us for the Christmas money that we sent through Compassion to him. He is allowed to use the money, with direction from his family and the Compassion staff, to purchase Christmas presents for himself. This is a picture of what he wrote.

If that doesn't put life into perspective, I don't know what will.

I'm so thankful that there are organizations like Compassion that allow me to be a part of his life. I'm so proud of him and his willingness to take care of his family. What an amazing young man he's turning into.

If you would like to sponsor a child from Compassion, click the link above. It costs $38 a month and you will be a part of releasing a child from poverty in Jesus' name. There's no bigger blessing on this planet.

Good Good Good.

2011-03-07T20:22:00.002-06:00

I read a lot of blogs every day. So many people can write so much better than I can. So many people are so funny that my sides hurt from laughing when I read their posts. So many people are informative. And I love reading and knowing these people - some in real life.

But few are life changing. Few posts make your heart ache or your spirit stir. Few posts make me think until my brain hurts. And few posts bring me a step closer to my Heavenly Father.

This post does all that. And it was written by a sweet friend of mine, Melanie. If you don't read her blog (she's hysterical), bookmark it and read it everysingleday. While, on a daily basis, her blog is one of my favorite things to read, her heart, as evidenced in this post, is sweeter than anything on this planet. I adore her. And you will too.

Thanks, Mel.

Hey, Guess What?

2011-01-11T00:02:00.004-06:00

WAR EAGLE!!!!

Scripture Memory

2011-01-01T17:57:00.002-06:00

A couple of years ago, Beth Moore challenged all of those who read her blog to memorize scripture twice a month. Because we live in a world where we Christians are not only a minority, but are persecuted because of our faith daily, we are called to know His word - so that we are equipped when we are tested, tempted, or need to defend our faith (Psalm 119:11). And I know that I need to do a MUCH better job of this.

This year (2011) we are doing the scripture memorization again. And I'm really excited about it! My first scripture - which is also my theme for the year - is Galatians 5:1 - "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." I know that I tend to find a fault that I have, tell myself that I'm the only person on the planet with that fault, and then build a house and join the neighborhood association in the middle of that fault. But the Lord has called me to something different, and I will spend every single day this year reminding myself of the truth promised in Galatians 5:1. Because when I live in the yoke of slavery, the focus is on me - not on the Father. And the purpose of my life is to glorify Him.

So. On the 1st and 15th of every month, I will memorize a new scripture. If you'd like to join me, and the rest of Beth Moore's blog peeps, head over here and leave a comment with your chosen verse. I also ask (beg, plead) you to hold me accountable. When you see me in Publix, carpool, or gym, ask me what my scripture is. Let me know if you want me to do the same to you! Let's see how many people will join and stay the course for the whole year. We will be a POWERFUL force for our God when we are filled to the brim with the Word.

And I can't wait to see what will come of THAT.

Merry Christmas 2010!

2010-12-22T11:24:00.003-06:00

I have inadvertently taken a bloggy break - the busyness of life (and 3 active kids) has kept me running. I am truly understanding first hand the meaning of the words "mom's taxi."

But this week, we have slowed down. We have stayed in our PJ's and watched movies. We have baked cookies and popped popcorn. We have spent time together as a family, just the 5 of us (the dog makes 6), and we have loved every single second of it.

So I'll be back in 2011 with more random and hopefully a bit of wisdom and humor thrown in. Until then, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Halloweeeeen!!!

2010-11-03T08:52:00.004-05:00

Around here, Halloween is more of a reason to hang out with neighbors and walk around the neighborhood socializing than a time for scary and gore. We keep it low key and more of a "Fall Celebration" than anything else.

Except for the costumes. All 3 of my girls see Halloween very differently. Camille really doesn't care what she dresses as, and will change her mind 412 times before actually stepping outside to trick-or-treat. Tait decides the day after Halloween what she wants to be the next year and doesn't budge from that decision. Mary Emma, however, is in another league. She always has been. She decides what she wants to be, draws pictures complete with instructions, arrows, and map keys, and strategizes about how and when we need to start getting her dressed to maximize trick-or-treat time. She has pictures drawn on the back of her bedroom door planning her costumes till 2018. It's my "job" to fulfill a vision that is in her head. And we have a BALL doing it.

This year, Camille was a black cat, Tait was Dorothy, and Mary Emma was Elphaba (the green witch from Wicked). My sister-in-law is in the 2nd National Tour of Wicked, so we're a little obsessed with the Land of Oz around here right now.

I hope you had a successful Halloween full of Milk Duds and miniature 100 Grands. I actually read on the Twitter that someone was pilfering through her child's Halloween stash and found a REGULAR SIZED 100 Grand. I do believe the Lord smiled upon her household in that very moment.

And now, on to Thanksgiving. Which is my personal favorite. :)

I'm Not A Fan Of The Scary

2010-10-27T18:52:00.004-05:00

Tonight after dance class, the kids and I went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants for dinner. And yes, I said "one of our favorite" - we have many. I'm pretty sure my little family would fare well in the heart of Texas with all its tacos and queso and salsa goodness. I just need to teach Mary Emma that "chicken fingers" does not equal Mexican food.

When we walked in, we saw three life-sized zombie mannequins sitting in chairs. The restaurant was full of spider webs and skeletons and all the Halloween paraphernalia, so the zombie guys didn't get much attention.

However, I didn't know one little detail about the zombie guys.

The one on the left was real. And he jumped at me. And I almost LAID. HIM. FLAT. The kids were surprisingly not scared (they didn't witness the jumping at me) and actually shook his hand (he was VERY gentle with the kids).

But I'm not sure when my heart rate will return to normal or the blood will reenter my face.

Stupid Halloween.

Well, Lookie Here.

2010-10-25T09:38:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday. And apparently the folks at the BCS love me, because this is what I got for my birthday.

How 'bout THAT?!

Now I know it might not last. Especially since the top ranked team has LOST for the past 3 weekends, and since we have 3 SEC games left to play (including Alabama...boo hiss!). But right now, I'm gonna ENJOY EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

WAR EAGLE!

Ramblings....

2010-10-08T10:21:00.007-05:00

I thought that having all 3 kids in school would allow me to have a little more free time, but I WAS WRONG. Camille goes to school 3 days a week from 9-1 and I'm pretty sure time is sped up during those precious 4 hours so that they seem like a blur. And apparently laundry doesn't wash, fold, and put itself away, and my kids are TRUE GIRLS and love to change clothes once or eleven times a day. Not to mention the abundance of red dirt covered softball clothes that frequent my hampers... (cue banging head on wall)

So, due to sheer insanity and busyness, here are a few things (in list form. Booya.) that I think you should know about...

1. My church just released a CD of original music. It's GOOD. And in keeping with the Radical theme, ZERO church budget dollars were spent on the making of this CD. There are also chord charts, lead sheets, lyrics, etc. for each song that are available for anyone to download - they are SERIOUS about making these songs available for churches and groups to use to worship. It's all about Him - praising Him and worshipping HIM - not about making profits and keeping songs tied up in copyright restrictions that keep groups from being able to use them.

2. We have a new addition to our family - a precious little ShihTzu named Piper. She has been a JOY and the girls are absolutely in love with her. The other day, Mary Emma taught her a trick, which has cracked us all up. Here's the video.

Piper Saying Please from Robyn Davidson on Vimeo.

3. Weight loss update - I have now been working with my trainer, Beth, as well as working a LOT by myself and have lost 32 lbs. I'm pleased with those results even though the impatient me wants that number to be doubled. There are some things about losing weight (I mean losing a LOT of weight) that I wasn't either ready for or didn't realize would be such an issue. First, losing weight is EMOTIONAL. Because in order to lose weight and KEEP IT OFF, you have to face why you gained it in the first place. Hello, cry fest. But I'm working through some stuff, and I plan on reaching my goal and STAYING THERE. Second, I didn't realize how important a support system is. My husband is fantastic and is on this journey with me (stupid butt has lost 54 lbs. - and of course I'm kidding, but WHY can't girls lose weight like boys?? - he looks amazing and I'm so proud of him!). Your comments mean the WORLD to me. And even though a trainer is expensive, Beth has become a great friend and an even bigger encourager. She is helping save my life. Literally. While at the same time she is kicking my behind all over the gym twice a week. I'm in pain today from the workout yesterday. And I'm oddly loving that. :)

4. HOW BOUT THEM AUBURN TIGERS????? War Eagle! I was so glad they played La Monroe last weekend and won by 50 points. These last minute nail biters are killing me. I just really REALLY need someone to beat Alabama. South Carolina, it's your turn. Please take care of business this weekend.

5. This post by Vicki Courtney had me nodding my head and clapping my hands. PREACH, sister.

6. I got some new kicks this week. Apparently the old me could hang on to tennis shoes for ever. But the new, running, gym rat me can wreck a pair of tennis shoes. I got these.

And since the whole Facebook "I like" status has taken Breast Cancer awareness to a tasteless level, I'm glad a portion of the price of these shoes go to Breast Cancer research.

That's all. Have an awesome day. Enjoy the weather - it's GORGEOUS in Birmingham!

The Story of Tait - Part 3

2010-09-29T20:39:00.002-05:00

First, if you haven't read Part 1 or Part 2, go here and here.

Now you're caught up.

I have been trying to write part 3 for a while now. But I have some pretty strong emotions tied to it that have caused me to be a blubbering mess while writing it. This part has been hard. Because not only did we learn some pretty scary stuff about Tait, but I also saw God move in a way that I have never seen Him move before. I literally watched as prayers were answered in front of my eyes. And THAT, girlfriend, left me slack-jawed.

So here we go.

Every mom knows every square inch of their baby's body. They know about the freckle between their toes or the birthmark behind their ear. They know how to make a cowlick lay down and can tell you birth dates, birth weights, and shoe size of every one of their children. Because of Tait's ultrasounds, I can now recognize her INSIDES. :) I can now watch as the ultrasound tech rubs the wand across her belly and back and know exactly what I'm looking at. I will also be able to know when something's wrong. Just like I did the first time they zeroed in on her right kidney.

Meanwhile, Spencer and I were at the HEIGHT of conflict about where to move when we came back to Alabama. There were a LOT of tears. There were a LOT of harsh words spoken. There were a LOT of prayers. I was questioning everything - my marriage, my faith, my ability to mother this child who was sick, my ability to mother my other child who wasn't sick... It was a rough time. If we were going to move back to Alabama, I wanted to move to Birmingham. It's a great city with amazing little suburbs that have fantastic schools, etc. It seemed like the place where our family could settle for a long time. Spencer, on the other hand, wanted to move NOWHERE but Montgomery, where our families lived (and still do). We both call Montgomery home - we were raised there. But I knew that going back to a place where you have previously been is hard - if not impossible. Plus, the opportunities for our family were better in Birmingham. But he would have NO PART of it. He had interviewed for jobs in Montgomery - doors kept closing. I was noticing that more and more signs pointed to Birmingham, but I couldn't make him see that. I knew that the only way we were moving here was for God to change his mind.

Tait was 9 months old when a cyst developed in her right kidney. It was scrutinized and measured and noted and observed and we were told not to worry. YEAH RIGHT. 2 months later, she had 2 cysts in her right kidney and 1 in her left. An appointment was made with a pediatric nephrologist at Children's Hospital immediately. We drove to Birmingham (we were living in Tallahassee, remember?) for our appointment. We met this man who told us that Tait had poly cystic kidney disease (PKD) and would be facing a kidney transplant by her 14th birthday. He told us that she wouldn't be able to have children because of the stress on her kidneys. He laid out a plan for her life that included blood pressure medicine, no contact or rough sports (and if you know my family, we are ATHLETES), and very structured weight control. My mind was spinning as I listened to this very smart doctor tell me what a challenge her life would be. I stood in this room, holding my 11 month old, with tears pouring down my face.

Then he picked up her chart and said, "Hold on. The cysts could actually be a by-product of her BWS, but I don't have any experience in that area." Then he said words that I will never forget as long as I live. He said, "There are 4 doctors IN THE WORLD who are leading specialists in pediatric kidney disorders AND genetic disorders and how the two are related." Then he pointed to a door and said, "We have one of them here on staff and her office is right there. Would you like me to make you an appointment with her?" You could've knocked Spencer and me over with a feather. Spencer turned to me and said, "We're moving to Birmingham." My prayer was answered in the basement of Children's Hospital, on a day that was proving to be one of the worst ones of my life. Turns out, it was one of the best.

We made an appointment to meet with Dr. Lisa Guay-Woodford, a Harvard educated, multi-published, BRILLIANT doctor who is as sweet as she is smart. She loves on Tait and speaks waayy over our heads. Spencer and I get tickled every time we see her because when she walks out of the room, we try our best to translate into "normal people words" what she has just said to us. The first time she met us, she told us that she did NOT think Tait had PKD. She thinks that the cysts are part of BWS. She thinks that more kids than we realize probably have renal cysts, but most kids don't have abdominal ultrasounds to check. She thinks she will never have any trouble with them. She wants us to keep them monitored, which we do at her quarterly ultrasounds. She breathed life back into our daughter and told us that she was normal, healthy, and should be able to have 6 kids if she wanted. She eased our minds and calmed our hearts.

We now see Dr. Descartes every year. She is in charge of all of the other doctors. She schedules everything and any new doc is run through her first. It's nice to know that one, of our many docs, is the one in charge. There's no conflict with power. We see Dr. Guay-Woodford twice a year to check and monitor Tait's kidney function (which has been totally normal). We see an allergy/asthma specialist - Tait has seasonal allergies, as well as allergies to cats and dogs, just like every kid on the planet. But because of her large tongue, thus causing a smaller airway than most kids, when she gets any upper respiratory sickness, she is SICK - like hospital sick. It can and does cause airway/breathing issues. We never travel without a stash of allergy meds and a nebulizer for wheezing. But we have a doc monitoring that closely. Tait goes to kindergarten like all other 5 year olds. She is smart, developmentally ahead of her classmates, has a precious shy smile, and has a laugh that will melt your heart. She is expected to grow old, be a grandmother, and live a completely normal life. She is still monitored every 3 months via ultrasound for any developing tumors, but other than that is completely normal.

We moved 3 months later to Birmingham. Spencer looked at the job postings within his company the night we got home from the doctor and found a brand new opening in Birmingham. Very funny, God. :) He interviewed and got it. It was a little bit of a promotion and a little bit of a raise. We bought a house that had been on the market for 6 days. We have amazing friends, an AWESOME church, a wonderful community, and the best doctors in the world for our girl.

There are days when I get a little freaked out at the constant cancer monitoring that she goes through. It's not easy. It can take a toll on a mom's psyche. But God did not give me a spirit of fear. And I have to claim the promise that NO MATTER WHAT the tests show, My God Will Take Care Of Me. He has proven Himself faithful during the first 5 years of her life. And He will continue to be that way. He is the only one who loves her more than Spencer and I do. And My God Will Take Care Of Her.

Praise His Name. To HIM be the glory.

What I Made For Dinner Tonight

2010-08-15T20:51:00.003-05:00

I was reading Clean Eating magazine the other day (you know, the whole change of lifestyle, getting fit, working with a trainer, taking Advocare products (by the way, if you're at all interested in that, let me know...I can help you out...see side bar to the RIGHT for an Advocare link if you're interested...), losing weight thing) and came across this recipe for Jambalaya. I showed it to Spencer who immediately said, "I think that should go on the menu soon...like tonight." So I made it tonight. It was FAB - quite possibly my favorite meal lately. Well, except for some Sea Bass that Spencer cooked on a cedar plank on The Big Green Egg - seriously, it would make you cry. But it's a close 2nd place. And since a blog is really just the 21st century version of writing letters and sharing recipe cards, I decided to share it here with you. Or, if you'd like, you can pick up the July/Aug 2010 issue of Clean Eating, which I highly recommend, because there were several more yummy looking things in there that I haven't tried yet. But will.

This jambalaya is made in a foil pouch, which makes clean-up a BREEZE. Just FYI.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb raw shrimp (26/30 size), peeled & deveined, tail on (I used a little more than 1/2 lb.)
- 4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1 inch pieces (I used 1 regular sized chicken breast - didn't weigh it)
- 1 all natural low sodium turkey sausage, sliced
- 1/2 medium white onion (I used a Vidalia onion) diced.
- 1 medium green bell pepper, diced.
- 1 rib celery, diced (I left this out altogether since Spencer is convinced that celery was invented by Satan, himself)
- 1 1/2 medium tomatoes, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp salt free Cajun seasoning (I didn't have the salt-free kind, so I omitted the salt that comes later in the recipe)
- 1 C all natural instant brown rice (I used a little more)
- 1/2 C low-sodium chicken broth (I used a little more)
- Salt & fresh ground pepper to taste (I omitted the salt....I already told you that)
- Olive Oil cooking spray (I forgot to spray the foil pouches and it worked fine - oops)

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400*F.
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, except for the cooking spray. Duh.
- Prepare 2 foil pouches, spray each with cooking spray (unless you forget like I did), put half of the ingredients in each, and seal.
- Cook 25 min. Check after 25 min to make sure chicken, shrimp, & rice are all done. If necessary, re-seal and cook for another 5 min.

Nutrients per 1 1/2 C serving: (for those of you who keep with this sort of stuff...like me)
- Calories: 339
- Total Fat: 5g
- Sat fat: 1g
- Carbs: 24g
- Fiber: 3g
- Sugars: 3g
- Protien: 46g
- Sodium: 354mg
- Cholesterol: 171mg

Finished product....

The Story of Tait (part 2)

2010-07-18T23:09:00.002-05:00

If you missed Part 1, go here.

Welcome back. ;)

When we left off, my sweet baby girl had come home from the NICU and was having some symptoms of something else being wrong - though none of us, including our pediatrician, could put our fingers on it. The 1st symptom was her size. She was born 5 weeks early, but weighed 7lbs 5oz. She was a giant compared to the other babies in the NICU. But her size didn't really raise a red flag. The symptom that really puzzled us was the size of her tongue. It was so big that she couldn't keep it in her mouth. It stuck out 100% of the time. She had a very difficult time eating because of it and we tried every single bottle nipple on the market before we found one that she could use. Her large tongue also meant that her airway was smaller, so she got sick easier. A common cold would land her in the PICU because it would turn into croup and other breathing problems. My father-in-law did a little research and found out that a large tongue could be because of a thyroid problem, so we had her thyroid checked. It was normal. Our pediatrician, Dr. Jim Ed Martin - seriously, who COULDN'T love someone named Jim Ed? - who was the pediatrician on call the weekend Tait was born and was a total and complete answer to prayer, didn't give up. He knew something was "off" and vowed to research and test until he figured it out.

Then one night, as I was up during the middle of the night feeding a newborn, I decided to do a little "home doctor research" - ie, Google research - on the computer. I Googled "infant large tongue" and the link to the Beckwith-Wiedemann Children's Foundation popped up. I clicked over and it was like I was reading Tait's biography. I, of course, freaked because I didn't know what this was, what the prognosis was, or what our lives were about to look like, but I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Tait had it.

In the middle of all of this happening, Spencer and I were really feeling the urge to move back to Alabama. We were living in Tallahassee, and loving it, but knew it wasn't home. However, WHERE in Alabama we would move to was a huge bone of contention between the two of us. We wanted 2 different things, and neither of us would budge on the issue. It was the first, and to date the only time that we haven't been able to come to a compromise on an issue that we were facing. We talked with our pastor about our conflict and he gave us some great advice that I will never forget. He told Spencer to use spiritual discernment when making the decision as to where we would move, not just decide based on what he wanted. He told me to shut up and hit my knees (not in so many words, but that's what I heard). Spencer was, and is, the head of the household. He is the leader, backbone, and breadwinner in this family. I knew that ultimately the decision was his, and that my job was to pray that he made a decision based on where God was leading us. It was a rocky time. I spent a lot of time in prayer. I begged God to send us to a city where there were more opportunities to grow and raise a family than where Spencer wanted to go.

Meanwhile, Dr. Jim Ed wanted us to go see a genetecist in Gainesville. Because Alabama is home, we chose to go to Birmingham, Children's Hospital, to see a genetecist there, instead of Gainsville, which has an amazing Children's hospital, but is completely foreign to us - with both of us being from Montgomery, Birmingham was much more familiar than Gainesville. Children's Hospital has an unbelievable reputation and we knew we would get world class care there. So we scheduled a trip to Birmingham to meet Dr. Maria Descartes, a spunky, brilliant, Hispanic doctor, who has become one of our favorite people in the world. Tait was 12 weeks old at the time. We were still living in Florida and still undecided as to where we were going to move. Spencer applied and interviewed for a couple of jobs in Alabama, and doors kept closing. Frustration was setting in. We had a 4-year-old, and a 3 month old who had a syndrome that no one had ever heard of, and scared the pants off of all of us. We were living 5 hours away from our families, and now we had a doctor that we loved in Birmingham - 6 1/2 hours away. I wanted to move to Birmingham. Spencer, to put it mildly, did NOT. To say times were tense is an understatement of epic proportions.

The test for BWS is very primitive, so Tait was clinically diagnosed with it. BWS is characterized as an "overgrowth syndrome." The main "issue" associated with BWS is that children with it have an increased risk of developing certain abdominal cancers within the 1st 8-9 years of life. BWS kids are tested every 6 weeks (until age 4) for hepatoblastoma (a tumor in the liver), and every 3 months (until age 8) for Wilms Tumor (kidney) and Neuroblastoma (affects the nerves, but mostly begins as a tumor on or near the adrenal gland). So Dr. Maria set up a schedule of tests for Tait, beginning immediately. The liver test requires a vial of blood to be drawn and the Wilms/Neuroblastoma test requires an abdominal ultrasound. Tests began and we had our new normal. BWS isn't usually fatal (praise HIM!) and Tait seemed to have a very mild case (many kids with BWS suffer from major eating problems because of their tongue size, and have to be tube fed until a tongue reduction is performed. They also have hemihypertrophy, which means that one side of the body grows at a different rate than the other side. Tait had none of those issues). We were rolling along quite well until one ultrasound threw a kink into our plans and completely knocked our feet out from under us.

To be continued....

The story of Tait. (part 1)

2010-07-11T23:49:00.004-05:00

Last week, my middle baby turned 5. Because her birthday is on July 2, it gets smooshed into the festivities of the 4th of July holiday. However, it also lends itself to a lot of playing outside, swimming, and fireworks. What kid doesn't like that? But as we celebrate Tait's birthday, I also reflect back on my pregnancy with her, her birth, and infancy. It was a beautiful time. It was a hard time. It was a scary time. And it was a time where I grew closer to my Savior than I ever thought possible.

