I'm Stubborn. I Admit It.

I HATE going to the doctor. It's a lot of trouble to get people to watch the kids, I abhor needles, I don't like germ-infested waiting rooms, I have an issue with that old school scale that that they make you stand on in plain sight of everyone...oh, I could go on and on.

But there comes a point when breathing trumps my dislike of the doctor, so I cave and go.

Actually, that's not the whole truth. I'd still be putting it off if hubby didn't make the appointment, let me sleep in (lawsie, that was nice - especially when every breath was a struggle last night), and wake me up in time to get to the appointment in time, and insist that I go.

I even blew my nose today. 3 times. Y'all. That's sayin' a lot.

So I went to the doctor.

And I have the crud. Officially, I have bronchitis and a sinus infection. But let's face it. I have the crud.

So now I have antibiotics and prescription cough medicine (which I'm excited about, because I think it'll make me sleep like I'm in a coma). And my mom came up to watch the kids while hubby works, so I think I'm gonna get to sleep in again tomorrow. 2 days in a row. I may throw a party in celebration of that.

When I was at the doc today (listening to Trav's Ring The Bells on my iPhone, yes I was), the doc told me that the last time I was in his office was almost a year ago to the date, and I was there for the same crud then, too. So I've about decided that this crud has something to do with Fall allergies, but I don't want to go get tested, because, as I've mentioned before, I abhor needles. So I took my prescriptions, shook the doc's hand, and told him that I'd see him in a year.

But as for now, my main priority is to breathe. And not cough because it hurts.

So now I'll go take my cough medicine. See y'all at noon tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

My friend, Travis, just released a new CD today called Ring the Bells.

Before I continue, let me clarify the word "friend." Travis is my friend. I'm not sure he really knows who I am. But he should, because I'm a nice person and I know BooMama and I love Jesus and I bought his new CD on iTunes. I'm his Facebook friend. Ok, so he has over 1800 Facebook friends. But I'm one of them. I even met him. Once. In a crowd of about 10,000, but I bet I made an impression. Wonder if he remembers me.... So I think we are friends. I'm star struck easily.

Ahem.

Anyhoo, my FRIEND, Travis, released his new Christmas CD today. And it is goooo-ooood.

I consider myself to be a Christmas music mega fan. I got married at Christmas. I listen to Christmas music in my car at the very first hint of cool in the air. I may or may not have played Christmas music in my car/house during months like April. Or June. If I could have a Christmas tree in my house YEAR ROUND I totally would. Love. It.

For the past several years, Point of Grace's "A Christmas Story" album has been my favorite. I have played it so many times that I wore out the CD and had to buy another one.

Trav's, (see, we are on a nickname basis here) CD trumps that one. I've listened to it TWICE today. Of course, I love the old school songs on the CD, but lawsie, "Jesus Saves" made me stand in my den with my hands up this morning. O. My.

Y'all. Go buy this CD today. You can get it in stores or download it on iTunes (my personal fave - you know, instant gratification). Buy one for friends and family. Stick some in stockings. It's that good. And it's Christmas music. And it's my friend Trav.

What more could you ask for?

This Just In....

Tait was dry ALL DAY today. We are in the big battles of potty training (Lord, help us) and today was a break through day. She actually wore big girl panties all day and never had an accident.

Can I get a WOOP WOOP?

Tomorrow, I might tackle actually leaving the house.

Nah.

It's A Boy!

No, I'm not pregnant.

Here's the story.

Almost a year ago, I was feeling a "nudge" towards sponsoring a child somewhere so I started praying and researching. Then I started hearing about the group Compassion International and my interest was peaked. I felt the "nudge" leading me in their direction, but have always been a little skeptical about bogus organizations who pad their wallets while children are still starving. Then I went to Compassion's website and read about them (and about their integrity and their commitment to not only help children physically, but most importantly to tell them about the love of Jesus), and started going through the beginning stages of sponsoring a child thinking I would probably not go through with the whole process - you know, the whole "I'll do it later" mentality.

Then I saw his face. I knew the "I'll do it later" mentality flew right out the window. I had to sponsor him. Right then.



This is my Compassion child. His name is Nevine, he's 14 years old, and lives in Eastern Nairobi, Kenya. Both of his parents have died, and he lives with his stepfather. He lives in a grass hut with a brick floor. He loves school, football (soccer), and swimming.

I knew that God had put us together for a reason. I completed the process and have been his sponsor ever since. I have received 3 letters from him and he is a pretty good writer. He asked us to pray for his school exams coming up. He also told me how much he weighed and asked for the weights of everyone in my family - which made me chuckle, because he definitely doesn't know the American rule - "never ask a woman how much she weighs". He sent me a picture of himself swimming in a nearby river, which is on the refrigerator next to my daughters' pictures.

I knew going into this that the money would help Nevine and his family. I knew I would enjoy reading his letters and learning about Kenya. But I had no idea how blessed I would be through this process. I would love to meet him one day and squeeze his face in person. I don't see a trip to Kenya in my future, but then again, I never saw myself sponsoring a child, either. I've definitely learned that God doesn't make His plans according to my calendar. And because his plan for me and my family include Nevine, I won't ever count out a trip to Africa.

Coming up soon, I'll be volunteering at the Compassion booth at the Michael W. Smith concert in Birmingham on Oct 19. I hope that many many people will hear about Compassion through his concert and that children all over the world will be sponsored because of it.

If you are going to the concert, stop by the booth and say hey! And while you're at it, think and pray about sponsoring a child.

Why, Yes, I'm a Little Quirky. Ok, A Lot Quirky.

My bloggy friend and real life friend Annie wrote a post describing 6 quirky things about herself. Then she challenged her peeps to do the same. Since I'm TOTALLY quirky (not always a good thing) I'm definitely following along.

Ladies and Gentlemen, my quirky list.

Ahem.

1. I count stairs. If I'm walking on a flight of stairs (up or down), I'm counting them. I have 2 flights of stairs in my house - one has 16 stairs and the other has 14 stairs, a landing, then 2 more stairs. If you watch The Amazing Race, one detour last week was to crawl up a huge flight of stairs and then answer a question at the top in order to receive your next clue. The question was, "