This is the story of Tait.

When Mary Emma was 2, Spencer and I decided that it was time to try to get pregnant again. I am very fortunate in that I get pregnant EASILY. So when we decided that it was time, I was pregnant in no time flat. After a trip to NYC, a torn arch in my foot, a cast, a DVT (MAJOR blood clot), and a hospital stay, I lost that baby at about 9 weeks. I was heartbroken. But I was determined to have another baby. So about a year later, I got pregnant again. I lost that baby at about 11 weeks. The doctors started running tests on my blood and realized that I have a situation with my blood that causes it to thicken when my estrogen levels increase (ie. pregnancy), and I was most likely losing the babies because of mini blood clots that were trying to pass through the teeny umbilical cord. So the doctors had me begin taking Heparin shots to thin my blood and fix the problem. And I got pregnant again. And lost that baby, too.

DEVASTATED.

I was hesitant to get pregnant again. I was heartbroken. I was tired. I was having to give myself 2 shots a day in the stomach. I had a beautiful 3 year old daughter. I was trying to be content with 1 child. But I wanted another child. Desperately. So I turned it over to God and trusted that He would take care of me and the baby that I longed for.

And I got pregnant again. And this time, I didn't lose the baby. But I was disconnected. I was hesitant. I was terrified.

I refused to get close to this baby. Spencer and I wouldn't name her. We didn't decorate a nursery until the last possible minute. We went about life as usual. At 34 weeks I didn't feel her move for an entire day. I. Freaked. I called my doctor who sent me straight to the hospital. I was having contractions every 2 minutes. I spent a weekend in the hospital and went home 3 days later on bed rest. I needed to keep this baby in for at least 4 more weeks. But 6 days later, she was coming and there was no stopping her. Because I was 35 weeks, they wouldn't stop my labor anymore. 6 hours, 1 failed epidural (read: natural childbirth), an entire host of on-call doctors because of the holiday weekend, and 3 pushes later, a beautiful 7lb 5oz baby girl was born. We named her Virginia Tait. Virginia was after my mother and grandmother. Tait was a name I just liked. It's different. It's sweet. And it fits her to a T. I remember crying and begging her to breathe. I didn't get to hold her. She breathed ok for a minute, and then started struggling. She was whisked out of my room and to the nursery before I really knew what was happening. The hospital where she was born didn't have a NICU. It was at a hospital across town. She was taken by ambulance to that hospital. I stayed at the 1st hospital. It was a holiday weekend. I was in a new town and state. I had very few friends and all of them were out of town. I had a beautiful baby girl who I couldn't see or hold. It was a horrible day and one of the best days of my life all combined into one.

The next morning, I was released from the hospital and went directly to the other hospital to be with her. I sat and held her almost around the clock. I was so swollen from the massive amounts of IV fluids that I had received (my blood pressure kept crashing) that I didn't have any shoes that would fit on my feet. And as I sat in the NICU, I realized how disconnected I had kept myself from her. I didn't think she knew that I loved her. So I sat. And I held her or kept a hand on her (she was on a ventilator for 2 days). And I told her over and over and over again that I loved her. Because I did. I loved her more than I knew was possible. I loved her like I loved her big sister. But I sobbed because this beautiful baby, who was fighting for her life, didn't know that her mama loved her. And she deserved the world.

I felt like I had already failed her.

And I started praying. I have been a Christian since I was a small child. But I was going through one of those super stubborn times where I was too self sufficient to NEED anyone and was completely content to do it all on my own. I certainly didn't need a God to take over. Because there was a chance that He wouldn't do what I wanted. And I wasn't gonna have any of that. In other words, I was STUPID. But my desire for God to take care of this baby clearly was overriding my need to be in control and I hit my knees. And you know what? He was there. He is always there. He never left, even though I pushed and pushed Him away. He was faithful just as it says in Psalm 145:13 (NIV) "The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made." Praise His Name.

So 6 days later, we were able to bring Tait home. Our sweet little family of 3 was now a busy, sleepless family of 4.

And then we started to realize that something else was wrong. Tait had some symptoms that were pointing to something being wrong, but no one knew what that was.

I started to think that we were going to lose yet another child. But this one had been born. She was alive. She had stolen our hearts. And again, we were scared to death.

To be continued.....

Ok, So I've Been Busy

2010-06-30T15:53:00.010-05:00

Dear Bloggy Peeps,

I promise I haven't forgotten about you. I've just been busy. June is notorious for kicking my tail and it didn't disappoint this year, either.

We've been doing a WHOLE LOT of this:

And some of this:

And some of this:

And a lot of this:

And we got this precious ball of fluffiness - I'd like to introduce you to Piper, our 9 week old ShihTzu. She is EXACTLY like a toddler except she sleeps in the bathroom. She is into EVERYTHING!

Hope you're having a fantastic, restful, not-too-hot (HA!) summer. I'll be back soon. I promise.

Hugs,

Summertime in the South? I Got it Covered.

2010-06-15T17:21:00.007-05:00

It's softball season. All-Star season to be exact. Which means I'm spending more time outside than inside. Unless you've never had the privilege of visiting the deep south, you understand that it's HOT outside. And humid. And did I mention hot?

Besides various forms of fans and cool clothing and tents to sit under and an insane amount of bottled water, I am always ALWAYS looking for a good sunscreen. Since my high school days of slathering myself in baby oil and laying out on aluminum foil have (thankfully) come to an end, I have turned into my grandmother and rarely leave the house without some sort of sunscreen on my face, at the very least. A couple of years ago, I accidentally discovered Neutrogena's line of sunscreen (and by accidentally, I mean that it was on sale, and since we go through sunscreen at a breakneck pace, I'm always looking for a sale) and fell in love with it. Mainly because it smells divine. And it WORKS. So when the lovely Neutrogena people asked me to review their new UltraSheer® Liquid Daily Sunblock, I happily agreed. It came in the mail last week, just in time for our 2nd tournament. So Saturday, as I was planning to spend a scorching day at the ballpark, I applied it under my makeup before I left the house. It's so light that you can't feel it at all. It has SPF 70 (SEVENTY! Take THAT, sun!). It, like their other products, smells great (unlike a certain me who sat in the 100 degree heat all day). It worked great. I re-applied it twice (I mean, hello, I sweated all my makeup off within the first 30 seconds of being outside) because I was constantly wiping my face. I wore another brand of sunscreen on my legs and arms - both of which got a little pink. But my face didn't get sunburned. It also didn't break out, which I was totally expecting to happen. Because every mid-30 aged woman loves to have the acne issues of a 14 year old boy, right? Um, no.

So, after one use, I'm a fan. We have another tournament this weekend AND next weekend (merciful heavens), and unless Alabama's climate suddenly turns to Montana's climate, it'll be hot and humid again. I'll be using Neutrogena UltraSheer® Liquid Daily Sunblock again. Because if it can survive an Alabama summer at the ballpark, I'll be a customer for a LOOOONNNG time.

Would you like to review UltraSheer®, too? Then go to http://www.giantwavepool.com/ultrasheer

Or get $2 off your UltraSheer® purchase at http://www.neutrogena.com/suncoupon.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from Tidal Labs. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Pray for Ella

2010-06-08T14:05:00.002-05:00

This is Ella. She is 2 years old. She is the daughter of Sheli, who was in my sorority pledge class at Auburn, and Robert. She is Cole's little sister.

And she has cancer.

Ella was diagnosed yesterday with Stage 3 Adrenal Carcinoma after a orange-sized tumor was taken out of her abdomen. Along with the tumor, one of her adrenal glands was also taken. Sheli and Robert will meet with the docs Thursday, which is also their 10th wedding anniversary, to discuss the next steps. Chemo will begin immediately.

I have watched the blog community rally around parents of sick kids. I have been in on the rally so many times. I have watched the power of prayer change lives. And now I'm begging you to do the same for Sheli, Robert, & Cole - and especially sweet little Ella. I can't imagine their heartbreak and outright fear right now. I do know a God who is bigger than their heartbreak. He is bigger than their fear. And He is bigger than this cancer. Sheli and Robert are clinging to their Savior right now. Please join them in praying for complete healing for this precious child.

Please, please, lift up this family. I will keep you updated.

Baby Steps.

2010-05-23T00:00:00.001-05:00

It has been exactly 11 weeks and 3 days since I first mentioned the weight loss journey that I have started.

Eleven weeks and three days. Wow. I had no idea how much time had passed. It's a little surreal to take note of the time that has passed since I made a decision to change everything I knew about living a healthy lifestyle. Everything.

So, quickly, here's an update. I have lost 22 lbs. I ran (for the most part) 2 miles a few days ago. I feel great. I can see noticeable changes in my body. I'm strong and love ab workouts (I'm sorry, who is this person?). I'm doing the Shred Level 3 and am kicking it. And I'm very pleased with the progress that I've made.

I'm having success in some areas. My trainer, Beth, who I adore. ADORE. - She is the real deal and has become such a dear friend and mentor - stepped up my workouts yesterday. There was NO WAY I could've done 1/4 of what she had me do the first day I worked out with her. I'm wearing clothes that I haven't worn in a while. I wore a sleeveless dress today. Whattheheck? (Still not quite sure I'm ready for the sleeveless, but it was HOT outside and I was at the ballpark and a pool party blah blah blah...). I'm sleeping well and have more energy now. I'm eating fish (I hated fish). I still refuse to eat cottage cheese (wink, Beth). I guess some things never change. :)

But.

I'm struggling in some areas. Mostly food related. As I said in my previous post, I prayed for a while for the Lord to take away some certain cravings that have hindered any sort of weight loss or living healthy for years. And He did. They are gone. I'm still amazed by the grace that He pours out on little ole me every single day. The craziest part of my struggles with food lately have been the fact that I'm not eating enough. I can't seem to get my calories up. And, according to Beth, my body will soon begin to think it's starving and I'll quit losing weight. HELLO, that's SO not what I want.

So here are my thoughts on this... (FYI, this is some personal stuff, people. This is HARD to write in a public arena. But I honestly feel that transparency is my best ally right now. I'm sick of hiding. I'm sick of pretending that I'm ok when I'm living in a not-quite-as-jacked-up 7Eleven. I'm straight up sick of it. I will never ever get better if I bury my head in the sand and pretend that none of this exists - like I have done for waaayyy too many years.) I believe with all my heart that I'm finally getting a grasp on this food "addiction" that I had/have. However, there's some MAJOR FEAR associated with conquering something that has been such a stronghold on my life for so long. I'm scared of eating too much, so I eat too little. My fear of going back to who I was (in reality, in some ways still am), is causing me to overcompensate and not eat enough. I want this lifestyle that I have adopted to last forever. And I know that if I don't figure it all out, I'll go back to old me. This is where the baby step aspect of this whole thing makes me want to pull my hair out. I want major results NOW. I want to lose an insane amount of weight just like The Biggest Loser. I want it all to move so much quicker! This is the area that makes Beth want to take one of those dumbbells that she constantly puts in my hands and hit me over the head with it. She can see the end result so much clearer than I can. She has more faith in me than I do.

The years of self doubt and self sabotage are staring me in the face and are challenging me to a duel. Who will win?

Good thing I'm competitive. Good thing I have a God who WILL NOT fail me. Good thing His word says that He will complete a work in me. Good thing that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. Praise Him.

I will win this battle. Then I will win the war - 7 jillion baby steps from now (grrr.). I will go through struggles and frustrations (like now) but I will see this thing to the end. I. Will.

Thank you for journeying with me. You have NO IDEA what you mean to me.

Love you all -

Tap Shoes, Tutus, and Travis

2010-05-20T14:51:00.003-05:00

Ok. So I have weird dreams. Frequently. I usually remember bits and pieces of them, but not the entire thing.

Last night, however, I had a bizarre dream that I remember from start to finish. Every detail.

And I'm still laughing.

It all started with my daughter, Tait's, dance recital. Fran and I were watching our daughters dance (Fran doesn't have a daughter IRL - she has sons, but my dreams don't discriminate because of details) when we realized that we were supposed to dance with them in a mother/daughter routine. But we had a problem. We didn't have our costumes.

So we ran outside, jumped in our waiting car (which was driven by none other than Travis) and headed to the house to pick up our costumes. We laughed and sang To the King while we were driving and pulled up in Travis's driveway so Fran and I could run inside and pick up our costumes. Travis's house was the exact same house as the one where I lived in Tallahassee, and he was having a HUGE party there, but was for some reason skipping the party so he could drive us around. We went inside, put on our tutus (Fran and me - not Travis, although that would've been an EXCELLENT detail), but couldn't find our tights or tap shoes. As we frantically searched Travis's house, we quickly discovered that he put a table in front of every single door in the house, so to get in or out, we had to crawl under a table. We were annoyed with Travis, who was laughing hysterically (while wearing a sweater vest, I might add), because our tutus made table crawling a little difficult.

We decided to hang around for a minute and enjoy Travis's party (while wearing tutus) when Travis stole my iPhone and changed the language on the phone to Arabic. We got back in the car to head back to the recital (we decided that tights and tap shoes were mere details that we could live without). Fran drove, I sat in the front seat trying to fix my iPhone, but every time I tried to check the weather app, it would tell me weather in Saudi Arabia, and Travis sat in the back and sang John Denver songs.

And then I woke up.

You're welcome.

9 Years Old

2010-05-11T08:00:00.007-05:00

Dear Mary Emma,

9 years ago at 12:21 pm, my world flipped upside down when you made your dark-haired appearance into this world. You were 9 days late, so I was quite ready for you to make up your mind to come on, but the doc had to induce anyway. I guess you were content to do things at your leisure. You still are.

You had black, curly hair that was blond by the time you turned 1. You are smarter than your daddy and I put together. And we knew it from the moment you arrived. You slept well (slept through the night at 4 weeks old), ate well, and made us laugh every single day - still do.

You decided when you were 3 that you want to be a vet when you grow up. I think you'll make a mighty fine vet. But you have to get over your fear of bugs first. Because where there are animals, there are always bugs.

You play softball harder and with more passion than most kids I know. You love to get dirty on the field and throwing a strike thrills you (and your daddy) more than anything in the world. But you want your hair bow to match your uniform and you want to look cute. You look up to Jennie Finch and Taylor Swift. You have met both of these ladies and the look on your face was priceless.

You love fried catfish with a passion that cracks me the heck up. You hate green beans with an equal passion.

You have sweet, precious, friends. If I could choose your friends for you, I would've chosen the same kids. Your best friends are Raegan, Sadie, Sarah Grace, Jada, and Lindsey.

You don't like math, but are a human calculator. You are SO GOOD at it. You love science, which makes your science geek mommy very happy. You are excited that your 4th grade classroom next year will be upstairs. Apparently "upstairs" is a huge milestone for a kid at your school.

You love your little sisters so much. You are THE BEST big sister to them. People have commented to me about how motherly you are to them and you take time for them no matter what else is going on. They think you hung the moon. So do your daddy and I.

You have a heart for people that is unusual for someone your age. Your preschool teacher used to marvel at the fact that you genuinely hurt for people who were sad and were happy for people who were happy. You love Jesus with your whole heart and enjoy learning scripture. You get to go to your Route 66 party Friday night and you cannot wait!

Today, I will bring your little sisters and come eat lunch with you at school. I will bring you macaroni and cheese in a thermos and it will thrill you to no end. Your dance class and your softball team will sing happy birthday to you and you will feel like a rock star. Your daddy and I love you so much that there aren't even words to describe it.

Happy birthday, sweet girl. We are so proud to be your mommy and daddy.

Perspective

2010-04-08T15:23:00.002-05:00

A couple of days ago, I received a letter from my Compassion child, Nevine, who lives in Eastern Nairobi, Kenya. He is 15 years old.

His letter was a thank you for sending him a Christmas Gift. I sent $25 through Compassion International so that he could buy Christmas items. Here is what he bought with my $25 (which translates to 857 Kenya Shillings).

Sandals
2 kilos of wheat flour
4 kilos of maize flour
biscuits
cooking oil
2 kilos of rice

In his letter he told me that he was praying for me. HE is praying for ME. The kid that uses his Christmas money to buy rice, flour, oil, and biscuits is praying for me.

That'll put things into perspective, huh? As I thought about the typical American 15 year old boy, I couldn't help but think of what on that list might've fallen onto their Christmas list.

Probably none of it.

It's because of Compassion International that Nevine receives an education. It's because of them that he receives medical services. It's because of them that he knows who Jesus is and that He loves him so much. It's because of them that his family is helped with basic life needs.

And it only costs me $38 a month.

So as I approach what we call "Birthday Season" in my family (8 birthdays + Mother's Day & Father's Day from May 10-July 15), I pray that I keep Nevine in my heart and perspective in my mind. Because a 15 year old blessing in Kenya taught me to do just that.

And Nevine, I am also praying for you, kiddo. I love you so much.

***If you would like to sponsor a Compassion child and release a child from poverty in Jesus' name, click here and choose one. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.***

Just Reminiscing.

2010-04-01T11:51:00.003-05:00

Today I was thinking about this post of mine that was written a year ago.

Please go read. And DO NOT skip reading the comments.

Especially sweet Kim's.

Laughing all over again.

I love April 1.

We Now Resume This Blog To Its Usual Randomness.

2010-03-26T11:11:00.003-05:00

I have been overwhelmed at the response to my last post. OVERWHELMED. This great big ole internet with millions of strangers on it has blessed me beyond words. Thank you for following me on this weight journey - with all of the ups and downs associated with it (and let me tell you, 2 days ago, there were TEARS involved - it was a rough one). I appreciate your support more than I can say. And if this journey is motivating any of you, well then that's just icing on the cake (or lemon juice on the baked fish, in my case). :)

Now, back to the random that you're accustomed to.

You're welcome.

We are the proud owners of 3 new Hermit Crabs. We went to the beach over spring break and the kids decided to pool their souvenir money and buy crabs.

Mary Emma's crab (the shell in the back) is named Patrick - no, not from Sponge Bob, but because we got him/her (who really knows?) on St. Patrick's Day.

Tait's crab (the crab in the front) WAS named Megan, but she has since changed it to Claire.

Because Claire is obviously a much better name for a hermit crab than Megan is.

Duh.

Camille's crab (middle crab - and let me stop and tell you that I accidentally typed "crap" instead of "crab" which has me giggling right now, because obviously I'm 12) has had a number of monikers. First it was Madeline (In a house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived 12 little girls in 2 straight lines - THAT Madeline). Next it was Annie (Yes, The sun will come out tomorrow, Annie). Then it was Mr. Poofie Head (if you can figure out where that one came from, I would appreciate it - we have no idea). Now its name is Beverly Hills Chihuahua (or "Bebbily Hills Ta-wah-wah" as she pronounces it).

Seems completely appropriate for a crab to be named after a dog movie.

The crabs have taken over a part of my brain that I didn't know was unoccupied. I have always gotten attached to pets - my college roommate had an aquarium and would flush her fish when she went home for holidays - an act that would send me into sobs and her into hysterical laughter. I now realize there was probably something a little deeper there..... Anyway, I find myself researching tetracycline washes for stressed out crabs and Choya wood for the terrarium so they can climb. 2 weeks ago, I had never heard of Choya wood. Now I want to buy a piece of it. Or turning up the thermostat to 72 because our house is usually kept at 68 but crabs are happier with temps over 70.

THE INSANITY IS TAKING OVER.

So that's my life right now. Tell me what's going on with you. I can't wait to read the comments.

Albeit while sweating in my hot house.

But the crabs will be happy.

I'm In.

2010-03-03T14:05:00.003-06:00

I have been praying for something for a long time. Like a LONG time. And I have seen no progress whatsoever toward working things out in this particular area. None. Frustrating? Yes.

But recently, I have seen progress. And not just subtle progress - major progress. And I'm at a point where I think I can share with you, albeit jumbled and with an erroneous comma thrown in all willy nilly (I stink at comma usage), what God has been doing. Because in the middle of all of this, He is showing up. Big time. And He deserves total credit.

Which is why I'm going here...aaannnddd breathe.

I am overweight. I'm not just a little fluffy. I'm FAT. Let's not sugar-coat things. My weight issues stem from lots of things - insecurities, past circumstances (vague much?), blah blah blah. And I have prayed and prayed and BEGGED God to take this issue, which happens to be my ISSUE (everyone has issues, and everyone has an ISSUE. This one is mine.) away from me. But I have just stopped there. It never occurred to me that God was answering my prayer by holding it in front of me and telling me to COME GET IT. It never occurred to me that God would have me deal with some stuff on the inside before He would make it clear that I can handle dealing with the stuff on the outside. Have I mentioned that I'm stubborn and hard-headed and can generally make people with lots of common sense bang their heads against a wall? Well I am.

I've always been known as the "Fun Friend." I'm allegedly pretty cool to hang out with. I make people laugh. I have heard "you could be so pretty if you just would lose weight" more times than I care to count. But I hate HATE myself because of my weight. And you know what I do when I start thinking about it? I eat (a Snickers). Which makes me gain weight. And then I hate myself. And then I eat (a Hershey Bar). Then I gain weight. See the spiral? It STINKS. And I have been riding the spiral for way too long now. I realized that I am good at taking care of my spiritual needs. I am great at taking care of the needs of others (ie. husband and kids). I am the worst-person-last-place-number-1-loser at taking care of myself physically. And that makes God sad. Our bodies are supposed to be a temple and mine is a jacked up 7-eleven. I realized that I am actually taking AWAY from the glory that belongs to God by treating this body - that He loves and made specifically for me in order to bring Him glory - so horribly. I am basically sinning by being so overweight. Sit on that one for a minute. It HURTS.

Looking back, I'm seeing some signs (that are as clear as crystal now) that God was moving. First, a brand new gym opened up in my neighborhood and coincidentally (HA!) a bridge was closed on the route that took us to our old gym (that I never went to - excuse after excuse....) making the trip there LONG. Second, the new gym cost less for a COUPLE'S MEMBERSHIP than a single membership at the old gym. Third, Spencer gave me 4 sessions with a personal trainer for Christmas - which was a leap of faith for him knowing that I could accept them happily or claw his eyes out for suggesting that I could use some help (ahhh, female hormones, how funny you are...). But he loves me. A lot. And he wants the best for me. So he did it. And I'm glad he did. Fourth, the trainer who I was assigned to, Beth - and had been praying for - was the.perfect.match. for me. And considering the fact that I'm all insecure and intimidated by gyms, trainers, and anyone wielding a dumbbell, I'd say that was a major God move there. She is awesome. (And she kicked my behind today - I'm pretty shocked that my arm muscles have quit shaking enough for me to type. A thought that makes her laugh and say, "Yesssss!!!" The little punk.)

So. How have I progressed? First, the JUNK that I used to crave is gone. GONE. I have been most amazed by that. Because food has been such a thorn in my side for SO LONG, I just knew that it would be the biggest obstacle that I would have to overcome. I think God knew that, too. Because He has released me from it. And I cannot begin to tell you how much I praise Him for it. Second, I have no idea what I weigh - Beth knows. But for now I don't want to know. I think I will want her to tell me how much I've lost (I weigh every other week) but I don't think the number is something I need to obsess over (have I told you that I tend to obsess over stuff like that, too? Ahem.). Third, I WANT TO EXERCISE. What the junk? Hello old Robyn, meet new Robyn. She is a strange bird according to what you used to know.

So here I am. Totally in. Ready to take this by the horns and wrestle it down. God has been SO FAITHFUL. I'm such a work in progress - aren't we all? - and I need all the help I can get (that means you, Beth :D) on this journey. I'm sure there will be tears (there already have been) and frustrations and good times. There will be successes and failures. I will want to quit, but (again, Beth) I won't. Phil 1:6 says "he who began a good work in you (me) will be faithful to carry it on to completion."

To Him be the glory.

Bring.

It.

On.

A Little Bit of the Random

2010-02-25T22:33:00.002-06:00

It's been a while.

I've been busy. Like BUSY. Life has hit hard. Weekends aren't empty. Weekdays are full of homework and various sporting practices. And ye olde blog has taken the direct hit because of it. But here's a little smidge of what's been going on. In list form. Because that's how I roll.

1. We are officially a diaper-free house. Everyone is potty trained (and by everyone, I mean Camille). She potty trained totally - and I'm including nighttime, naps, etc - in 3 days. But that's Camille. She has to set her mind to something before she will see success in it. And once she does, it's done. So we have been telling the girls for over a year that we wouldn't get a puppy or go to Disney until everyone was potty trained. Guess we should be making some pretty significant plans, huh? As of right now, Disney plans are being discussed - but the dog is on hold - we think Tait has some pretty significant allergies. 1 for 2 ain't bad though. Right?

2. Spencer and I have become very budget conscious people - which is a good thing. We have never lived on a budget - we have always just lived sensibly (for the most part) and things have just kind of worked out. However, in January, our refrigerator's compressor went out, my license plate was up for renewal, and I had to have new brakes put on my car. That will take a budget, laugh at it, mock it, give it a wedgie and a swirly, and stuff it in a locker. Needless to say, February has been the month of "hmmm, let's see what I can make out of frozen chicken breasts AGAIN." Hello, March. Welcome. Please kick February in the backside on its way out.

3. My baby brother is getting married in 16 days. I am SO EXCITED. All of the girls are in the wedding and they couldn't be more thrilled. I have my dress and shoes - so I think I'm pretty much set. I get to go to a lingerie shower for Lindsay (Adam's fiancee - my future SIL) - sidenote: Lindsay is in Broadway's 2nd National Tour of WICKED. **AWESOME!!** But because she tours, she hasn't had any wedding showers! So her lingerie shower will be on Thursday before her wedding on Saturday. And considering she's marrying my brother, I'm pretty sure my gift will be flannel and have feet in it. Just being honest.

4. My girls absolutely crack me up every single day. Last night was a night I will remember for a LONG time. Mary Emma had been studying for several days for a huge science test and came home to tell us she had made a 100 on the it. (WOOO!!) Spencer and I were so proud and let her choose dinner. Of course, she chose Japanese Habachi (all of the JaPPan made me so happy! Shout out to Mary, Kim, & Fran). Dinner was great. The kids ate like champs. However, on the way home, Camille's stubborn, strong-willed side came out like a wild beast and she would not mind. WOULD NOT. So Spencer did the old school dad thing and told her that when we got home, she would get a spanking. Oh, the wailing and gnashing of teeth. We got home and got all of the kids out of the car and I told Camille to go sit on the stairs and wait for Daddy. She did. Reluctantly. But as Tait walked past her, she put her hand on Camille's shoulder and said, "Good luck, Mil" and then walked up stairs. Absolutely cracked us up. Needless to say, the spanking Camille was supposed to receive was a little less harsh considering the fact that Spencer was doubled over laughing.

5. I have starting working out with a personal trainer. And...get this...I LOVE IT. Her name is Beth, and I'm sure she will be the topic of many discussions on this blog in the future. I worked with her last Friday and she basically took dumbbells and beat me up with them. I sent her a text on Sunday that simply said "OUCH." She is sweet and mean (in a sweet way) and is a perfect match for me. I was REALLY nervous about working with a trainer - it was SO imperative that we were a good match - I'm easily intimidated and will give up easily when I am uncomfortable. I have prayed for a long time for she and I to match well and God placed his hands on every detail of the situation. Praise Him for His faithfulness. And pray for Beth as she gets to deal with me twice a week! Bless her heart.

Now headed to watch the Olympics. I'm a bit obsessed. I've even watched Curling and googled it to figure it out. Still haven't figured it out. Only 2 years till the Summer Olympics! (And I'm pretty sure my husband just rolled his eyes.)

Nite y'all!

Haiti.

2010-01-14T16:33:00.003-06:00

I just can't imagine what they're going through.

I just can't wrap my mind around the devastation and the suffering and the sadness.

I just can't fathom the sheer panic that many of them feel as they look for their fathers, mothers, siblings, and children.

I just can't believe that I can't do anything.

But I can. And so can you.

Compassion International is helping. A lot. My family sponsors a child, Nevine, through Compassion. Nevine lives in Kenya, is 15 years old, and is safe today. The people of Haiti aren't safe. They aren't well. They need help.

Help Compassion help them. Will you consider a one time donation to Compassion to help the people there? Click this link to donate.

And let's be on our knees for these people. Jesus be near.

The Great Blizzard of 2010

2010-01-08T11:59:00.006-06:00

2010 has arrived with a bang. Actually a very very cold bang. We are having record low temperatures down here in the South where we think that anything in the 50's is flat out Arctic.

So, of course, when we have temperatures in the SINGLE DIGITS, PEOPLE, and there's snow predicted, we tend to get all overdramatic and freak out and close schools and empty grocery stores and prepare our Last Will and Testaments and secure ourselves and our families in our warm houses and vow to not come out until the blizzard is over. You know, exactly like Ma Ingalls did it on the Prairie, minus the rogue Indians and the homemade dolls under the Christmas tree.

This week, we were told that we were expecting 2-3 inches of snow (which is equivalent to 6 feet of snow by Michigan standards) so school let out early yesterday and started late today. Most schools in the area closed completely for 2 days, but apparently our school is more concerned with academics (or the threat of having to make up said days on President's Day and MLK Day - don't MESS with a teacher and her holidays - and I can totally say that b/c I used to teach 3rd grade and would've given up my left leg in order to make sure that we got those holidays off).

So yesterday we hunkered down and prepared for the worst. Spencer is in Pasadena at the BCS Championship Game, so basically I'm a single mom who is braving the storm while protecting her little brood by making sure that hot chocolate, PB&J sandwiches, Dora the Explorer, and Polly Pockets are abundant.

And the snow came. And the wind howled. And I could barely keep the front door closed from the massive snow drifts that descended upon our home.

And now, I would like to show you the pictures I took as I braved the elements and ventured outside.

All for you, readers, all for you.

First, this is the top of the table that houses the Big Green Egg.

As you can see, the depth of the snow was frightening.

Next, this is how deep our accumulation was.

Never fear, I have put "snow shovel" on my list of things to get the next time I'm at Home Depot so that I won't ever put my family in such a dangerous position again.

The prediction for the weekend is that our wind chills will be in the negative numbers (a phenomenon that I can't even comprehend). After the CLEAR ACCURACY of the weather predictions over the last 24 hours, I'll be sure and let you know if we make it out alive.

One Proud Little Girl

2010-01-01T16:27:00.002-06:00

Mary Emma has been studying for a while now to learn all 66 books of the Bible. Why? Because our church has a "club" called Route 66 for kids who can say them. And if you think my girl doesn't LOVE to be a part of a club, well then you are mistaken, my friend. So she has worked. And studied. And we have sung songs to help her learn. And she has pushed past her personal challenge called Hosea, Joel, and Amos. And she did it. Here is the video of her "induction ceremony." Enjoy!

Mary Emma in Route 66 from Robyn Davidson on Vimeo.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T18:55:00.006-06:00

From my family to yours, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

But most importantly, I hope you remember the most important reason for this Holy season. We love the gifts, the family, the food, the stories, and the travel, but I pray that we remember most of all that it's all about a baby. A baby, who changed the course of the world, and certainly changed my life. Praise God for His Son!

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:1-14

Hold the Phone - A Miracle Has Occurred.

2009-12-07T11:31:00.003-06:00

Tait and Camille are terrified of Santa. TERRIFIED. Especially Tait. She wants nothing to do with him. But yesterday, we were in Learning Express and Santa was there. Camille SAT IN HIS LAP. Tait stood beside him and even gave him a hug.

My babies are growing up.

Sniff.

Hey, Look! A Christmas Meme!

2009-12-05T09:52:00.003-06:00

It's SEC Championship Day. Hubs is Atlanta at "The Game," I'm home with 3 kids, and it's 30 degrees outside. Brrr. So I'm gonna be the follower and jump on the Christmas Meme bandwagon.

Here goes.

1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate? Hands down, without debate, undoubtedly, hot chocolate. I think Eggnog is one of the grossest drinks ever. But then again, I don't like eggs. Or vanilla. So that makes sense.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa brings 3 presents to each child and they are unwrapped. But presents from Mommy & Daddy are wrapped. Now if only Santa would take the toys out of the packaging that has 1000 twist ties, unbreakable plastic, and that requires an engineering degree to get in to....

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White. But my mom uses colored lights and they definitely hold a special place in my heart. I hold no ill will toward any peeps who use colored lights, but I prefer white.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? I did for a couple of years - I had a mistletoe ball that hung. I loved it. But Mary Emma whacked it with a ball one day (that kid has great aim) and demolished it. O well.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? I don't really have a favorite - we don't have traditions when it comes to food at Christmas. Except my mother-in-law's cheese ball. It isn't the holidays without it. And, even though it's technically not a dish, my dad's Wassail is amazing.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? I have 2. 1) My parents used to hide our "big presents" and make us think we didn't get them. We would open all of our presents and have that moment where we were disappointed that we didn't get that ONE THING that we had wished for all year long. Then dad would send is to his closet to get his slippers or something like that and that gift would be there. And he would laugh and laugh. 2) My dad is a crappie fisherman. He fishes using cane poles. One year, my brother gave my dad some cane poles for Christmas. He was so excited that he went outside to "practice" by "fishing" out of our swimming pool. In his pajamas and slippers. In the winter. We loved it.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't really remember. I do remember being "too cool" to sit in his lap that year and had to pretend because my brother was still a believer. I have a feeling this might be our last year with Mary Emma being a believer. She's getting really skeptical.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? I always want to (I'm not the most patient person in the world) but Spencer doesn't like to let me. He enjoys watching me squirm. :)

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? We have two trees — both are decorated very traditionally. We don't have a color theme or anything like that. The downstairs tree has the traditional ornaments on it - a bunch of wedding gifts (we got married on Dec 20, so we got a LOT of "Just Married" ornaments). We also get an ornament whenever we go on vacation anywhere. Spencer has his ornaments from when he was a kid, and I have mine. The upstairs tree is the girls' tree. It has any ornament that was given to them or that they have made (which are my personal favorite).

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love, love, LOVE the snow. LOVE. Unfortunately, I live in Alabama where there is rarely snow. We did get some snow last night, but the ground was too warm for anything to stick. But it was SO PRETTY!

12. Can you ice skate? I actually can. And by "skate" I mean I can skate around the rink in a nice big circle. I can't spin and stuff. (I KNOW - shocker.) But again, I live in Alabama. Ice rinks are not exactly on every corner.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I don't really have a FAVORITE. Things were favorites according to what was going on in my life at the time. Things that stick out in my mind are 1) a model of the Space Shuttle when I was about 10 ( I wanted to be an astronaut my entire life), 2) my very own TV for my room when I was 13, 3) a diaper bag with Mary Emma's initials on it that Spencer gave me right after we found out that we were having a girl, 4) an ornament that looks exactly like my bridal bouquet, which was given to me by Spencer's grandmother

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Christmas is all about the "Who" and not about the "what." I love teaching my girls about the true meaning of Christmas. Camille's little mother's day out class is having a "Happy Birthday Party for Jesus" this year instead of having a Christmas Party. I CAN'T WAIT. It's gonna be precious.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Anything chocolate. My mom makes fruit cake cookies, which she loves and I think are gross, but the story behind them makes me glad that they're around during the holidays.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? I LOVE a Christmas Eve service. I love dressing my girls and nephews alike and taking pictures of them. I love riding around and looking at Christmas lights. I love making cookies and decorating them for Santa. I love staying up really late with Spencer and setting out all the Santa stuff. But I mostly love watching all the girls climb in Spencer's lap and him reading the Christmas story to them.

17. What tops your tree? An angel.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Both. I love giving gifts, but I'm not gonna lie and say I don't like receiving them, too.

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? I'm Switzerland when it comes to candy canes. Totally neutral.

20. Favorite Christmas Show? Miracle on 34th Street. Preferably the old one, but I like the new one, too.

21. Saddest Christmas Song? Is there a sad Christmas song? Um, Little Drummer Boy. Because it makes me want to beat my head against a wall. The injury sustained from that would make me sad.

22. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Silent Night, O Holy Night (especially the Point of Grace version), Travis Cottrell's "In The First Light," and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (complete with the little interjections between each line "...had a very shiny nose (like a light bulb!)"

I'd love to read yours, too. If you participate in this HIGHLY INTELLECTUAL meme, please let me know in the comments and I'll jump on over to your land of blogginess.

Have a great Saturday!

Bet You Won't Find THAT Little Detail In Your Bible.

2009-12-01T13:23:00.003-06:00

When Spencer and I got married, 12 years ago on Dec 20, We were given a Fontanini Nativity Scene. It's one of my favorite Christmas decorations that we have and I always look forward to setting it up in a special place.

This year, Tait and Camille have discovered it. They LOVE it. They play with the wisemen (all of the characters are made of resin/plastic and are virtually unbreakable), the donkey, the camel, and OF COURSE fight over Baby Jesus (who they call a "she" - welcome to living in a house with all girls. Everything is a she.) I have it set up on a table in the den and let them play and play and play with it.

Yesterday, they had been playing with the Nativity Scene for about 45 minutes when they moved on to something else. I walked by it and noticed a new character had been included in the sacred manger scene.

Behold, Cinderella made it to the blessed birth of our Lord and Savior.

I haven't found proof of that little fact in my Bible, yet, but I'm checking all the translations to see if she's mentioned.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas. Hope your holiday season has gotten off to an amazing start!

Wanna Join? It's Gonna Be AWESOME.

2009-11-19T22:45:00.001-06:00

Click the button to find out what this is all about.

I Would Now Like To Show You The Finished Cake

2009-11-05T13:51:00.004-06:00

First, if you have no idea what I'm talking about, go here.

Now that we're all caught up, here's a picture of the finished product.

Um, yeah. That's a cupcake. From a box. With canned icing. And "princess pearl" sprinkles.

Apparently I'm not a cake decorator. Especially since the "cake" cost me about $40, a dozen eggs, an entire day, some not-so-nice looks from my husband, and some hilarious laughter with my neighbor, Michelle, who is completely correct in her "Robyn is crazy" assessment.

But you know what?

This little nugget had a great birthday. And that's what counts, right?

I Might Be Overestimating My Abilities Just a Little...

2009-11-03T08:01:00.003-06:00

I'm a fan of the Food Network. I love watching how stuff is prepared and practicing my knife skills (yes, cutting things correctly is a skill and one that needs to be practiced - definitely speeds up the whole preparation time). My dad and I want to go to Culinary School - preferably together. But one of my favorite things about cooking is cake decorating. I could watch Ace of Cakes all day long. I LOVE IT. And I have this perception of myself as someone who could totally knock out an awesome cake just by having a little craftiness and some stubbornness to go along with it.

So.

Today I'm attempting this.

Ok. Who's laughing?

I won't be using the same colors but the basic idea will be the same. Camille's 3rd birthday was Sunday and her party with all of her little school friends is tomorrow. So I'm gonna try it.

And know that I'm not above getting one from the Publix bakery if this one turns out as something worthy to appear here.

Stay tuned.....

This Might Not Make Much Sense To Most Of You...

2009-10-12T14:36:00.002-05:00

I just got back from LPL Memphis last night and I need to write down (actually, type - who writes anymore) some funnies that happened over the course of the weekend. For many of you, this will look like a jumbled mess of words, but to me, they are hilarious moments that bonded my heart even more with some of the most amazing people I've ever been blessed to know. And I don't want to EVER forget them, to I'm putting them down here.

It's my blog and I can type if I want to.

And I promise to be bringing you a clear, concise, re-cap of the weekend, complete with some deep stuff that Beth threw at us, but it takes a little time to process that kind of stuff. And let me tell you, I read back over my notes this morning, and I was blown away with some NEW STUFF that I learned. Amazing.

So, here goes.

1. Mama Kim and her snacks/cooler in the car. LOVE HER.
2. YouTube videos
3. Eating 3 crackers, 1 piece of pizza, and a third of a bowl of pasta in 3 days.
4. Spending the majority of my food budget on Starbucks.
5. Being able to sleep only 10 hours over the course of the weekend thanks to Starbucks.
6. Dad
7. Noisy pasta
8. Flowers in hair
9. Gumbo for the homeless
10. Really?
11. Being worried that Fran was picking up a total stranger at the airport and then realizing that this total stranger turned out to be the biggest blessing of the weekend.
12. Bi-polar A/C in the hotel. Freezing...sweating...freezing....sweating...
13. Boots
14. Name that tune at 3:00 AM
15. Watching sweet Rachel's baby move in her tummy. Aunt Robyn LOVES YOU!
16. Pam Case's elevator adventure
17. Freezing in line Saturday morning BEFORE the sun came up
18. Excellent seats in the FedEx
19. KLOVE
20. 6 hours, 1 bed, hilarious laughter, sweet friends
21. Peepskin
22. Noisy pasta making Mary/Melinda's room smell like fish guts
23. More Starbucks
24. "DANGIT, who has a key to push the button on the elevator?"
25. The glass shower
26. FREEZING in Kim's car
27. Being very appreciative of an Aflac blanket
28. The sleepy man in the lobby when we checked in.
29. The guy with dreads at Blues Cafe.

I love all of you LPL Memphis people. LOVE. YOU.

You make my heart happy and my abs a little stronger. What a laughter work-out they got this weekend!

The Great Skinny Leg Jean / Legging Debate of 2009

2009-09-23T10:26:00.004-05:00

I was watching the Today show this morning and the fashion show of the day was all about Leggings. The "fashion expert" claimed that leggings are for everyone, regardless of how old you are or what size you are. Then several models paraded out in their leggings, which included leather leggings, denim leggings (complete with faux pockets on the front AND back - shudder), and sequined leggings.

I tend to disagree with the "leggings are for everyone" trend that is so popular right now.

And here are my reasons why.

1. The models on the Today show were probably 6'5" and weighed on average 47 pounds. How many people do you know who are that size? Me? Zero. But the leggings looked great on them. I did notice, however, that they didn't bring out a size 12 mom, who is carrying a diaper bag, a kid, and 14 pieces of Polly Pockets to show how cute leggings would be on her. I smell a conspiracy.

2. In the immortal words of my friend, Erin, "Don't wear skinny leg jeans if you aren't." Words to live by, people. Words to live by.

3. Tait, my FOUR YEAR OLD, wore leggings to school today. She looked precious. If your 4 year old looks precious in something, chances are you won't if you wear the same thing.

4. In order to wear skinny leg jeans, you must meet 2 requirements. A) Be skinny. B) Have legs. I have only met B. Therefore, I haven't met the requirements of wearing skinny leg leans. Refer back to #1. They met both requirements. Carry on, telephone pole models.

5. I watch "What Not to Wear" religiously (secretly hoping that someone will nominate me and I'll be TRANSFORMED by the powers of Stacy and Clinton - hint hint, wink wink) and they have a major issue with tapered pants. They say that when your ankles are the skinniest part of you, your BACKSIDE looks huge by comparison. Skinny leg jeans/leggings = the most tapered pant possible. And I can ASSURE YOU that I need no help making my backside look large. And that's all I gotta say about that.

6. Sequined leggings? That reflect light and draw lots of attention to your legs and butt? There's just something scarily wrong with that idea.

7. The last time I wore leggings was in the 80's. Do you remember the 80's? They were bad, people. BAD. It was ALL OF OUR ugly stages. The people who apparently are the "trend setters" today were either too young to remember the 80's or not yet born in the 80's. So I think it's our duty to mankind to show them the errors of our ways. Let's learn from our past. Not REPEAT IT!

So, in closing, I plan on strongly declining the skinny leg pant / legging trend.

What about you?

Talk amongst yourselves in the comment section.

Alright, Bloggy Peeps, We've Got a LOT To Cover.

2009-09-15T09:52:00.003-05:00

Well now. Hello there! I have been absent for oh, so long. My July bloggy break sort of turned into July, August, and part of September break. Sorry. There's been a little craziness going on.

But before I get into that, I'd like to publicly shout out to my dad, brother, and friend Marcie, who have been checking Ye Olde Blog religiously for a new post, only to see the previous post on their screen for 40 days straight. Y'all rock.

Now, unless I want to make this post the longest post ever, it's gonna be in list format. Because, HELLO, have we met? I love me a list.

A few things have happened in the world and the Davidson household since I last blogged. Here's a re-cap.

1. Farrah Faucet died then TOTALLY GOT TRUMPED when MJ died. I was sad that both of them died, but extra sad that Farrah's limelight was directed to MJ. Just plain ole sad.

2. Mary Emma had a BALL at camp. The first words out of her mouth when we picked her up were "Can I go again next summer?" So Spencer and I are currently drawing straws to decided which one of us is selling a kidney to not only get her there but to pay for our trip out there because we're too chicken to send our kid 10 hours away all by herself. Right now, she's enrolled in camp and our hotel is booked. Not promising anything after that. But I WILL say, that Kanakuk was life changing for her. She grew up a little. She accepted Christ. She was baptized in the lake by the camp director, Spencer, and my dad. It was amazing. Check into Kanakuk for your kids. If it's something you can do, you will NOT be disappointed.

3. School has started and for the first time in 8 1/2 years, I have a little bit of time to myself. Mary Emma is in 3rd Grade, Tait is in PK4 (she goes M,W,F), and Camille is in Mother's Day Out on W & F. Did you catch that? I have NO KIDS on Wednesdays and Fridays. Please pause now for a moment of silent prayer, thanking Him for a blessing that I didn't even realize I was so desperate for.

4. Some good friends have recently become GREAT friends. Safe friends. Hilarious, laughing friends. The best friends I've ever had. My Wild Women. And I Praise Him for your friendship and can't wait to hang with you again soon.

5. My hard drive on my computer crashed. CRASHED. I lost everything. The Apple peeps gave me my old hard drive to take to a Data Recovery place to see if anything (PICTURES) can be recovered off of it. So, this post will be lacking in pics, because they're gone. Hopefully not forever. I can't even talk about it without tearing up and breaking out in a cold sweat.

6. Spencer and I gave Mary Emma tickets to the Taylor Swift concert for her birthday back in May. The concert was Friday night. She took a friend and had a BLAST. Taylor Swift is absolutely amazing.

7. Speaking of Taylor Swift, I know you all have heard of the debacle that occurred with Kanye West at the VMA's a couple of days ago. Y'all. I felt like a Mama Lion protecting her cub. I cannot imagine how her mom and dad felt. I've met Taylor. She hugged my daughter and talked about boots and hair and bracelets and guitars. She made her feel like a rock star. She was poised, polite, gracious, and extremely humble. She puts on a great concert. I can let my girls listen to her music with NO CONCERN about questionable lyrics or content. Her mama and daddy have raised her RIGHT and should be (and are) very proud of her. I think that of all the people Kanye could target, he chose the one person that EVERYONE would defend. Even people like Pink, Joel Madden, Beyonce, & Katy Perry, who are as musically opposite as Taylor as humanly possible, came to her defense immediately. No one condoned Kanye's actions. As Katy Perry tweeted, it was like he stepped on a kitten. I hope he apologizes to HER. Not to her via Leno. She will be fine. She has been slapped hard, but will make a rebound like the class act that she is.

8. Mary Emma broke her arm. She fell off her scooter. She has a hot pink cast. I feel like I've now been initiated into the "official parent" club. She has to cheer for a football game tonight and it's supposed to rain, so we'll see if she can cheer with her arm wrapped in a trash bag.

9. I take Mary Emma today to the Orthodontist to begin the braces process. Guess whoever doesn't sell their kidney to pay for camp will get to sell their to pay for braces. And I totally thought that once kids got out of formula and diapers they got cheaper. HA.

10. Camille hasn't passed out at MDO yet. I've warned the teacher, though. I don't think it's too far out. She's getting more comfortable at school (read: fearless), so it's only a matter of time.....

11. Tait has come out of her shell. She's the "shy one." But she found her voice. And she is LOVING school and making new friends. Last year she pretty much kept to herself and wouldn't talk to or play with many kids. Now she's becoming the social butterfly at school that she is at home. And DANG if she isn't she sweetest thing on the earth.

I think we're all caught up now. Hope to blog more often that once every 3 months. Seriously.

So check back. Mkay?

Have a great day!

Vacay Update Real Quick Like.

2009-07-16T23:31:00.002-05:00

So, we left Alabama on Sunday and drove to Memphis.

Then on Monday, we drove to Missouri and took Mary Emma to camp.

We had to FORCE HER to say goodbye to us. She was THAT excited about camp. I guess that's a good problem to have!

Monday night, we ate dinner at Fudruckers. It was my maiden voyage to Fudruckers.

Tuesday morning, I was in the hospital with food poisoning due to said dinner at Fudruckers. My maiden voyage was also my final voyage.

Spent Tuesday and Wednesday in the hospital. On my vacation.

I KNOW.

Got out Wednesday and filled $100 worth of prescriptions. For real. Well, actually, $92, but who's counting, right?

Slept in today and feel much better.

Went to a water park and Dixie Stampede tonight.

Doing the whole Branson thing.

Considering growing a mullet and smoking Marlboros. Nah, too manly. Marlboro Lights.

Thanks for reading about my week.

You may now resume your lives.

So, I'm Officially A Camp Mom

2009-07-11T22:15:00.003-05:00

We are leaving tomorrow to take Mary Emma to camp. She is going to Kanakuk in Missouri all week next week. I'm nervous, I'm praying, I'm excited, I'm jealous (I would've LOVED this camp as a kid), and I can't wait to pick her up next Sunday and hear all about her week.

Here's her stuff.

The trunk and all of her stuff.

The inside lid of her trunk - with so many faces who love her. Hope this will help with homesickness.

The lid of the trunk. I'm a little OCD. Can you tell?

The lid and front of the trunk.

We'll be staying about 20 miles from her in Branson, MO for the week. I'll be blogging about our trip while we're there - assuming we have an internet connection - and will DEFINITELY be blogging about HER trip once we get home.

Here's a little hint about what you'll get after she gets home - her grandfather (THANKS POP!!) had a little old digital camera that he gave her to take to camp. I am sending 2 sets of replacement batteries. She has a 1G memory card. She's 8 years old. I CANNOT WAIT to see her camp experience through HER eyes! I'll be sure to share it with you here!

Talk to ya later!

We Interrupt This Bloggy Break For A Bit Of Real Estate News

2009-06-18T11:58:00.002-05:00

I think I want to sell my house. Like for a dollar.

Let me tell you why.

Last night, I was up WAY too late (thank you, prescription decongestant, for keeping me awake until 2:14 even though the doctor said you wouldn't) and decided to iron Spencer's shirt for work today. I walked into my dining room where the ironing board is set up (hush, don't judge me - yes, I keep the ironing board set up most of the time) and turned on the light.

There was a massive, people-eating, disgusting, HUGE, roach on my wall.

Sidenote: roaches in Alabama are common. We have a lot of trees in my back yard and pay a pest control company religiously to spray for them so they stay out of the house. Occasionally one gets in but usually meets a quick demise thanks to said pest control company. This one, however, was alive and kicking. Y'all, he was so big that I could hear him run. **Shudder.**

Anyhoo.

I did what any self-respecting girl would do, which was call my husband in to get it. He came in wielding a flip flop and started banging and swatting the quick little fella, who promptly ran under the china cabinet.

Dang.

So we (and by "we" I mean "Spencer" - I was on a chair) pulled out the big guns - which was the ant & roach spray - and started spraying everything in sight. We were both coughing and hacking from breathing roach spray fumes when we saw a little wiggle down near the bottom of the china cabinet. So Spencer starts wailing on the wiggle with the flip flop, flash light, and roach spray can. He sprays so much roach spray on the wiggling thing that it's now swimming. Please remember, it's 2 AM and "we're" beating the floor so hard that I'm surprised the girls didn't wake up.

When "we're" sure the stupid bug has met it's maker, Spencer leans in for a closer look. The little "wiggle" wasn't the roach.

It was a scorpion.

And guess what? Roach spray doesn't kill a scorpion. It just ticks it off.

So here's the scenario. 2 AM, floor covered in roach spray, big brave husband in his underwear battling a roach and NOW a scorpion, chicken wife standing on a chair, roach's whereabouts unknown, TICKED OFF scorpion's whereabouts known, and the battle begins again.

Spencer decided that the flip flop wasn't the appropriate tool for scorpion killing, so he resorted to the bedroom slipper tool and soon made mush of the scorpion. One down, one to go.

Roach with unknown whereabouts soon reared his ugly head and ran into the laundry room. I had a broom and the can of roach spray and was spraying and beating the roach. Meanwhile, Spencer is laughing and making fun of me for, and I quote, "hitting the roach like a sissy." Stupid roach ran under the washing machine, but was COVERED in roach spray, so we just knew he would take his final breath there.

BUT NO.

Just like a horror movie, the roach ran out from under the washing machine where Spencer hit it with the flashlight. And the little thing KEPT GOING. So Spencer reached for the bedroom slipper and ended the whole thing.

And you can understand why I didn't get much sleep last night. It's either me, or the roaches and scorpions.

And I don't go down without a fight.

Albeit, a fight while standing on a chair.

Dear Blog, I Miss You

2009-06-02T22:41:00.002-05:00

I am such a bad blog parent. I have neglected my wee little blog and am so ashamed.

However, in the spirit of summer, I am completely and totally swamped, busy, exhausted, tan-lined, and bug-sprayed.

It's All-Star season, people. And we are in it THICK.

So I'm gonna take a little break for the month of June. I'll be on here periodically and will definitely be checking your blogs, but just don't have enough hours in the day to keep up with mine right now.

But before I leave, I'll give you a few stories to make you chuckle.

And they will be in list format because that's how I roll. Booyah.

1. Camille passed out in the nursery at VBS yesterday. Apparently I "forgot" to tell them that she did that from time to time. Freaked those people slam out. They almost called 911. Oops. Sorry.

2. Note to self: remember to tell new nursery workers that Camille has a tendency to pass out when she gets upset or hurt.

3. Camille carried Tait's baby doll (one of about 3 zillion that she has - Tait is baby doll obsessed) around today constantly. This particular baby doll is African-American. Camille called the baby "Baby Uncle Stuart" today which is hilarious. Uncle Stuart is Spencer's brother. He is neither a baby, a girl, or an African-American.

4. I made banana bread from scratch the other day. It was amazing. Here's the recipe. I left out the nuts because ew.

5. I'm teaching VBS. I'm pretty sure I was either crazy or drunk (for anyone who knows me for real, this is quite humorous) when asked to volunteer. Because I don't have enough to do during the month of June as it is....

6. Tomorrow is Spencer's 35th bday. I adore him. He's my favorite person in the whole wide world and I hope he has a fantastic birthday. Thank you, God, for Spencer.

7. I'm currently obsessed with The Bachelorette, So You Think You Can Dance, What Not to Wear, and Law and Order SVU. Oh, and Reba. But that one could've gone without mentioning because duh.

8. I attended Living Proof Live for Minister's Wives back in February? March? Can't remember. Anyhoo, Lifeway video taped the entire event and is offering it as a digital download. Let me tell you something. Go get it. Even if you aren't a Minister's Wife (I'm not). It's relevant to the average church-going woman, funny, soul-searching, and in-your-face-just-what-you'd-expect-from-Beth-BRINGING-IT-good. And it's only $19.99. Click here to find out more or order.

I think that's all. Now I'm going to bed. It's June 2 and June is already well on its way to Kicking. My. Tail.

Nite peeps. See you in July.

Yes, It's A List. Get Over It.

2009-05-19T12:27:00.002-05:00

I've noticed lately that a lot of people are blogging in list format. Those people are also apologizing for blogging in list format.

Howev, I'm a LIST MAKER. This post will be in list format. And I'm not sorry about it.

Just keeping it real, peeps.

Here goes.

1. I vowed (VOWED!) not to watch The Bachelorette this season because I was so annoyed with the whole Jason/Melissa TV break up saga soap opera. And since I've been rooting for her on DWTS and have seen how stinkin adorable she is, the situation has made me even more angry. Except for the fact that apparently she is now dating a guy named Ty (how ironically happy is that!) and is very happy, I still hate how the whole thing went down.

But last night, as I was completely unaware that The Bachelorette was even on, I flipped on Twitter and saw the stream of conversations revolving around the show. And since I am the epitome of strength when it comes to peer pressure, I immediately flipped the channel and was sucked in like a kid drinking a milkshake.

I've already set my TiVo to record the entire season.

Hi, my name is Robyn, and I am a weak, weak person.

I sure do hope there's more breakdancing, more Member's Only jackets, more country singing and guitar playing, and less Tanner, who is freakishly obsessed with Jillian's feet.

I also think I'm gonna start saying "aboot." Shout out to all those Canadian peeps and their awesome accents.

2. Does Sarah Palin say "aboot?" Because that would rock if she did. I wore my McCain/Palin shirt yesterday and got lots of compliments on it. I'm still hoping November was a bad dream and we have a different president.....

3. I'm pretty sure the counting, organization, sorting, and distribution of Mary Emma's All-Star team uniforms are gonna be the death of me. Or the cause of lots of chocolate indulgences.

And that totally makes me mad because I have got some serious organizing skillz. I will not be defeated.

4. There are 2 more days of school. Hallelujah. That's all I've got to say about that. I'm sure the moms in Bloggyville are agreeing with me.

5. Fran is coming in town this weekend. I haven't seen her since January. And I MISS HER. Fran, Mary, & I are having dinner Friday night and I am so excited about it that I have been jumping and clapping all week long.

I also find it so strange, but SO GOD, that I have found such amazing friends on the internet. Some of them (Rachel, Becky Jo), I have never met in real life. But I adore them. ADORE THEM.

6. I had dinner with some friends last weekend, and since Spencer and Mary Emma were at the lake and I had a babysitter for Tait and Camille, I decided to do a little shopping ALL BY MYSELF. Wanna know where I went? Office Max, Hobby Lobby, and Lifeway. I consider that an awesome evening.

7. Spencer and I temporarily lost our minds last night and decided to take the kids to eat dinner at Kobe. You know, the Japanese steak house where they cook on your table and big fire shoots up to the ceiling and dinner takes a long time and you are sharing a table with strangers who don't necessarily want to eat next to kids who are screaming because the fire scares the bejeezus out of them. But it was actually pleasant. Mary Emma and Tait - aka the picky eaters - actually liked it. Mary Emma loved the soup, chicken, edamame, and noodles. Tait liked the noodles, edamame, and a little rice. Camille - aka the garbage disposal - loved the entire thing. She ate the salad, soup, chicken, rice, noodles, veggies, and edamame. They were quiet and well-behaved. The waiter (God bless his bones) toned down his "show" and didn't make any big flames. The other people at the table were traveling businessmen who weren't bothered that the show was toned down and were very sweet to the kids. We all left in good moods, which was such a blessing, since I would've never EVER thought that dinner at Kobe with 3 small kids would've been pleasant. Thank you, Lord, for being in EVERYTHING. Even the small things.

Hope y'all have a wonderful Tuesday.

Now back to the All-Star Uniform task.

Grrrrr.

The Post In Which I Will Discuss Sparkle Fingers, Jazz Hands, & Reba McEntire.

2009-05-12T09:57:00.003-05:00

If you will recall my giddiness a few posts ago, I told you that I was cast as an audience member in the Reba: Invitation Only show that was filmed for CMT. Well, that glorious day has come and gone and I would be remiss in my bloggy duties if I didn't share every single detail with you. You're SO welcome.

The happy occasion took place this past Saturday (aka 3 days ago). As fate and hilarity would have it, it also fell on the day after I hosted 9 8-year-old girls at my house for a sleepover, and was seriously sleep deprived. But if you think exhaustion would keep me from meeting my bff, Reba, then you have come to the wrong blog, little missy.

I decided that a) since I was going to be on CMT and b) I was gonna be mere inches from my Reba, I would fix my hair all fancy like (Fancy is my name...). But after spending way too many minutes trying to fancify my hair, I remembered that my hair is a one man pony show and only has one style and doesn't DO FANCY, so I jumped in the shower, washed it, and started over. I took some pictures of the "fancy hair," but I was even embarrassing myself, so I deleted them off of my camera, thus not posting them on this blog. Sorrrrrrrryyyyyy.

Anyhoo, a couple or 45 minutes late, I jumped in my car and headed to Nashville. I had specific instructions about where to meet and when, and was wearing some HAWT red shoes (which has nothing to do with anything except I felt morally obligated to tell you about my fab shoes) and met our production assistant who took us to the studio. We were told that the studio was hard to find which was the reason for meeting at a gazebo and being escorted there, but I noticed that there were signs everywhere directing us to Studio A, so I'm still a little confused about how one could get lost. But whatev. I think they are just the nicest people ever for escorting us to our location.

We were then escorted behind the scenes - back where the production people, trailers, crew parking was - (side note: I LOVE all things behind the scenes. LOVE IT. I even saw Narvel (Reba's husband) walking out of a trailer carrying a plate of nachos. That. Rocked.) -- and into the studio. The studio was set up like a living room. There were couches, chairs, table/chair combos and we were told individually where to sit. There were about 100 people in the audience (SHUT UP) so everyone had a great seat. I was directed to a sofa where 2 guys were already sitting. They were awesomely friendly, especially the guy sitting next to me. He was bouncy. Literally. He bounced all night long. He screamed and hollered and raised his sparkle fingers to Reba every time she glanced our direction. He was THAT GUY who yelled "I Love You, Reba!" during a camera break. He danced (complete with jazz hands) to every song she sang. He was hilarious and I had a BALL sitting next to him. I don't know how much face time I'll get on camera, because his over-the-top fan antics might've caused the camera operators to avoid our sofa, but it was totally worth it. If you do see me on camera, I'll probably be laughing hysterically at how um, animated he was.

Reba was, of course, awesome. AWESOME. She sang some oldies (The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, Why Haven't I Heard From You, And Still...) as well as a bunch of songs off of her yet to be released album. And let me tell you something. It's gonna be GOOD. There's a song on the album called I Want a Cowboy that I predict will be HUGE for her. It should be The Pioneer Woman's theme song.

After the show, Reba was whisked off stage and was GONE before we could blink. It was her perfect chance to get to hang out with ME for a little while, but she had to complete a little task called "Performing at the Grand Ole Opry" so I let her slide this time. Oh, Nashville and your demands. You are seriously cramping my bff time. But I still love you.

After meeting my girl, Abby (hey Abby!) for dinner at a cool little place called Genghis Grill, I headed home. By this time it was 9:30 PM. I stopped by Starbucks and got a Venti Mocha (I've NEVER ordered a venti anything) because, if you'll recall, I had spent the previous night with 9 squealy girls. I was tired, but happy, and had talked to Spencer for a while on the phone, but was getting really sleepy around Huntsville. I thought about stopping to get a hotel room, but really wanted to be home in my bed more, so kept going. My sleepiness was tossed out the window when I was pulled over by the Athens Police for speeding in a construction zone. It was 11:00, raining, and dark. There was no construction taking place. I never saw a cone, an orange barrel, or a change in speed limit sign. I plead my case and even used the "It's Mother's Day" card, but was given a ticket anyway. NICE JOB, HEARTLESS ATHENS COP. Meanie. So now, my almost free, happy, blissful trip turned into a happy, blissful, trip that will cost me a bunch of American Dollars. Boo. On. That.

Even still, I got to see my Reba. And it was awesome. And you can witness the awesomeness on August 21 on CMT. If I could set my TiVo this far out, I completely would. I'm currently taking bets on how many times I'll consecutively watch the show when it airs.

My bet is 114. But I'm thinking I low-balled that a little....

The Last Day

2009-05-04T07:43:00.002-05:00

Today, Tait will have her last blood work drawn for her Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome. The blood work is done until the child turns 4 (she will turn 4 in July). Although we have to continue with the abdominal ultrasounds until she's 8, we're thrilled to get the blood work past us. One step closer to not having to worry about any cancer issues that are associated with BWS. Plus, ultrasounds don't hurt and Tait doesn't mind them.

Pray for good results. As usual, I'm nervous. Didn't sleep much last night. It's just seems messed up to have to screen your child for cancer.

Praise Him for the good results so far. My God is faithful and I trust that she will be fine again today. I'll letcha know something when we know something.....

Beach, Torture, And My Chance To Meet Reba. Yesssss.

2009-05-01T10:39:00.003-05:00

I told you last week that I would be spending a lot of this week at the beach. Remember? Without kids? Well, we got back yesterday. And it. was. heavenly.

We drove down on Tuesday, and were able to spend a little time on the beach. The crowds were minimal, the weather was a little cloudy, but warm, and the beach was empty. Nice.

Then, Wednesday, Spencer went to work while I slept in (Amen), and then went to the beach alone. I was actually a little concerned that I would get bored. I thought I'd get restless.

You know what? I did not get bored. I did not get restless. I didn't even get up out of the chair. I took a cooler with 3 bottles of water, a bag of pretzels, and a Snickers. I rented a chair from the beach guys. I had a book, my scripture memory cards, and my iPod. I called and texted some friends. And. I. Sat. There. All. Day. Long.

I think I'll make it an annual event.

Believe it or not, I have been doing other things besides practicing my skillz as a beach bum. Namely, Shredding. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I gave into the craze and began Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. And let me tell you something. I am not one who usually gives into exercise crazes. An "eat chocolate" craze? I'm there. A "watch endless re-runs of REBA" craze? Sign me up. But not an exercise craze. You know what? It has totally and completely kicked my butt. I have laughed. I have cried. I have avoided stairs at all cost because I didn't think my jelly legs would support me. I have sore muscles in places that I didn't have muscles. But if I can have a body like Jillian, then it's worth it.

Oh. My. Goodness. I cannot wait to tell you the next one. About 2 weeks ago, I received an email from a Casting Agency about an invitation only Reba concert. They were casting audience members for a very small, intimate concert that was being filmed by CMT. We were supposed to email back if we wanted to be considered (duh). I found out later that this email was sent to over 20,000 people. I received an email yesterday saying that I had been chosen as an audience member! SHUT UP! I have been told the time and place to meet the Production Director, and what to wear (dark, solid, "club attire"). Y'all. I am, of course, thrilled. Here's my dilemma. Club attire. Have you met me? If you consider Publix, Target, or the softball field a "club," then I'm all set. If not, then I'm seriously in a bind for something to wear. Where is BigMama when I need her? The exact words used in the email are: "Dress like you are going to a nice club or event. Wear black to dark colors. No white. We would like everybody to look sharp for the show. We want Nashville to look good. No formal wear or worn out blue jeans. NO LOGOS ON YOUR CLOTHING! NO OVERALLS! NO SUMMER WEAR THAT REFLECTS CASUAL! An upscale look has been requested by Production. Solid colors look better on camera." Got that? Suggestions, please. I don't do sleeveless and could be standing the entire time or sitting the entire time depending on where I'm placed in the audience. I'm so excited and I can't wait to tell you how it goes.

M'kay. That's me right now. What are you up to? And please feel free to give wardrobe suggestions in the comments. BigMama? Are you there?

Here's The Latest Episode Of The Random.

2009-04-24T10:06:00.002-05:00

I've said it once or 27 times that I'm a lot random. I wish I had a dollar for every time I've said something random to Spencer and he's said back to me, "now how did your brain get to that thought?" It's a gift, I tell ya.

But since you're sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to read my latest random thoughts, I won't keep you hanging any longer.

You're welcome.

1. The noise level of the neighbor's weed eater is directly proportional to how much Tait and Camille need a nap.

2. I have decided that I will spend much of my kids' college funds on toenail polish. My girls want their toenails painted a new color every day.

3. My neighbor found some high end toddler clothes for ridiculously cheap prices this week at Costco. Rock that.

4. I need to write that neighbor a check for the clothes she bought for Camille. TO DO LIST.

5. I need to make a To Do list.

6. My prissy 7 (almost 8) year old, who has been praying for 2 weeks for a warm enough day to wear her cute new black dress to school, finally got her warm, sunny day today. But she decided to wear shorts instead so she could compete better at kickball in PE.

7. I am completely amazed and blessed by my blog friends. They have become some of the closest friends I have ever had in my life. And the funniest thing is that only 2 of them live within an hour of where I live. The others live in TN, GA, TX, KS (soon to be CA), FL, AR, & other parts of AL. I miss them a lot right now and would love to be in the same room as them ALL AT ONCE and hug their necks.

8. I need to paint my toenails.

9. I also need to clean my bathtub. Totally not related to the toenail painting need.

10. I have a full out flip flop tan already. And my ballpark life is just beginning to get really busy. By July, I'll take a picture so you all can marvel at it.

11. I miss my Tallahassee peeps and would like to hang out with all of them soon.

12. I'm entering into the phase of my life where the kids are starting to argue with each other and push each other's buttons and drive each other crazy. AND I DON'T LIKE IT. Advice welcomed.

And I'm gonna end on that one, since I'm now headed to put Tait and Camille in separate corners.

I Can Hear The Waves Crashing Now

2009-04-21T11:06:00.002-05:00

Spencer works in the Pharmaceutical Industry, which means he travels a lot. One wonderful thing about Spencer's job is his territory. Part of it is the panhandle of FL - ie: BEACH. So, especially during the summer, if he has to go work down there for several days, the kids and I will pack up and go with him.

I know. It's rough.

But as much as I love the beach, these kinds of vacations aren't exactly relaxing. Spencer works all day, which means I tackle pool and beach, sunscreen, bathing suits, potty breaks, lunch breaks, snack breaks, building sandcastles, dusting off sand, burying people in the sand, nap breaks, carrying sand toys, snacks, towels, blanket, and camera all by myself. It's tiring. I definitely don't get to sit and read a book.

Next week is his "panhandle week." Because Mary Emma and Tait are in school, we can't go with him.

Or so I thought.

Spencer called yesterday and said that he had talked with his mom about coming to the house and staying with the kids while HE AND I GO TO THE BEACH ALONE.

Did you hear what I just said (typed)?

I will be at the beach next week for 3 days sans children. I will be able to sit on the beach and read a book or sleep or listen to my iPod or DO NOTHING. I won't have to build a sandcastle - except for the fact that I like to build them, so I might just do it anyway. Spencer will be working during the day, and then we get to go to dinner together (alone) at night. The break will be exactly what I need because our "busy time" -aka All-Star softball season (yes, Mary Emma made the team! WOO HOO!) is about to hit us square in the face.

But I'm not worried about that. I get to go to the beach.

I cannot wait.

Thank Him in the Small Things

2009-04-16T08:24:00.003-05:00

I was taking Tait (3 1/2) to school today when she saw this in the sky...

She got so excited because "God drew a T in the sky just for me!" So I pulled the car over (you know - gotta make the most of that moment) and took a picture and we clapped and cheered and said, "Thank you God for writing a T in the sky!! YAY GOD!"

Then she said, "Mommy, where is God?" I told her "He's in Heaven and He sees you and loves you all the time." (remember, she's 3 - can't get too deep). Tait said, "No he doesn't. He lives in the TV in the big room at church with Jesus."

Well, she kinda gets it. It's a start, right?

Good Friday

2009-04-10T11:23:00.003-05:00

Spencer and I were in San Diego in January, and we had a chance to visit Mount Soledad. Mount Soledad is a Veteran's Memorial that sits on the highest point near San Diego. It has an AMAZING panoramic view of the city, the mountains, and the Pacific Ocean. It's absolutely breathtaking.

While we were there, we took a zillion pictures, including one of a helicopter flying below us (awesomeness). But one picture stood out as my favorite.

This Good Friday is different for me than any other one for several reasons.
1st, my oldest daughter really UNDERSTANDS Easter this year. It is a fun, humbling experience to see Easter through a child's eyes. And for it not to be centered around the Easter Bunny.
2nd, we are joining our new church Easter morning. My oldest will be joining with us. She made her profession of faith and will soon be baptized. PRAISE HIM!! We are so very excited to be where God wants us and are excited about the future at this church!
3rd, there seems to be a new level of tragedy going on in the world right now. Maybe I'm plugged in (Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, etc.) more than I have been in the past so I'm hearing about it more, but the news seems to be jammed with senseless tragedies. Daddy's killing their entire families and then themselves. Plane crashes and car accidents. A President who has absolutely no regard for human life and is creating laws and regulations that make it easier to kill an unborn child. I am also brought to my knees over stories like Sweet April and her Mommy, Stellan, and Audrey's family.

Sweet Jesus, come soon.

And I am reminded of a song that I used t listen to as a child. Here are some of the lyrics that ring SO true today.

When problems try to bury you, make it hard to pray,
It may seem like Friday night, but Sunday's on the way!

Happy Easter, my dear friends. Tragedy happens. The world finds a way to get rid of God. But He sent us His Son. His Son gave up everything for us so that we might be free! THE Sunday is on the way, friends. And I cannot wait!

My "Review Blog"

2009-04-08T09:44:00.004-05:00

I was talking with Mary yesterday about the opportunities (or lack thereof, in my case) that people have to review products on their blogs. I've had a couple of requests to review things (one in this post) and would welcome the opportunity to do more. Hint hint. I think they're fun and Mary Emma LOVES the opportunity to tell anyone exactly what she thinks about something. Ahem.

Anyhoo, not too long ago, Corrine, from Turner Publishing Co. in Nashville contacted me about reviewing a new book that was coming out. It is a coffee table book entitled Historic Photos of Birmingham. It immediately caught my attention because 1. I love coffee table books of any kind, 2. I love old pictures, and 3. I live in Birmingham. Score. Score. Score. Of course I said yes and she immediately shipped the book to me.

Y'all. It's a beautiful book. The pictures are mostly from the Turn of the Century - Great Depression era, but some are also from the Civil Rights era through the late 70's. My dad, who was born in Birmingham and spent a lot of his childhood here, absolutely LOVES the book. Many of the pictures are of the coal and steel mills, which is the foundation on which Birmingham is built. There are some awesome aerial pictures, including a picture of The Spirit of St. Louis flying over Birmingham during a visit by Charles Lindbergh, himself. There are pictures of celebrities, including Bob Hope and Doris Day, during a visit to Birmingham. It's fascinating. If you live on Birmingham or are from Birmingham, you will really enjoy this book. It's sitting proudly on my coffee table even as we speak.

The second item I'd like to talk about really hits a sensitive part of my heart. It deals with our children and their knowledge of stranger safety. My biggest fear (and probably yours, too) is for someone to take one of my children. It's a scenario that I don't even want to think about, but one that I feel compelled to teach my children about. But there's the fine line where I want to make them smart and aware, but don't want to scare them. So I researched and found this DVD.

It's called The Safe Side: Stranger Safety. It was developed by John Walsh, host of America's Most Wanted and the parent of an abducted child, and Julie Clark, creator of Baby Einstein. It takes a scary subject and makes it completely kid-friendly. They don't use the word "stranger" because that word generally makes kids think of a mean, scary-looking person. They categorize adults into 3 categories: 1. Safe-Side Adults, 2. Kinda Knows, and 2. Don't Knows. They teach your child what to do in a "Kinda Know" situation as well as a "Don't Know" situation. The mood is kept light-hearted and funny so the kids aren't scared. Safe Side Superchick, the main character, is ultra corny, but the kids LOVE her. My girls giggle and laugh and love watching the DVD. And when I pop-quiz them on "stranger safety," they understand what they've been taught. I cannot recommend this DVD enough. It is absolutely fantastic. If you have kids, this should be a part of your movie collection. If you don't have kids, buy it for someone who does. Consider it your acceptance of the challenge.

That's all for now. Hope to have more stuff to review in the future.

Until then, have a good one.

I'm Usually Better At My Job

2009-04-06T09:53:00.003-05:00

See these kids?

They are my world. I'm their mommy. It's my full-time job.

And yesterday, I was pretty terrible at my job.

I didn't feel well (stupid garden, stupid apple, stupid snake, stupid Eve, therefore stupid cramps) and it rained all the live long day. Mary Emma slept with me the night before and I'm pretty sure she was training for a kick boxing event all night long. Camille was in a MOOD yesterday and Tait found a way to target that mood and drive Camille out of her mind. I didn't clean up the kitchen. The kids ate McDonalds for lunch and breakfast for dinner. The day was filled with fussing and time outs. I did manage to squeeze in a Bible Study, but I'm not sure it counted since I was yelling, "Girls, please leave Mommy alone and go play and BE QUIET so I can listen to Beth Moore!" at them. There's just something wrong about yelling during Bible Study.

The Bible Study was being a Wise Mom. Otherwise entitled I've Been a Terrible Mom Today And Need Some JESUS To Make Me a Better One Tomorrow. One thing that hit me square in the face was Beth talking about how fast they grow up.

Y'all, this will be over before I know it. I only get one shot at being a good mom. ONE. And. I. Will. Be. A. Better. One. Today. Than. I. Was. Yesterday.

Will I be perfect? No way. Far from it. But my girls will know that I love them more than anyone on this planet.

Because no one loves them like I do. And I will show them that today. They deserve it.

Well, This Was Definitely A Shock.

2009-04-01T08:40:00.003-05:00

I haven't been feeling exactly "up to par" lately. I've been battling a stupid cold (not a bad one, just bad enough to be annoying) and have had very little energy.

But hello, everything, including the sidewalks and bricks, are blooming right now. Spencer sat outside on the back deck the other day and played on the computer for a while and was constantly wiping the pollen off the screen.

I sat on my front porch 2 days ago and watched bees flying around the big holly tree and could actually see the harvested pollen on their legs. Jeff Corwin's got nothing on my front yard.

Anyhoo, no amount of medicine was making me feel better. I tried allergy meds, cold meds, knock-you-out sleep/cold meds...nothing worked.

Then I started wondering....

And yes, it happened.

I'm pregnant with #4.

Oh, and April Fools.

Well, It Was Chinese, But I'm Not Sure It Was Food.

2009-03-28T10:11:00.002-05:00

Last night, Spencer, the girls, & I went out to get Spencer's mom (Nam) a birthday present and grab some dinner.

None of this had been planned ahead of time, mainly because that's the way we roll. It was also about 6:45 when we left the house, because I was "detained" at the local salon having my toes beautified. While Spencer wasn't exactly thrilled that my pedicure experience took as long as it did, I'm pretty sure I heard a collective "Amen" from every woman who is reading this blog post. Because, as I've recently learned, a girl's gotta have cute feet even if it pushes dinner back by a few minutes. Or 2 hours in our case.

Both of us were pretty much craving Chinese food, but since we would rather poke needles in our eyes than sit through the Friday night line at PF Changs with 3 hungry, cranky kids and without reservations, we opted to drive around and find a lesser known Chinese establishment.

We found it.

Our 1st clue that dinner was to be...um...questionable was the fact that we quadrupled the number of people in the restaurant just by walking in the door. And for all you peeps who aren't from Birmingham, eating out on Friday/Saturday nights requires skill, plan ahead reservations, waiting an hour in line, and the patience of Job. So you can imagine our surprise (and at this point, pure delight) that we walked straight in and sat down.

I'm pretty sure the word SCORE! was uttered once or eleven times. They sat us directly next to the only other people in the entire place, which was a lady and another lady that I'm pretty sure used to be a dude.

So our darling waitress took our drink orders, brought our drinks (3 sprites for the girls, Diet Coke for Spencer, and Coke for me, because I think Fountain Diet Coke is gross, thus my willingness to suffer through the calories of real Coke) and then left. Apparently, this was a Chinese buffet. We were supposed to know what to do and just do it.

Now, while we were sitting there waiting on the menus-that-didn't-exist, Mary Emma and Spencer got the most puzzled looks on their faces. We were sitting next to a huge fish tank that resembled the fish tank in Finding Nemo AFTER Nemo bravely climbed into the filter and stopped the flow of water. I felt a strong need to go apologize to the fish that inhabited it. But Spencer and Mary Emma were more puzzled at the 8 pieces of broccoli that were floating in the fish tank than the condition of the water in the fish tank. Broccoli. Yummy.

I sucked it up and headed to the buffet anyway. The only thing that Mary Emma wanted was Egg Drop soup, filled with about 3000 of those crunchy noodles, but I made her get some Sweet-n-Sour chicken minus the Sweet-n-Sour sauce (aka, chicken nuggets) to go along with her soup. I fixed myself a plate of various Chinese dishes, mostly chicken, but I also decided to BRANCH OUT and get some Mongolian Beef. I was also fixing Tait's plate. I gave her some chicken nuggets & french fries, and then attempted to give her some white rice. (Please don't lecture me on the lack of nutrition of her dinner, I was totally working with what I had.) The rice was one huge, hard as a brick, lump. So Tait got chicken nuggets and french fries. Spencer now headed to the buffet to fix his and Camille's plate. He also came back with various types of food on his plate, and had chicken nuggets, french fries, and Honey Chicken for her. Her Asian palate is so much more advanced than Tait's.

Spencer and I both concluded that all of the buffet food was leftover from lunch, a mere 8 hours earlier, and was a little, um, overcooked by now. But we remained strong.

While we were eating, a few more people dwindled in and helped themselves to the buffet. We were most amused by the dude who walked up to the buffet, grabbed a plate, stuck an eggroll in his mouth, and proceeded to walk around the buffet fixing his plate while the eggroll stuck out of his mouth like a ginormous cigar. That guy had skillz. I ate a little of my dinner, but decided to call it a night when my Mongolian Beef tasted like fish. Mary Emma really wanted a Chinese Donut, but we told her she had to eat all of her chicken before she could have one. She responded with, "But Mommy, it's chewy." So we promptly sent her to the buffet to get a Chinese donut, without having to finish her chicken. I'm pretty sure they disguised a hockey puck with some batter and sugar, though, because the poor kid COULD NOT BITE THROUGH IT.

Oh, and while we were at the buffet, we noticed that part of it had sushi. Raw fish that was sitting under heat lamps. We both decided to pass on that one. But I was curious, because I hadn't seen a sushi bar. I found it on the way out. Instead of being full of properly refrigerated fish, it was full of boxes of cups, straws, to-go boxes, and fortune cookies. Wonder where they made the sushi?

So, if you live in Birmingham or are just passing through, I can definitely recommend some fantastic Chinese restaurants.

This one, however, isn't one of them.

Grab The Button - Let Others Take The Challenge!

2009-03-23T12:18:00.002-05:00

First, I totally created a button.

I KNOW.

I'm so impressed with myself that I might go buy myself a present.

Now, grab the code to the right and put the button on your blog. Let's keep up the challenge! Imagine what this world will be like if more people do something nice for others and give HIM the credit, rather than taking the credit themselves.

Awesome to think about, huh?

It's A Challenge. Are You Willing To Accept?

2009-03-15T22:29:00.003-05:00

I went to Beth Moore's Living Proof Live in Nashville this past weekend (don't worry, blog post about that coming soon - you know how it is when you come back from a conference like that...it takes a couple of days to process it all so that you can write about it in complete, coherent sentences....). The conference was actually for Ministers' Wives, which I am not.

Let me explain.

My dad is a pastor, therefore making my mom a minister's wife. I told my dad about this conference back in December, so he bought my mom 2 tickets to it for Christmas. He wanted her to go, and he wanted me to go with her.

Twist my arm.

Anyway, I was actually feeling a little (A LOT) guilty about going, since I'm not a minister's wife, but told myself that either I would go and participate and have a whole new respect for what a minister's wife goes through (I'm pretty plugged in to that subject already, being a PK), or I would go and participate and God would use Beth to bring a fresh Word to me. A Word that would be relevant and challenging and life changing - even though I'm not a Minister's Wife.

Wanna know something? Both happened.

Y'all, it was good. GOOD. But more on the details of it later.

Beth camped out in Galatians for the weekend. She gave 6 examples of how it can be AGGRAVATING to be a Minister's Wife, and how they should have an ALTERNATIVE to combat the aggravation. One example that resonated particularly with me came from Galatians 5:15.

"If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."

This doesn't JUST apply to Ministers' Wives. It applies to WOMEN as a whole. We want others to recognize us for our intellect and character, not for our possessions and looks, but are the first people to chew someone up over their possessions and looks. How hypocritical are we? We claim to be above the superficial. We talk the good talk. But I guarantee that as quickly as we can say to someone's face that intellect and character are important, we can also go behind their back and criticize their hair and clothing. We are our own worst enemies. And when we bite and bite and bite at each other, soon we will destroy each other.

It has to stop.

So here's your challenge. And it has a little twist in it to help keep the credit belonging to HIM.

Every day this week, you are to go out of your way and do something nice for someone else. It could be as simple as holding a door open or walking someone's grocery cart to the cart corral. It could be as elaborate as putting some cash in an envelope for someone who is particularly financially strapped or sending your pastor and his wife a gift card to a restaurant that would be normally out of their price range.. After you do the nice thing, come back here and let us know what it was.

Here's the twist. You can't tell anyone about it verbally. Not a SOUL. The comments about the good deed must be posted as anonymous. This will keep us from getting the credit. It's not about us. It's about Him. It's about doing what He has commanded us to do and love our neighbors. Posting an anonymous comment will also give someone a good idea about what they can do. Go ahead and copy something that someone else has done.

Feel free to link back to this post on your blog. Let's see how many people we can get to participate in this. Can you imagine the blessings that will come from this?

Now go and let's see what you can do in His name.

Seriously?

2009-03-14T22:30:00.003-05:00

I took this picture at an Exxon gas station in Athens, AL yesterday.

The most shocking part to me is that they spelled "receipt" correctly, but not "available."

And is it wrong that as SOON as I saw the sign, I quickly grabbed my camera and thought, "I have GOT to blog about this!"?

All for you, bloggy peeps. I'm here to serve.

Confession Time.

2009-03-11T16:29:00.002-05:00

I have a love/hate relationship with my feet.

The "love" part is that they look like my dad's feet and I adore my dad.

The "hate" part is that they look like my dad's feet. Man feet on a girl = not cute.

I don't like to draw attention to my feet. I never EVER polish my toenails. I hate HATE someone touching my feet. I have never gotten a pedicure (much to the astonishment of ...um... every girl I know). My toenails are teeny and don't grow and look ridiculous with polish on them.

Fussing over my feet is just something I wasn't created to do. But it is sad to be a girl in the south and not be able to wear cute YellowBox flip flops proudly.

And I have been sad.

Until last week.

And I can't even believe I'm blogging about this for all humanity to see.

Mary, you will be proud of me.

Here goes.

I got acrylic nails put on my toes and then had a full out pedicure. Yes, it can be done.

Y'all.

I have pretty feet for the first time in my whole entire life! My toenails are pretty and shapely (weird to call toenails shapely?) and painted RED (I haven't had painted toenails for my entire adult life) and look pretty in flip flops! I find myself bumping into things when I walk around because I am looking down to marvel at the prettiness of my feet!

I can't even get believe it.

Now my feet don't look so much like my dad's, but I'll take pretty feet over man feet any day of the week.

Last Saturday was my first "wear flip flops out of the house for people to see" experience when I went to my daughter's softball game. The weather was warm, the sun was shining, and I got a LOVELY flip flop tan.

But I don't even care.

Because I have cute girl feet.

Peace Out, February

2009-03-06T08:50:00.002-06:00

I'm not sad that February 09 is over. Between the extreme temperature fluctuations (we still had a trace of SNOW in my bushes Wednesday and my oldest daughter is wearing shorts and a t-shirt to school today, a mere 2 days later), the colds, a death in the family, the stomach viruses, and a back injury, I'm glad it's gone. SEE YA.

No offense to all the February fans out there, but this one has been ANNOYING.

So today I'm declaring that March is my favorite month. Except for this coming Sunday when our clocks will get set forward an hour meaning that my kids will go to bed when it's still daylight outside. And I will lose an hour of sleep. And I tend to frown upon sleep loss. Call me crazy.

My neighbor and I were discussing "daylight savings time" yesterday. It just seems weird that people can manipulate time like that. And it's even more bizarre that some cities & states like Hawaii, parts of Indiana, & Arizona (excluding the Navajo Nation) choose NOT to participate in it. How can you choose NOT to participate in time? Tait and Camille have their "bewitching hour" at about 5:30 every night. Can I just declare that 5:30 doesn't exist anymore?

So here's my question. Since Daylight Savings Time's beginning in the early 1900's, and considering all the observances of it since then, and counting all the people who choose NOT to observe it, WHAT TIME IS IT REALLY? For all you know, it really might be tomorrow.

Whoa.

Think about it.

:)

Well, I Had Good Intentions

2009-03-02T23:26:00.004-06:00

I had every intention of writing a post about tonight's Bachelor finale-ish (because tomorrow is the ACTUAL end in what they're calling the After the Final Rose PART 2 - OH THE DRAMA NEVER STOPS!), but I'm too busy laughing at Sophie's post. So go read it. Here.

Some things just can't be improved upon.

Hat's off, Sophie. Well done.

SNOW!

2009-03-01T23:00:00.004-06:00

I went out of town this weekend on a beach trip with some friends. We had SUCH a good time.

Wanna know what we did?

Nothing. Nada. We rebuked all schedules and didn't look at the clocks. It was 3 days of unscheduled relaxation. Wonderful. We all had massages on Saturday, which was great, except for Miss Chatty Masseuse that didn't close her mouth for the entire 80 minute massage. It felt great, but wasn't the "so relaxing I could fall asleep" experience I was going for.

Then we decided to come home early because a gigantic winter storm was supposed to hit Alabama and blanket us with 4-8 inches of snow. You know how I feel about a snow forecast in Alabama.

But this time, Mr. Meteorologist was RIGHT!

What a beautiful blessing! Thank you, Lord! We had a ball playing in the snow.

And note to self: buy waterproof gloves for myself and the kids. Our cute, cloth gloves didn't do the trick today.

Have a great Monday!

This Post Is Intended To Make You Jealous.

2009-02-25T08:26:00.002-06:00

I the spirit of "It's February and we're tired of the cold and today it's raining which makes it even more gloomy" I thought I'd share with you my weekend plans.

I'm going to the beach, y'all.

Cue: groaning and gnashing of teeth from all my bloggy peeps.

My neighbor, Michelle, has one of those "Husbands Who Hunt." He spends every single weekend from October - February at a quaint little hunting lodge with several other guys who love killing Bambi's mother. They leave on Friday and come home late Saturday night or Sunday. Every. Week.

So due to the blessed event called "Hunting Season is Over" she has invited a few friends down to their beach house for some much needed (and deserved) girl time.

So our men are holding down the fort at home while we head to the beach for 3 glorious days.

And let me add. There will be a Spa day involved. There will also be plenty of chocolate and girly movie watching and I'm sure some partaking of some fine Chardonnay. We are also very close to a FAB outlet mall. Can I get an Amen?

The hunting? I don't get it.

Girls weekend at the beach? I SO get it.

Can You Help A Sista Out?

2009-02-22T12:55:00.002-06:00

Ok, peeps. I need your help.

Since the good ole economy is camping out in the toilet lately therefore forcing Spencer and I to be more frugal with the dollar, I am looking for some good, cheap, crock pot dinner recipes.

And I mean ANY recipe. Because my entire crock pot repertoire consists of 2 things. Queso and my mother-in-law's pot roast.

I'm not saying anything is wrong with that, but it definitely leaves me hanging for the other 5 days in the week....

Not to mention that I have a serious case of "oh my goodness it's 5:30 and I haven't even thought about dinner" itis. I think the occasional crock pot dinner will help with my planning ahead skillz.

I do subscribe to a website called E-Mealz. I have a button in my side bar that will take you there. It's really cool. They plan weekly menus for you and give you an itemized grocery list to the grocery store of your choosing. They also include ingredients that are on sale that week at your grocery store. And it's only 5 bucks a month. I don't like everything they plan on my weekly menus, but I have found some really good recipes that are easy to make. Anything that makes mealtime easier definitely gets my stamp of approval. You can go to their site and see an example menu. Click on that button and mosey on over there.

So be a sweetheart and please comment back with any crock pot recipes that your family likes.

Much obliged.

We Have A Date

2009-02-19T16:21:00.005-06:00

I've been blogging now for over a year. The world of Bloggyville is an interesting community - full of joys, sorrows, amazing new friendships, and a glimpse into total strangers' lives. Before I was a blogger, I lived my happy little life in my happy little house with my happy little family. Recently, as my blog is growing a little bit and as I'm meeting new people online (especially through Twitter), I am hearing more and more stories about parents who have sick kids. These stories are heart wrenching, inspiring, and leave me in awe of the people who are living them. Some kids have been sick and have gotten well, like Harper. Some kids have been sick and are now with The Father in heaven, like Audrey Caroline and Cora. Some kids are still fighting. A lot of kids are still fighting.

One thing that I've noticed that seems to be a common denominator amongst these families is their faith. They have a trust in Jesus that exceeds comprehension in a lot of ways. Their babies are fighting for, and sometimes losing, their lives.

And I can't help but think of my 3 year old daughter, Tait. Tait has Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome, which I blogged about here. Because BWS puts her at an increased risk for certain abdominal cancers, she is tested for these cancers every 3 months. I take my little girl to a hospital where they draw her blood and do an abdominal ultrasound on her. They check levels and look for masses.

And it scares me to death every single time we go. Because having your baby tested for cancer is hard. HARD.

And the more we go through this, the more I am reminded of something Beth Moore talks about a lot. Fear. She says that when the enemy finds out what your fear is, he will threaten you with it. My fear is that something will happen to Spencer or one of the girls. That fear has been heightened lately and I'm not sure why. Seriously, is there a mom who doesn't fear that something bad will happen to their family? I have to make a choice to trust HIM for her safety. I know that my God is good and that He is faithful. He has carried people through having a sick child and has carried people through the loss of a child. He will carry us through her tests.

Even though I say that and honestly believe it in my heart, the fear of the possibility that one of those tests could come back bad is sometimes overwhelming. Trusting Him even with the very life of your child isn't easy. As a mom, I want to know with all certainty that she will live till she's 100. I pray every single morning for a faith and a trust that I see in Cora's parents. And Audrey's parents. And Harper's parents.

Then I received an email this week from the nurse that schedules Tait's testing. Because she will be 4 in July, she only has to have her blood work done one more time. May 4, 2009. This date marks a milestone in a BWS kid's life.

I saw this date as a sign from above. I felt like God was reassuring me that He is in control. He knows her name. He loves her. He has her in the palm of His hand. He wants me to trust Him that either she will be okay, or that I will be okay with whatever we are given. It's a sobering thought but it really puts Faith to the test.

Harpers parents, Cora's parents, and Audrey's parents were tested. And their God proved faithful. He is faithful. He is just. He is worthy of all glory and honor. Read their blogs and know their stories. They have made my faith stronger. Their children have shown the face of God to the world. They did their jobs well.

We Don't Need No Stinkin Roses

2009-02-14T15:50:00.003-06:00

Having 3 small children has put a small damper on Spencer and my Valentine plans. It seems that we always have babysitters who are cute and precious, which means they generally have BOYFRIENDS and don't want to spend their Valentine's Day at my house watching my kids while Spencer and I go out. And since it's illegal for them to stay home alone (just kidding, mom, I would never leave them home alone), we usually plan our Valentine festivities after they have gone to bed. Which means we cook and eat dinner after 8:30 PM. Romantic, I know. Plus, neither of us are all about the elaborate meals out at fancy restaurants while fighting the ridiculous crowds who have made reservations weeks in advance and spending what should be an illegal amount of money on flowers that will be 1/10 the price in two days. I mean, in case you haven't noticed, the economy is in a sad place right now which is negatively affecting my bank account and I would like for that to stop ASAP. Thankyouverymuch.

But you know what?

I wouldn't change it. I love spending time at home with my man. I love my girls and I love how they love their daddy. When I watch him get all smitten with them, I absolutely fall apart. Amanda, you are in for a FUN ride with your new little girl. There's just something about daddies and their little girls.

So, tonight, we are making a steak dinner at home. We are eating it on a candlelit table and drinking sparkling grape juice from plastic champagne flutes. All of us. I pray every day for my daughters' future husbands. I also want to show them what to look for when the time comes for them to start dating (in about 45 years...right, honey?). What better blueprint for them to follow than their own Daddy? And since his heart seeks The Father daily, they are in really good hands.

And he's my Valentine. And I love him to stinkin death.

I Apologize For All The Randomness

2009-02-11T08:24:00.003-06:00

I've been a little incognito for the past few days.

Let's just say it's been a WEEKEND.

But I'm back and just have a few things to go over.

First, let's give a Praise to the dear Lord above. CAMILLE MADE IT THROUGH AN ENTIRE SERVICE IN THE NURSERY! I was so shocked at the end of the service that we hadn't been called out that I'm pretty sure I didn't hear much of what was said.
Wait, actually that's not 100% true. What I should've said was WE DIDN'T GET CALLED OUT OF CHURCH AT ALL SUNDAY! Because she did get a little upset so the Children's Minister (GOD BLESS HER BONES) took her for a walk and distracted her till the end of the service. But the result was the same. We got to stay in church. That's the first time in over a year that Spencer and I have sat through an entire service together. SUCH a blessing. My friend, Fran sent me a Twitter message that said "Well, my goodness....I just stood right here in my kitchen and gave God a handclap!!!" That pretty much sums up how we were feeling after church.

Second, Have you noticed that most of my posts as of late have been in list form? Have I ever mentioned that I'm a compulsive list maker? You should see the lists I make when I'm packing to go out of town. They should be published. My dad is nodding his head right now as he reads this. I have an app on my iPhone that's called Zenbe Lists. You make a list and it allows you to put a little check beside it when it's completed and it moves to the bottom of the list. I cannot even tell you how happy this app makes me.

Third, I want to like American Idol right now, but I just can't. I don't like it usually until Hollywood Week is over. Probably because of ALL THE DRAMA. Let's just say right now that TATIANA MUST GO. Amen.

Fourth, Today Tait got to take her Valentines to school to pass out to her classmates. They have little bags hanging in the room and she gets to put her Valentines in each child's bag. SHE IS SO EXCITED! As a former teacher, I can testify that Valentine's Day is more fun than Christmas to the kids. It was the one party that I didn't allow parents to come to. I tried to keep it low key because we were always in the middle of SAT practice. Valentine's Day can get waaaayyyy out of hand. It was fun to see the excitement in my 3-year-old even though she really doesn't understand what Valentine's Day is. Mary Emma gets to take hers to school Friday and I get to go to her party where the theme is "I Love Reading." They get to wear their pj's to school - which opens up a whole new issue as we have to find the cutest, coolest pj's ever. I'm hoping the Hannah Montana ones that she got for Christmas will do.

Fifth, I've just discovered Tweetdeck. I can thank Gayle for originally telling me about it - but at the time, my computer wouldn't load the program. Last night it worked and my Twitter life will never be the same again. Just what I need, more time to play on the computer.

Sixth, Spencer and I have been on a 2 year long struggle with what church to go to. We are members of a church that we love, but due to nursery/Camille issues, we haven't been able to really get involved. I a church with 4000 members, getting involved is crucial. Plus the pastor's teaching style is right up my alley, but not so much Spencer's. He BRINGS IT every Sunday. He's brilliant and very deep. So we started visiting another church. It's also fantastic, HUGE (it has its own Starbucks in the lobby), and due to Camille/nursery issues, we haven't been able to get very involved there, either. This pastor, however, focuses his sermons towards unbelievers. He is entertaining and funny and very easy to listen to. His sermons, however, don't challenge you or lead to any real spiritual growth. His "deep" sermons are on Wednesday nights and I've heard they're incredible, but again, back to the Camille/nursery dilemma. So some friends (thanks Grant/Christy & Chris/Brooke) invited us to another church. This church is much smaller (about 700 members) and relatively new. The pastor started the church with 8 members meeting in a classroom at an elementary school. 3 years later, they are growing out of their brand new building. The pastor is an amazing Precept Bible teacher and due to the smaller size, please refer to point #1 above. We are excited about getting involved and are so grateful that the Lord has led us here. It's a perfect match for Spencer AND me. The kids love it. And God is working in that place in ways that I want to stick around and be involved with. It's gonna be fun to watch.

Ok, me and my Zenbe list are heading to Target. My iron BIT THE DUST yesterday. I actually witnessed the death of an iron, complete with funny noises, sputtering, smoke, then poof - it was gone. My mom, who is OCD when it comes to ironing, will be pleased to know that I'm getting a new iron.

Here's a new-ish pic of the girls. I have no real reason for posting it except I feel that it is an ACCOMPLISHMENT to get them all smiling at the camera at the same time. So enjoy!

Update....

2009-02-06T10:24:00.003-06:00

I'm headed out today for the visitation and the funeral. Please say an extra prayer for my Aunt Betty and Uncle Larry as well as Michelle's husband, Sam. Today at 4:00 will be the first time they will see Michelle. I can't imagine.

People shouldn't have to bury their children. Lord, have mercy.

Need Your Prayers

2009-02-04T17:27:00.002-06:00

Hey, my bloggy friends.

My family had an unexpected tragedy last night. My cousin, Michelle, who is 30 years old, passed away. We don't know what happened. She had been sick with the same upper respiratory junk that everyone seems to have. She was at a friend's house and laid down to take a nap. Later when the friend went to wake her up, she was gone. Understandably, her parents, Betty & Larry, (my aunt & uncle) are devastated. Betty is my dad's older sister. Also, she was married to Sam, who is also devastated. We are all in shock.

Please keep my family in your prayers. Especially Betty, Larry, Sam, and Michelle's brother, Daniel. We don't know any funeral arrangements yet, but I also ask for your prayers, as we will all be traveling to Atlanta for the funeral.

Thanks and please know how much I love and appreciate all of you.

My 25 Random Things

2009-01-30T10:08:00.002-06:00

I've been tagged like umpteen times on Facebook to declare to the world what the top 25 random things about myself are. Notice I said the top 25. Because there are waaaayyyy more than 25 random things that I could tell you about. In fact, I have before. But I'll restrain myself. You're welcome.

Inga, Melanie, and Gayle, this is especially for you.

1. I hate warm fruit. This includes pies, cobblers, fruit flavored cakes, and toppings on perfectly good stuff (ie, please don't ruin a cheesecake by throwing some cheeries on it. Ew.). I'll eat fruit all day long, but I want it just the way God made it.

2. I don't shower every day. Sorry to break it to you. Just don't have the time.

3. I really REALLY want to play the guitar. However, I'm beginning to realize that some fingers just aren't made for that kind of stuff. Namely mine. An F chord is virtually impossible. My fingers just aren't long enough.

4. Some of my closets friends in the world are blog people. I have only seen some of them (in real life) once and have never met others face to face. But I would drop everything and go to them in case of a crisis or a major joy and I know they would do the same for me.

5. I hate more than anything to clean up the kitchen. I would rather go to the dentist. (and that's saying a LOT)

6. I have tried to like tv shows and movies that have a very quirky, silly kind of humor, but I just don't like them. This includes The Office (I'm ducking - please don't throw anything at me), Elf (again, ducking), Scrubs, & House. I do find certain lines in The Office funny, but the whole show kinda drives me nuts.

7. I would rather be beat up than go see a Horror movie.

8. I have no sympathy, NONE, for whining.

9. Same goes with people who feel entitled to things even though they have done nothing to deserve them and haven't worked for them.

10.I have never been someone to fight over a boy. I would've been a HORRIBLE contestant on the Bachelor. I would've, however, fought for my man. He's worth fighting for.

11. I wish Stacy and Clinton from What Not To Wear would come and kidnap me and make over my wardrobe. Oh, and the five grand they give you to buy clothes with would be nice, too.

12. I wore brand new boots to the Travis Cottrell CD recording last weekend and my feet still haven't fully recovered.

13. Oh my gosh, I'm only on #13?

14. There are usually piles of clean, folded laundry in my bedroom that need to get put away.

15. Can't promise anything on the "putting the laundry away" part.

16. My middle daughter, Tait, talks CONSTANTLY at home. But her teachers at school say she never opens her mouth. I think I'm gonna video her so they know I'm not lying when I tell them that she really CAN talk a lot.

17. I just put Bandaids on Tait and Camille even though they didn't have an injury. They just wanted one.

18. Of course, Camille, who is dern hard-headed, immediately wanted hers off.

19. Of course, Tait, who is the quintessential rule follower, immediately tattled on her for taking her Bandaid off.

20. When Mary Emma was in kindergarten, she told me one morning that her tummy hurt. I gave her a swig of Pepto and sent her out the door telling her "you'll feel better, I promise!" About an hour later, I got a call from the school nurse saying that she had thrown up all over the computer lab. I still feel guilty about that.

21. I pray for my future sons-in-law every single day. Cause Lord knows the one who marries Camille is gonna need it! ;)

22. I am deathly afraid of stinging bugs. I will run and scream if a wasp comes near me.

23. I have 2 big fears. One is to crash in an airplane and the other is to drown. If I had been on the airplane that crashed in the Hudson, I would've had a heart attack.

24. I have cooked several things from The Pioneer Woman's recipe collection. Every single one of them have been EXCELLENT. Most recently was "The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever." And her directions are spot on. Can't wait for her cookbook to get published.

25. I'm still holding out hope that Reba is gonna call me and ask me to be her BFF. It will happen. You watch.

Ok, now I'm supposed to tag people. However, I'm not going to. If you're having an "I can't think of anything to blog about" day, then feel free to make your list.

I hope you've enjoyed reading - now you may continue with your day. You're welcome.

Still LOST, But Enjoying It.

2009-01-28T23:25:00.002-06:00

M'kay. Here's my thoughts on LOST tonight.

1. I take back what I said about Daniel being one of my faves. He's kinda creeping me out. And I'm not so sure he's not a bad guy.

2. Is it REALLY safe to hang a hydrogen bomb from a rickety tower and a rusty chain? I think not.

3. My mom made me take Latin in 9th and 10th grade. She said it would help me with my English. Tonight when The Others spoke Latin to each other, I actually recognized a few words. Maybe Latin wasn't a total waste of time.

4. Desmond's kid is named Charlie. AWWWWW! I'm kinda choked up about that one!

5. Charles Whidmore is the antichrist. That's all about that.

6. I flounder between "John Locke is a bad guy" and "John Locke is a good guy" every week. Tonight I'm leaning toward "good guy."

7. Poor Charlotte is a goner. However, that's what we thought about Claire, John, and Jen. I wonder if Charlie & Ana Lucia really aren't dead because that would ROCK.

8. I see bad things in the future for Penni and baby Charlie. Because don't even think that Charles Whidmore didn't follow Desmond back to the houseboat.

9. I totally want a houseboat. Except for my kids would live 24/7 in lifejackets and I don't think that would be too comfy for them.

10. Richard's eyes are fantastic. I'm starting to think it isn't eyeliner. I think he just has fab lashes. And I guarantee that his role in the whole LOST saga is far more important than I think it is.

11. DANIEL'S MOM IS IN LA WHICH MEANS SHE'S THE SCARY WHITE HAIRED WOMAN! The woman in the bed looked like the woman in the picture that Desmond found in the attic at Oxford. You know, the one with Daniel. Thoughts on her??

12. Still thinking about the Latin thing. I'm pretty sure it was a total waste of time.

Your thoughts? Adam, what did ya think? FYI, Adam is my brother and leaves fantastic comments about stuff like this.

This Part of the Day Really Made Me Happy

2009-01-27T17:18:00.003-06:00

Yep, that was a fun moment.

And please check out her coat. Have mercy.

I Wish There Were Enough Words...

2009-01-26T10:33:00.004-06:00

This weekend, I went to Atlanta for the recording of Travis Cottrell's new album. I was meeting up with several friends who I have met thanks to the LPM blog and was planning on having a fun weekend. Little did I know how fun.

Ok. Now you know where I was, which means that it's time for me to attempt to coherently put together sentences that could possibly describe the awesomeness of the weekend. I'm on an"information overload / sleep deprivation / I witnessed Heaven on earth / I laughed so much that I'm sore today / I have wonderful, amazing friends" kind of high.

So here are some details.

Saturday night was a fantastic Italian dinner (with a cutie pie waiter named Floyd and a overly grumpy manager who wouldn't let us switch tables, pull up a chair to our existing table, etc.). Then it was back to the hotel for some deep down laughter. You know, the kind of laughter that most people don't do that often, but when you get a chance to, you realize how much you love it and how sore your stomach muscles are afterwards.

Sunday was filled with 2 church services back to back at the largest church I have ever been inside of in my entire lifetime. FBC Woodstock, you did not disappoint. After the services, we went to a room where we were having a catered lunch (yum). There was also a chocolate fountain. Pause for a moment of silence.

...

K. As we were sitting and eating lunch, we were surprised by a very special person, especially to all of us. Her name is Beth Moore. You might have heard of her before. She hung out with us for about 30 minutes before her jam slam packed schedule sent her elsewhere. It was an amazing blessing to get to visit with her for a little while.

After the lunch, we all flocked back to the ginormous sanctuary for the concert - which was the reason we were there. Doors opened, I got a FRONT ROW SEAT (yesssssss!), and the concert began.

Travis Cottrell, along with his band and praise team were joined by the FBCW choir (about 400 members) and orchestra.

Y'all.

They BROUGHT IT. They were recording the concert for CD and DVD, so there were lights and power point shows and Travis wearing makeup. They sang 15 songs. Most of them were brand new, a few of them were familiar (Jesus Saves, In Christ Alone, Mercy Seat), and some were new orchestrations of old faves - my favorite being a ROCK version of Victory in Jesus. The choir was amazing. We were worshipping and started to forget the zillion cameras and Travis in makeup. Then, Angela Cruz, one of Travis' Praise Team members, sang Mercy Seat. The Holy Spirit was already very evident throughout the concert. But during that particular song, the mood changed. We got a glimpse of heaven. From that point forward, the level of worship intensified times 10. It.Was.Awesome. Travis, if you and your make-up wearing self happen to read this, THANK YOU. Job well done, my friend. The Siestas were VERY proud of our Miesta. I pre-ordered the CD and DVD and will now sit on pins and needles until they are shipped to my house sometime in the unknown future. I also have told 2 friends and both of my parents that they WILL BE buying the CD when it comes out. I will be your unofficial marketing director because I am making it my mission to get this CD out to as many people as I can. It's gonna be that good and He will receive so much glory through it.

Gayle (my roommate and travel companion for the weekend) and I left after the concert and headed straight home. My level of tired today is unprecedented. Whoa I'm going to bed early tonight.

To my Siestas, Fran, Mary, Kim, Deborah, Melanie, Patty, Stephanie, Nesha, Lavonda, Gayle, Sheryl (Cheryl?), Nikki, Tammy, Tammy - aka Inga :), Lisa, Deedra, Charlotte, Abby (even though you weren't technically here - we still had Stick Abby), Sophie, Melanie, and Melissa I adore you. Your friendship means the world to me. I am a better person because of your example, your guidance, your hilarity, and your love for our Father. I hope we can hang out soon. I hope we can all go to the beach together this summer. And I SO hope we are all neighbors in Heaven. Because CAN YOU IMAGINE ALL THE LAUGHING FOR ETERNITY!?!? Sweet.

I'm Kinda LOST

2009-01-21T23:40:00.003-06:00

Ok, I was able (thanks to the good ole DVR) to watch LOST tonight after the girls went to bed. I'd like to pause for a moment and give the inventors of the DVR a handclap and a fist pump. You have changed my TV watching life.

Ahem.

I'll admit, that there was a lot of "whats" and "huhs" muttered around here. I mean they have now taken what was already a confusing show and have added TIME TRAVEL to it. You know, because we also should have to think about the year and date and the city and the country while we juggle smoke monsters and polar bears and horses in the jungle and disappearing islands in our minds.

I'm not sure I'm that smart. I have noticed a significant headache since I watched LOST tonight. It's either that or the ridiculous head cold I'm sportin' right now.

Anyhoo, here are some of my favorite parts / "huh?" moments.

1. Hurley. I heart him. I love when he was sitting on the boat and they were asking him to lie and he started talking about what they should tell people. Then he said the island disappeared. "Blip." I cracked up.

2. Ben Linus. THE MAN DOESN'T BLINK. That's just weird. Good for Hurley not trusting him. However, he's now in the pokey, so how's he supposed to go back to the invisible island that is stuck in a time warp?

3. Daniel. I didn't particularly like him last season. But I think he might be one of my faves this season. He's got the whole thing figured out. Now if he'd just share his knowledge with, oh, say, me. I'd appreciate it.

4. Sayid killed a dude on a dishwasher. That was flat out skillz right there.

5. I can't figure out the Kate/Aaron/lawyers who want to take her blood scenario. Who are these people and who are sending them?

6. Sun creeped me out tonight. I think she's gonna end up a bad guy working for Whidmore. Mark my words. And I seriously doubt Jin is dead. Or Claire.

7. Shannon made a good point tonight about the creepy white haired woman slash witch slash woman in the dungeon with the computer and the swinging pendulum thingy being Daniel's mom. I don't think it is, because Daniel told Desmond that his mom was at Oxford in England and this lady was in LA? Isn't that where Hurley's parents live? Am I confused?

Probably. For all I know, the LOST creators time warped England to LA and gave Ben special powers to travel between the two places in nanoseconds.

What I DO know is that I'll definitely be tuned in next week. Because it's awesome.

What are your thoughts? What did ya think about tonight's show?

This Historic Day

2009-01-20T09:01:00.003-06:00

I, of course, like many of you, am glued to the TV this morning. Every channel except Noggin (and I totally expect it to go there, too) is broadcasting the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Of course, I have some stuff to say about this day.

I know. Shocker.

First, the crowds in Washington are simply mind boggling. I know MANY people who are there - both Republican and Democrat. And I can't help but feel a little jealous because it's so unbelievably historic. But I'm pretty sure that I'm glad to be here in my warm house since I just checked the weather forecast for DC and it's a balmy 23 degrees there. Mercy.

Second, Michelle Obama's gold dress is absolutely fabulous. And age appropriate. And First Lady-ish. And designed by a no name designer (which is my favorite part). No Vera Wang or Carolina Herrera for her. In fact, I don't even know the lady's name who designed her dress. But I DO know that her business just took off.

Third, did you see Michelle Obama give a gift to Laura Bush when the Obamas got to the White House this morning? This Southern Girl was impressed. Nice touch, Michelle. And then W held Michelle's hand as they walked inside. Presh.

Fourth, as much as I am intrigued with all the history that we are watching today, I still can't help but wish that we were celebrating another historical moment with the first ever female VP. However, we can't dwell on the past. Beth Moore so appropriately wrote a post on her blog this morning about where our hearts and attitudes should be regarding our new President. It's definitely worth reading.

Fifth, I am in the wonderful position of trying to keep Mary Emma from being overly jealous that the Obama girls got to go on stage with the Jonas Brothers. Sheesh.

Sixth, I grew up in Montgomery, AL. Which, if you'll refer back to 10th grade US History, was the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement. Names like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks and George Wallace (who was actually my NEIGHBOR) were commonly spoken. MLK's church was less than a mile from my church. I ate lunch at the table next to George Wallace many many times. I have driven the historic Highway 80 from Selma to Montgomery and crossed the Edmund Pettis Bridge more times than I can count. Believe me, I know the story. But I don't get it. I can't possibly REALLY get it. I am a white girl who was born in the 70s. I wasn't alive during the Civil Rights Movement. I've seen the symbols of it: the museums, the monuments, the statues. But I can't relate to it. However, this morning, as I watched the broadcast of the events in Washington, I saw an elderly black man, in a wheelchair, all bundled up with blankets and coats and a hat. And I realized the importance of today to that man. He gets it. This man has probably been a part of the history that I have only read about. He was most likely denied the right to vote at one point in his life. His parents and grandparents have probably endured more hardships than I will ever comprehend. I'll bet the fact that he is sitting in the cold to watch a black man sworn in as the 44th President of the United States is something he never thought he'd see in his lifetime. The history is overwhelming. And I am so glad to be a witness to it.

We Have "Hydrangeas!!"

2009-01-19T17:23:00.002-06:00

Y'all will not believe this. Seriously. It is snowing down here in the Heart of Dixie.

Now by "snow" I mean about 15 flurries, but if you don't think we didn't bundle up in 47 layers of our warmest clothes and go play in it, you are crazy, my friend.

Then after about 15 minutes of "is this all there is?" and "mommy, I can't even catch the snow on my tongue" kinds of comments, I brought my frozen children inside for a fabulous snack of Goldfish.

And the best part is, the weather people didn't even predict this one. We were totally surprised.

Thank you, Dear Lord, for the snow. We loved it. And I, particularly, appreciate it more today because the kids were already home due to a holiday. Let the regularly scheduled school day tomorrow commence. Mama needs a break from All The Inside Playing because of the cold weather.

Amen.

Update, et al.....

2009-01-17T22:11:00.002-06:00

Yo, peeps. Happy Saturday night. We just had a fantastic steak dinner cooked by Spencer on the Big Green Egg. We were joined by my in-laws (shout out to Nam & Pop) and our dear friend, Bobby. It was a good night.

Potty training update - Tait has it clinched. She's rocking the house. We have had 1 accident in 3 days. Today she wore Daisy Duck panties and told me that Daisy will be sad if she tee teed on her. Hey, whatever works, right? I am still putting her in pull-ups for nap and bedtime, but today she woke up from her nap dry. A few more days of that and we'll try panties at nap. And the most exciting part? Are you ready? (I will go ahead and apologize to those of you who haven't gone through this - you won't fully appreciate what I'm about to tell you....) Tait pooped in the potty. 3 times. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?! She has been absolutely terrified of pooping in the potty. But yesterday, she conquered the fear and hasn't looked back. I'm so stinking proud of her! She's proud of herself, too.
As for Camille? Nope. Nada. Nothing. The potty is NOT her friend. We're in for a long one where she's concerned, I'm afraid.

We're attempting church tomorrow, which means we're attempting to put Camille in the nursery. This has not been a pretty scene in the past. I'll letcha know how it goes. I'm fully prepared to spend the service in the lobby. Just keepin it real, yo. (Do you like the way I kinda went a little Jenny from the Block on you there? Seriously, who am I?)

Back to the Big Green Egg I mentioned at the beginning of this post. If y'all have never eaten food from a Big Green Egg, you are seriously missing out. It cooks the most fantastic food. Tonight we had steaks. We have also cooked sausage, ribs, fish, burgers, hot dogs, drunk chicken (whole chicken with the beer can in it...yum), pizza (when the flame is low and the Egg is hot, it cooks like a brick oven), ham, Boston Butt, kabobs, veggies, ... the list goes on. It is easy to use (I even use it by myself when Spencer's out of town) and the food is amazing. I gave it to Spencer for our 10th anniversary, which was a year ago, and we haven't even taken the cover off of our old grill since then.

Ok, well Spencer's home and he's back to his Guitar Hero Addiction. I guess I should get off Ye Olde Blog and watch him play.

Peace out, bloggy peeps.

Oh, and super importantly, please pray for Scott and Kelly and their newborn daughter Harper. She was born yesterday and is having some pretty significant breathing issues that might get her put on ECMO. It's even more of a shock to them since they had no idea that anything was wrong and were fully expecting a healthy baby girl. Having been through the whole NICU experience (Tait), I can testify that it ain't easy. I can also testify that our God is bigger than any health problems, worries, and scary moments. We can trust that His unfailing love and attention is all over that baby girl and He is taking care of her. You can keep up with updates on Kelly's blog.

Now, for real. Peace out.

If I Don't Pull My Hair Out First

2009-01-16T12:12:00.002-06:00

I'd love to blog right now.

I'd love to write a post that would make you laugh until your sides hurt.

I'd love to be witty and silly and possibly a little thought provoking and spiritual.

However, I'm potty training. Tait. And. Camille. At. The. Same. Time.

Lord, please have mercy and please give me an extra shot of patience.

For the record, Tait is loving it. Camille, however, only wants to wear her Minnie Mouse panties and NOT TAKE THEM OFF. When she sits on the potty, she screams if she has to take her panties off. Um, seriously, darling, the whole point of this little project is NOT to tee tee in the panties. And I'd like for her NOT to tee tee on the Pottery Barn Kids chair that Santa brought. And preferably NOT tee tee on me.

I know. I ask for a lot.

So, for the next couple of days, I'll be pretty occupied by 2 little girls running around in Minnie Mouse panties. I'm praying for patience, very few mopping the floor opportunities, and minor Minnie Mouse panty accidents.

Thankyouverymuch for your thoughts and prayers.

California, Here I Come....Except I Already Went....

2009-01-13T12:38:00.008-06:00

Wassup.

I just got back from San Diego yesterday.

Wait. I don't think I told you that I was going to San Diego. Maybe I did. I have no idea.

I WENT TO SAN DIEGO THIS WEEKEND.

There. We're all caught up.

Anyhoo. I had one crazy fantastic time in Cali. Lemme give a shout out to anyone who might read this blog who might be from San Diego. That place rocks and I want to go back again soon. And your weather is absolutely lovely, especially in the middle of January.

Spencer is out there for a 2 week meeting so we decided that I could go out for the weekend. I flew out on Thursday and came back yesterday. I was able to fly First Class, which was such a treat (thanks to a zillion Sky Miles that hubs has saved up) and really made the 4 1/2 hour flight better. Especially on the flight home, when the guy sitting next to me (I was in the window seat) got on the plane, requested a glass of orange juice, drank said juice, fell asleep, and slept for 4 1/2 hours until the flight attendant asked him to raise his seat back for landing. I'm not even kidding. Surely the dude took some sort of medication that made him sleepy. Good thing I have a bladder o' steel and didn't have to get up or I would've had to climb over Sleeping Beauty. I can't imagine getting wedged in a Coach seat next to him and not being able to move at all.

While we were out there, we went out to the Hotel Del Coronado to visit.

We had heard that the Sunday brunch was the most amazing thing to do there, but at seventy two American dollars per person, and since my entire breakfast repertoire consists of waffles and an occasional strawberry yogurt, we decided against the brunch and instead ate lunch on the pool deck for significantly less cashola.

We also rented a car and took a drive northward up the coast. We spent a whole day in La Jolla, which is one of the prettiest towns I've ever seen.

While there, I saw more Lamborghini's than I have ever seen. They were awesome. We went to "Children's Pool" which is where the seals are.

Real live seals. And not in a theme park. Holler. I love the Pacific Ocean.

We looked for whales, and were told that they could be spotted, but never saw any. Bummer.

We also went to Mount Soledad, which is a Veteran's Memorial on the highest mountain top close to San Diego. You can drive up there and see for miles. It was absolutely beautiful. Here's a panoramic view....

Spencer is out there until Friday, and this is officially the longest he's been away from the kids. To say he's missing them is quite the understatement. We're really ready for him to be home, too. This week, he's pretty much stuck in the hotel 24 hours a day. They have him scheduled in meetings, dinners, etc. from the time he wakes up until he goes back to bed at night. Imagine looking out your hotel balcony and seeing this

and not being able to get out and visit it.

Annoying.

While I was there, I had no access to high speed internet (unless I wanted to pay $14 a day - which i didn't) so I'm behind on my bloggy news. So please, catch me up. What's been going on in your life? I'm back the real world & am ready to reconnect to the real world.

Also, if anyone has any potty training tips for my 3 1/2 year old daughter who has NO INTEREST in using the potty, I'd much appreciate it. It might just be the death of me, Mercy.

Dear Chick-fil-A

2009-01-05T23:37:00.004-06:00

Dear Chick-fil-A,

First, let me start off by saying that I think that you are a fine, upstanding establishment. As a matter of fact, as far as fast-food restaurants go, you consistently rank #1 in my book. I fully support your "closed on Sundays" policy and absolutely adore the cows used in your marketing campaign. I find it not only fascinating, but prize worthy that you invented the chicken sandwich. I mean, I consider it pure genius that someone in the Chick-fil-A history books thought to put chicken on bread. Changed my life. I love that my oldest daughter has called you "Chicken Lay" her entire life, and now that she's old enough to know better, she still chooses to call you that. And Mr. Cathy? I could squeeze his cheeks.

Let's just say that I'm a fan.

However, I feel that your downfall is your drive thru. Today, I experienced your drive thru along with my 3 children. As I sat forever in the drive thru line, I couldn't help but wonder why all of your parking lots are so small and your drive thru lines so crowded. However, I understand that other people are Chick-fil-A fans as well, so I let it slide. I was greeted at the speaker with a pleasant and polite tone. Then I drove to the window. I paid with my debit card. Then came the chaos. Apparently, in order to keep the drive thru line moving, the employees in the window have taken up a "throw everything at you at once" approach to handing me my food. I was given 4 bags, my debit card, and my receipt all at once. Then I was given 3 drinks at once - two were stacked on top of each other. I pulled off with bags spilled in my car, my debit card on the floor, and my blood pressure in the ceiling.

I do understand that I know nothing about the restaurant business, but I feel that I could possibly give you some pointers, if you'll spare me a few moments of your time.
First, in the future, please choose lots to build your restaurants on that are considerably larger than the ones you have now. Your parking lots prove to be a driver's ed course on a consistent basis.
Second, when people pay for their food at the drive thru window, please allow them a few seconds to put their change or debit card back in their wallet before handing them their food. I personally prefer not to have to climb around the floor of my car to find my missing debit card every time I leave your drive thru line.
Third, please realize that most people are seatbelted in their car and cannot reach out the window like your employees can. It's horribly difficult to reach with 2 arms and grasp everything that is being handed to you.
Fourth, please hand out the order one or two items at a time. I'm a mom and can multitask like a mom should, but not even I can juggle 4 bags, 3 drinks, a debit card, and a receipt at the same time.

As always, I am a Chick-fil-A fan and will continue to support your restaurant. It would be a much more enjoyable experience with normal blood pressure.

Thank you, and have a wonderful day.

*****UPDATE*****
I received a comment from a marketing director for Chick-fil-A. Totally blew my mind, too. I guess Ye Little Olde Blog gets more traffic than I thought!
Anyhoo, he was super incredibly nice and said he was contacting the Operator of that restaurant personally. He also got my address to send me some free stuff. Holler. (that was for you, Ginger.) Chick-fil-A is an amazing company and their customer service is top notch. Hats off to them.
And for my non Chick-fil-A blessed friends, aka, Adam, Kathie, and Annie, I requested a Chick-fil-A in your area. I'm pretty sure I have NO pull in that department, but I tried. I don't fully understand an area of the USofA without a Chick-fil-A - it seems communist to me.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...Um...Summer?

2009-01-05T10:43:00.006-06:00

Whoa, we've been busy. Tis the season, right? Sorry for the bloggy absence, but I've been spending a lot of my extra time trying to pull back out the summer clothes that have been neatly tucked away till, you know, summer. If you looked at my laundry, you would think that either I've completely gone mad or I've taken numerous trips from the tropics to the polar regions in the span of 2 weeks. I mean, I don't think I've ever washed sweatshirts and tank tops in the same load. Until now. And it's still happening. Yesterday it was mid 70's and today it's mid 50's. One consistency has been the rain. Mercy, the rain. My poor kids are starting to get that pale look with dark under eye circles because of the lack of UV rays or Vitamin D or something like that.

Lovely.

Anyhoo.

We have had quite a few "firsts" this Christmas!

Starting with....
MY BABY BROTHER GOT ENGAGED!!!
And to clarify, he's not a baby. He's only 2 years younger than I am, but you know what I mean. His fiancee's name is Lindsay and she's awesome. She's a dancer (professionally - she dances in Taye Diggs' company in NYC and just finished up 3 months of dancing at Disney World - I'm not ONE BIT jealous of her...nope...none), a Southern Girl (I truly think the Southern peeps in NYC find a way to connect with each other), a FSU Seminole, and an absolute doll. My girls adore her. Mary Emma has been waiting for Adam to propose so she could officially call her Aunt Lindsay.

Here are some pics of them...

The last picture is of Adam and Lindsay with Minnie Mouse after one of her shows. The red hair is a wig - she is really a blonde - as shown in the first picture. Lindsay loves all things antique and the ring Adam gave her is early 1900's. The diamond is dated somewhere between 1850 and 1900 and the ring is 1920's. It's gorgeous and we are so proud for them.

Second, Mary Emma learned to ride a two-wheeled bike! The training wheels came off! She's 7 1/2, which is a little late to learn to ride a bike, but let me tell you a little about her. She has an unnatural fear of scraping her knees. She has fallen in the driveway in the past, screamed so loud and hard that we have had neighbors come running out of their house. The fear of falling off of a bicycle and scraping her knees far outweighed the joy of riding a bike. Until last week. Spencer took her to the school parking lot, gave her one push, and she never looked back. We are crazy proud of her.

Third, Tait was ALL ABOUT Santa this year.....from a distance. We kept noticing her anxiety level rising on Christmas Eve and finally realized that she thought Santa Claus was coming to her room. Once we assured her that Santa wasn't coming upstairs, she calmed down and went on to sleep. Camille still doesn't fully understand, but I have a feeling that next year is her year. Plus, if Santa did decide to come upstairs and into Camille's room, she'd totally take him down. That kid can hold her own.

Fourth, my parents's house flooded - the rebuild started this morning and should take about a month. In case you don't fully grasp this concept, my parents are rebuilding their brand spanking new 4 day old house. If you feel led to continue to throw up some prayers on their behalf, I know they'd appreciate it.

Fifth, Spencer left this morning for a meeting in San Diego for 12 DAYS. That's 288 hours. 17,280 minutes. 1,036,800 seconds. Nothing like jumping back into the back to school routine like tackling it as a single mom. However, there is an upside. Thursday through Monday, I will be going out there, too, WITHOUT THE KIDS. I'd say that's a good trade-off.

Sixth, I learned that if I purchase these noisemakers for the kids on New Year's Eve

then I'm not allowed to yell at them for running around for HOURS and shaking their little noisy brains out. Whatev.

Seventh and lastly, Spencer gave me photography lessons for our Anniversary. I start tonight. I am STOKED. I know that I will learn about stuff like aperture, shutter speed, focal points, exposure, and calibrating my light meter (aren't you impressed? Don't be - I copied that off the class website - I have no idea what that means) so that I can become photog extraordinaire. The Pioneer Woman ain't got nothin' on me. Before you know it, she'll be inviting me to her fabulous ranch where I can stay at the newly remodeled (and amazing) lodge so that I can give her some photography lessons. And then I'll leave there to go have dinner with Reba.

A girl can dream, right?

In the words of 2 year old Camille, "Peace Out, y'all."

You Have GOT To Be Kidding Me.

2008-12-28T22:47:00.002-06:00

My sweet, wonderful parents decided to move the week of Christmas. Relocate. Sell and buy a new house. Take stuff from one house to the other via moving truck. 2 towns an hour away from each other.

You know, because the week of Christmas isn't busy or anything.

It has been a hectic week and I'm not even the one moving. I know my parents are tired and ready for things to be back to normal.

Not to mention that the house that they left was their dream home. 10 acres, a pond, privacy, huge front porch, 4 wheeler heaven. So their emotions were a little raw about leaving the house.

However, my dad is a pastor and is at a new church which he LOVES. The new town is about an hour closer to us and their new house is new construction. My mom got to pick out everything in the house. They are really excited about the new ministry, house, locations, etc. Just sad about leaving the old house.

They spent their first night in the house Tuesday. Wednesday was Christmas Eve, and they came to my house after their Candlelight Service. They spent Wednesday night and Thursday night with us and went home Friday. They spent most of the day Friday unpacking, mostly in their bedroom and the upstairs bedrooms, and crashed in bed Friday night, exhausted and sore.

At 4:45 Saturday morning, my mom woke to the sound of rain. Their new neighbors had been telling them about a roof leak in their house, so my mom got up to check for leaks. She opened her bedroom door and realized that water was POURING through her ceiling in the den, foyer, kitchen, dining room, and my dad's study. She screamed for my dad who went running upstairs and found a water line broken and water pouring out of the bathroom. There was now 2 inches of water in the downstairs of their house. Dad got the water turned off (can you imagine taking a freezing cold shower at 5:00 am? - Dad said it wasn't pleasant - imagine that) and began grabbing towels, tablecloths, blankets, trash cans, buckets, ANYTHING to stop the water. At 7:00 he called his insurance agent and the builder, who called the plumber. The insurance agent sent a Restoration company to their house to begin the cleanup process. They called me at 8:00 Saturday morning. Talk about feeling helpless. I got on the car and took coffee (mom) and Diet Pepsi (dad). It's all I knew to do.

So to simplify, they will need new carpet/pad/baseboards/possibly sheetrock upstairs. They will need new ceilings, crown moulding, wood floors, paint, light fixtures (water pouring out of the ceiling fans don't bode well for said ceiling fans), baseboards, and sheetrock downstairs.

And their house is less than a week old.

So, if you feel led, I know they'd appreciate your prayers. They are trying HARD to keep their spirits up. It's definitely hard.

Here are specific prayer requests:
1. That the re-build process will be QUICK.
2. That the insurance companies (the plumber's insurance company, the builder's insurance company, and my parents' insurance company) will all get along and at like adults. We all know this is often not the case.
3. That my parents will have a peace about the whole thing. My mom is a "worrier" and doesn't usually go with the flow. My dad is the exact opposite of a worrier and is really laid back - these personalities can clash in stressful situations.
4. That my parents won't be financially accountable for ANY PART of this. No co-pays, deductibles, etc. This was entirely not their responsibility.

Here are some praises already:
1. If this had happened a day earlier when my parents were at my house, the results would've been disastrous. It's a good thing they were home and my mom's a light sleeper.
2. Most of their stuff was still in boxes. The Restoration people moved dry stuff out of wet boxes and repacked them into dry boxes. As far as the unpacking goes, they aren't any further behind than they were before. They just have to wait a while to unpack.
3. My parents bought a new TV on Tuesday. BRAND NEW TV. The last time my parents bought a new TV was probably 1990. This new TV was in the ONE area of the den that stayed dry and is perfectly fine.
4. They have an amazing church family who really cares for their pastor - even though he's the "new guy." They are being wonderful.

I'll keep you updated. It's gonna be a process and will most likely take a while.

I heart you all.

Merry Christmas, Bloggy Peeps!

2008-12-24T13:44:00.003-06:00

From my family to yours, have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful new year.

Let Me Introduce You To Cindy Lou Who

2008-12-23T00:01:00.005-06:00

Mary Emma's school Christmas party was Friday. The entire 2nd Grade has a tradition of transforming the hall into Whoville - in true Grinch fashion. It's like a right of passage for 2nd Graders. Every kid in the school has been through the wonderful world of Whoville, except for the current 5th graders. The year they were in 2nd grade, the teachers decided to scrap Whoville and hold a "Christmas Around the World" themed party. It was a dud and they went back to Grinch the following year. However, the 5th graders feel a little jipped that they didn't experience Whoville in all of its glory.

Anyhoo, the 2nd graders were to dress up in Whoville clothes for the party. Citizens of Whoville characteristically dress very colorfully, with mismatched patterns and prints. It's like "crazy day" during Homecoming Week on steroids.

Mary Emma, in her never ending quest NOT to be outdone, decided to be Cindy Lou Who for the party. Here's when we came up with.

The hair was by far her favorite part of the costume. I told one mom that all possible caution needs to be taken before telling Mary Emma that she gets to dress up as something because the kid will take it to ANOTHER LEVEL. The kid loves the attention and loves to entertain people.

So I guess she's conquered this milestone. She's been to Whoville and back. She achieved Cindy Lou Who hair.

Now we focus on the 2nd Grade Play. An actual play for an actual drama queen. The practicing will begin after the new year and will continue to the performance at the end of the year.

She will get her time on stage. She will shine like the star that she thinks she is. She will practice and talk about it and make up new ways of performing the play that (in her mind) ~~give her the lead role and every speaking part and a microphone and makeup and a fantastic costume and roses and people asking her for her autograph~~ equally and fairly distribute the parts amongst all of the 2nd Graders. And this will go on for the next 5 months.

Have mercy on us all.

Yes, I Gave In And Elfed My Children.

2008-12-18T23:09:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

My Bloggy MoJo Is Seriously In Need Of Help

2008-12-16T10:22:00.004-06:00

Ok, it's been 6 whole days since I've posted anything. I'm sorry. I know there's some things I need to post about (BooMama's Tour of Homes, Siesta Ornament Exchange) but I just can't get into it. And my camera batteries are dead, which makes a photo blog tour rather difficult. I don't think you all want to read me describe my Christmas decorations or the FABULOUSLY WONDERFUL SMELLING pine cone ornament that Kerry sent me, so I'll wait until my camera is alive and running again until I post about those things.

In the meantime, I'll let you know a few of the zillion things we've been up to. I apologize for the boring day to day stuff, but hopefully we'll all look back and laugh at these busy days.....

1. The Great Christmas Tree Crash of 2008.
A few nights ago, I was in the kitchen when I heard a crash then a muffled yell from the den. I looked to find Spencer, who was sitting in the chair, which was now completely covered by a fallen Christmas Tree. He was frantically trying to keep from being buried alive while, at the same time, desperately taking off the nice fragile ornaments and laying them down carefully. And some people say men can't multitask. I beg to differ. I grabbed the tree, which weighs about 736 pounds and tried to lift it off of him. I managed to lift it about 2 inches - just enough for him to slide out and pick it back up. All of this being done while trying to keep 3 barefoot curious girls from coming over to investigate. Because nothing would've made the night better that a trip to the ER for glass removal and stitches in 6 little feet. Oh, the memories. I have no idea why it crashed, which is exactly why I predict that it will happen again. I'll keep you posted.

2. Ny Nephew, Jay's, 3rd Birthday Party
I know a lot of you have cute, adorable members of your family, but I'm gonna go ahead and say that my nephew is the cutest kid on the planet. Here's proof.

See. Told ya. My silly brother-in-law and sister-in-law insist on raising him as an Alabama fan, which immediately causes him to lose 5 cool points, but he's still way over a million. And to top it off, the kid is obsessed with old school Superman, Batman, and Spiderman. Not the new stuff - the old cartoons and comic books. I totally love him to pieces. And his baby brother, Jack, will make his grand entrance into the world sometime in April, which means there will be another perfect nephew added to my family. I. Can't. Wait.

3. Mary Emma's 2nd Grade Christmas Party
The 2nd graders at Mary Emma's school have a HUGE themed Christmas Party . The theme is the Grinch and the entire 2nd Grade hall is decorated like Who-ville. They are supposed to dress like people from Who-ville, which, of course, means Mary Emma will be dressing like Cindy Lou Who. Google her. The hairstyle alone means that we'll be up before the sun Friday morning getting the hair ready. I will definitely be posting pictures of this blessed event. Stay tuned.

4. The Trips
Spencer travels quite often with his company. I travel about once a year (not including short trips to parents' houses, beach vacay in the summer..) and love it. LOVE. IT. Traveling makes me happy. But being a SAHM of 3 kids, it's a logistical nightmare to make it happen. However, in the next 3-4 weeks, I will be traveling 3 times.
This weekend, Spencer and I are traveling to Jackson, MS, for Spencer's best friend's wedding. He's the best man and is really honored to be such a special part of it. It's our 11th wedding anniversary, also, so a weekend away from the kids will be really nice.
The following weekend, we are heading to Atlanta for my father-in-law's 60th birthday. My inlaws, Spencer's brother & his wife (Jay's mom & dad), and Spencer & I are going to spend a few days over there to celebrate.
Then, on Jan 5-16, Spencer is traveling to San Diego for business. Yes, you read that right - 11 days with 3 kids and no break. Mercy. However, he surprised me a couple of weeks ago with plane tickets out there - I will be going the 8-12 to hang out in San Diego - I've never been there and cannot wait. Also, rock on, Sky Miles account, for free first class tickets. What? What? Holler. I think I'll sit criss-cross-applesauce the entire flight just because the seats are big enough to do so.

So let the insane holiday craziness continue. Let my camera batteries charge so I can take pictures of my house and my ornaments.

But most importantly, let me remember Who this season is about. Let me focus my mind and heart and direct my children's hearts toward the Baby Boy. Let it be about Him. Not places, things, parties, and decorations. Let us remember that it's not all about us. Let us remember the proclamation of the Angels - "Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:14

We Have A Chance Of "Hydrangeas" Tomorrow.

2008-12-10T16:51:00.002-06:00

Once again, snow is predicted for my area tomorrow and tomorrow night.

You know how I feel about that.

The meteorologists are treading on thin ice, my friends.

We'll see.....

I Think She Should Become a Lawyer.

2008-12-07T15:03:00.004-06:00

Last night Mary Emma didn't do something that I had asked her twice to do. Nothing big, but definitely one of those "nip it in the bud now or it's going to get worse later" kind of moments. Anyway, I told her that because of it, she was grounded from TV today. When she then pitched a fit about being grounded, she was grounded from TV for another day. Needless to say, the fit stopped.

So this morning, TV restriction commenced. When she fussed (but not too hard because she didn't want the punishment to continue into Tuesday) and didn't get anywhere with it, she changed her strategy.

Welcome to "Mary Emma's Attempt To Get The TV Turned Back On."

Argument #1
"Mommy, Zooboomafoo is on. We are learning about animal habitats in school, so I think Mrs. Story (her teacher) would want me to watch it. I can learn about giraffes, zebras, and monkeys and talk about them in school tomorrow."
Status: Fail.

Argument #2
"Mommy, I don't think I want to be a vet anymore (she has wanted to be a vet for several years now, but today, the desire completely left her). I want to be a Movie Maker, now. So I think I should watch TV so I can get ideas on what movies I'd like to make. I can also watch really closely and see if I can understand how the show was made. Watching TV today will help me become a movie maker."
Status: Fail.

However, I'd like to publicly give her props for trying. I think law school might be something she should think about.

You know, after she finishes the 2nd Grade.

Let It Snow...Please?!

2008-12-04T10:32:00.003-06:00

Earlier this week, the weather people predicted that we were going to get some snow. I mistakenly had on the evening news when my 7 year old was in the room and she heard the word "snow". She went absolutely crazy - which in turn made the little 2 girls equally crazy. They were all running around the house cheering for the "snow" that we were "supposed to get during the night."

Guess what?

We got nothing. Nada. Not a flurry. Not a piece of ice. Just wet, cold rain.

Now, let's be honest. It's cruel to tease a child in ALABAMA with snow. I've only seen snow about 10 times in my life (excluding ski trips, etc. to places like Colorado where it's supposed to snow), so it even makes me excited. I have an ongoing promise with Mary Emma - if it snows during the night, even on a school night, and I see it, I will wake her up and we'll go outside and play.

So far, we haven't ~~been through the torture of~~ had the privilege of playing in the snow at 2 AM.

I think that in places like Alabama (and any other of the tropical states), the weather people should be required to refrain from mentioning snow until they see a flurry with their very own eyes. The possibility of snow should have its own code word that you don't get to know until you are an adult. If the weather people here had mentioned a possibility of...say..."hydrangeas," my kids would've never run around like they were jacked up on caffeine, and my 7 year old would've slept with her blinds closed so she didn't wake up every 3 1/2 minutes to check for snow.

So take note, weather people, snow prediction is a serious, serious business. Especially down here in Alabama. Shape up, please.

Christmas With Kids

2008-12-02T10:21:00.003-06:00

I can't even believe that Christmas is around the corner. Literally. Wow.

2008, you have been a fast little buggar!

And we are yet at another speed bump in the road called "How Much Is Santa Allowed To Bring For Christmas?"

Because the economy was better in the past, and because we were a lot more stupid in the past (can I get a raise of hands of those who were stupid about gift buying for their kids? Anyone?) we Santa has brought entirely too much. On several occasions, the sheer amount of new toys has brought about some twitching and abandoning new toys to play with comfortable old ones, and we have (on more that one occasion) given away toys that have only been played with once or never.

We were so stupid.

Thanks to Ye Olde Economy (which was "officially" reported to be in a recession yesterday....um, yeah, thanks for the update genius economists...I kinda got that on my own), and due in part to us being a little less stupid this year, we have set pretty defined limits on Santa.

I mean, he's a jolly old soul and a merry old man, but he needs BOUNDARIES, people.

This year, the kids are allowed to make their lists for Santa. Mary Emma literally sits in front of the TV and writes down every single thing that comes on every single commercial. Her list is pages long. Tait and Camille are too little to make lists, but Tait is understanding "Santa" for the first time this year. She's 3. Anyway, their lists can have 246 items on them, but Santa chooses the 5 gifts that HE thinks they would love and play with the most. Only 5. They still get to ask for stuff, but they are also still surprised on Christmas morning. They also get one gift from Spencer and I, and one gift from the other 2 sisters. That will make 7 total on Christmas morning. We can also control the budget on these gifts. Mary Emma's list contains some EXPENSIVE stuff that Santa is choosing not to bring this year.

I have to tell you about Tait's "list". She technically doesn't have a list, but she has asked for 2 things. 1. a vacuum 2. a brown baby. A "brown baby" is an African-American baby doll. Now, before any of you get all riled up, this is as innocent and non-racial as can be. A couple of months ago, the girls went to "Family Fun Day" at my dad's church (he's the pastor). They had a bunch of games and you won prizes with each game. At the end of the day, and because the girls were the pastor's grandkids, church members gave them a bunch of leftover prizes. AKA, jackpot for the kids. Most of them were little prizes like temporary tattos, pencils, but one lady gave them the last 3 baby dolls. 2 were Caucasian, 1 was African-American. Tait and Camille got the Caucasian dolls and Mary Emma got the African-American one. Tait absolutely LOVES that doll. She confiscated it from Mary Emma. You can generally find it hidden under the covers in her bed. She calls it "Mary Emma's Brown Baby". Now, remember, she's 3, knows NOTHING about race, and is learning her colors. To her, it's a brown baby and she adores it. So she has asked Santa for her own Brown Baby. The vacuum? No idea where that came from. But every store around here is sold out of play vacuums. Wonderful.

As for grandparents. Lord have mercy. Their only "requirement" is to not overshadow Santa. And for my mom, no toys that require additional rooms to be built onto the house. And I'm not even kidding. Love ya, mom.

I'm curious as to how you handle Christmas. Do you limit Santa or is it a free-for-all? Do you spend equal amounts on each kid? I have a hard time with that because older kids obviously have more expensive toys. I'm sure they'll get to an age where I can spend equal amounts on each of them, but I'm not there yet.

Let me know what you do - I'm interested.

And much less stupid. :)

I Need Africa: Part 2

2008-12-01T13:00:00.002-06:00

I NEED AFRICA MORE THAN AFRICA NEEDS ME

I talked a little last week about Mocha Club's campaign. Well, today is Dec 1 and you can find out how you can help.....

Keep reading.....

Barrett, the brain/super amazing guy behind Mocha Club wrote this....

When I think of Africa, the following images immediately come to mind: Starvation. AIDS. Child soldiers. Genocide. Sex slaves. Orphans. From there, my thoughts naturally turn to how I can help, how I can make a difference. “I am needed here,” I think. “They have so little, and I have so much.” It’s true, there are great tragedies playing out in Africa everyday. There is often a level of suffering here that is unimaginable until you have seen it, and even then it is difficult to believe. But what is even harder is reconciling the challenges that many Africans face with the joy I see in the people. It’s a joy that comes from somewhere I cannot fathom, not within the framework that has been my life to this day. [read more]

Watch this "I Need Africa" video....

Check it out. Think about it. Pray about it. Is it something you want to be onboard with?

I do.

AWOL

2008-11-29T00:14:00.002-06:00

Hey, Peeps.

I'm not lost. I haven't disappeared.

I'm just BUSY.

We travel to both families' homes for Thanksgiving, and then host the same families on Friday and Saturday at our house. Not much time leftover to blog.

However, I wanted to jump on here and wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

You know, since I'm a whole day late.

Punctuality isn't my forte, obviously.

It's also 12:17 am and I'm exhausted. Gotta get some good sleep so I can watch my Tigers play (and hopefully beat) the Tide tomorrow!! It's the biggest day of college football around here. Also, my hubs is an Alabama fan. I am the Auburn fan who is smarter, better educated, and has impeccable taste in universities.

I'm only speaking the truth, people. It needs to be said.

War Eagle.

I Need Africa

2008-11-24T09:32:00.002-06:00

I need Africa.

What a weird title to an normally humorous blog, right?

Stick with me and you'll see what it means.

I was asked my Mocha Club to write about the concept of "I need Africa more than Africa needs me". Mocha Club is a community-based website where members can start a team and invite people to join them in giving $7 a month (the cost of 2 mochas - hence the name "Mocha Club") to support special projects in Africa. Mocha Club's vision is to use ordinary people, who don't have thousands of extra dollars, to make a difference in Africa.

That's a good thing, because I'm a regular joe-schmo, who doesn't have tons of extra cash lying around. I do, however, purchase several mochas per month. And the cost of 2 of them would help fund a seriously important project in Africa.

Seriously, how easy could that be?

Mocha Club's new campaign is called "I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me."

I have been thinking about this concept for a while, as I got ready to write this post. And I realized that I really didn't get it. Which could be a problem if you're supposed to sound purty smart about something.

Then it hit me. I don't get it. That's precisely why I need Africa more than Africa needs me. I have read about the poverty in Africa. I have seen news stories and even a few pictures from friends who have been there. But understanding it first hand? Nope. I don't get it.

But I need to get it. I need to realize that this world isn't made up of pretty neighborhoods, minivans with DVD players, playdates, and a Starbucks on every corner. I need to be able to look beyond my little suburbian world and see the big picture. There is poverty. There is opression. There is suffering.

Why do I need to get it? Because I am commanded to. Jesus doesn't command us to think about the poor. He doesn't command us to feel sympathy for the poor. He commands us to help the poor.

1 John 3:17 "But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help--how can God's love be in that person?"

Do you need Africa? Think about it. Pray about it. Write about it on your blog. Share your thoughts in the comments. On Dec 1, come back here and I'll be telling you more about what Mocha Club is doing to help Africa.

And watch out. Because we won't be just talking about it. We'll actually be doing something about it. It's gonna be cool and you will definitely want to be a part of it.

More Random Stuff I Think About

2008-11-20T23:01:00.004-06:00

I know y'all are just DYING to read some more random thoughts that come out of my head. But as I've explained several times in the past, I'm pretty random.

So here goes.

1. Velveeta. Cheese that doesn't need to be refrigerated just kinda freaks me out. Same goes for Cheese Wiz and those little snack packs of breadsticks and cheese. However, on any given football Saturday, Spencer and I can make some mean queso out of Velveeta, Rotel, and chili. But then, we put the leftovers in the refrigerator. Is that necessary?

2. Target has SHORTS on sale right now. New ones. What's up with that? I'll be sure to skip those tomorrow when the high will be 41 degrees.

3. Thong underwear. My philosophy is "if you have to buy an XL thong, you shouldn't be wearing one." I'm just sayin. Plus, I can't imagine the chaffing.

4. When I get to heaven, there's a few things I'm gonna ask God about. Mosquitoes are one of them. Seriously, what's the purpose of a mosquito?

5. When my family sits down to dinner, it's a GUARANTEE that the phone will ring. You can put money on it.

6. When Reba and I become BFF's, I'm inviting you all over for a party. I will definitely serve queso at that party, but I will not put it in the refrigerator. You know, because of the whole "don't refrigerate it" thing.

7. I am a very good speller. However, the word "restaurant" gets me every time. I cannot spell that stupid word correctly the first time EVER. Annoying. My neighbor/BFF, Michelle, is nodding her head right now, because she already knows about this randomness. And she loves me anyway.

8. Laundry is my kryptonite. I can't seem to get it all done. I really would like to have a few more washing machines and someone on staff at my house to wash, dry, fold, and put away all of my laundry. Anyone know of someone who will do that and not get paid for it? Oh, that's right. I will. Ugh.

9. I want to go horseback riding soon. The last time I rode a horse was in high school and I'm not sure what makes me want to ride, but I'd like to. Anyone have a horse and good liability insurance? Ooo. I bet Reba does.

10. I don't have anything for #10, but as I've said before, I prefer things in even numbers. So I can't end on a 9. The world will stop spinning.

Thankyouverymuch. Have a good Friday.

Man, It's Hot in Here!

2008-11-19T12:35:00.002-06:00

For those of you who have been to my house, you know that Spencer and I keep the house a tad warmer than a meat freezer. We like a cold house. We sleep better. My thermostat is set around 68 degrees 365 days a year. If I get cold, I put on socks and a long-sleeved shirt. I hardly ever EVER adjust the thermostat.

One main reason I like the house so cold is that I grew up with my dad who also likes a cold house. I woke up one winter morning and there was ice forming on the INSIDE of my bedroom window. I would have about 6 blankets on my bed and a cold room and was in pure heaven.

A few Saturdays ago, Spencer and I were sitting in the den and noticed that we were both getting a little warm. So, while we never looked at the thermostat - because we never touch it, we changed clothes into cooler stuff, took off socks, etc. But were still warm and getting hot.

We had both forgotten that Mary Emma got up before us that morning. She is at that heavenly age where she can get herself up, fix herself a bowl of cereal, turn on the TV, and chill out before the little girls get up and we all have to get up. Apparently, she got cold, because this is what we discovered.

Yes, that's the thermostat set a little higher than 95.Degrees.Farenheit.

Um, yeah. No wonder she wasn't cold anymore.

I'm thinking about putting one of those clear lockable boxes on the thermostat like they have in gyms. Maybe that'll keep "Miss Too Smart For My Own Good" from setting the place ablaze again.

Silly kid.

I'd Like To Introduce You to Reba & Kelly, My BFFs.

2008-11-16T21:37:00.009-06:00

I cannot even tell you how forward I have been looking to this past weekend.

Because, as I have unashamedly proclaimed one or eleven times in the past, I am a huge Reba fan. Like whoa. I heart her. One day soon, she's going to realize that she and I would be really good friends and she'll call me to sing backup for her.

I may or may not have a vivid imagination.

I am also a huge Kelly Clarkson fan - and have met her in real life - and she is a PRECIOUS person.

Well, this past Friday, the 2 of them came to my hometown for the 2nd leg of the 2 Worlds 2 Voices tour. I saw the show back in February in Tupelo, MS. It was even better this time. I think they were really comfortable with each other during this leg. It was a 2 hour, intermission free, both artists stayed on stage the whole time, concert. They sang together on most songs, but on the single songs, the other sang backup. I have a feeling that Kelly pretty much looks in the mirror each day and says, "Reba McEntire is singing backup for me. Wow."

That, my friend, is what peeps in the biz-niss would call "making it big."

They also re-worked "Up to the Mountain" and it was even better than before...and I never thought that was possible. But it was church, y'all. It was originally recorded by Patty Griffin and it is a great song. Kelly rocks the house when she sings it.

Opening for Reba/Kelly was Melissa Peterman - AKA Barbra Jean from the REBA show. The mere mention of her name brought about my favorite part of the night when my friend, Annie realized that Melissa Peterman and Barbra Jean were the same person and she got so excited about seeing her FOR REAL that she almost started crying. And this was 5 minutes before curtain, people. She wasn't at her brightest moment. But I laughed until I almost peed.

Then the show. And the songs. And the lights. And REBA!!!! And KELLY! I was catching a glimpse of heaven and I was happppppyyyyyyy.

Here are a few pics from the show - If only you knew the restraint that I showed to keep from posting all of the pictures and crashing your system. You are totally welcome.

How did I get fantastic pics like this? No, I do not have a bang up camera. I had 8th row/center seats. Because I have mad good-seat-getting skillz. Don't believe me? Ask Gayle about our seats in San Antonio. Holler.

In case you were wondering/hadn't figured it out by now, this concert was fantastic and I highly recommend (repeat: HIGHLY RECOMMEND) that you go if they are coming anywhere around you. You will not be disappointed - actually, you will be so surprised that you will like it as much as you did. It's a unique concept and a fabulous night of music.

Then on Saturday, I met up with some fellow bloggers for brunch. I am still not only amazed that I have met people online and am willing to meet them places, but I am mostly astonished that they have become good friends. Like good friends.

This picture was taken by Gayle, which is why she isn't in the picture. The peeps you see are Annie (left), Sophie (left/back), Lora Lynn, and myself. We laughed our heads off and ate some fantastic homemade chips with ranch and fellowshipped like busy women rarely get the chance to do. It was awesome.

Then, Sophie casually mentioned that her sister (who works in "the industry" in Nashville) chatted with Reba a few days ago about coming to Birmingham.

SCREEEEEEEEECH!!!!

Anyone else catch that?

I got a little light headed and saw a few stars and then asked her to repeat herself a few more times. Her. Sister. Had. A. Conversation. With. My. Reba.

icanteventalkaboutitbecauseimightcry.

So, all in all I had the best weekend I've had in a while. Friends, Reba/Kelly, & homemade chips with ranch. Sounds like a fist pump is in order, huh?

Oh, and to top it all off, Camille totally hit it off with Annie. As a matter of fact, I think Annie's new name should be "Annie: Baby Whisperer". It was amazing.

Come back soon, Annie. We all miss you already.

Or I'll come to Nashvegas and we can ~~stalk Reba~~ shop.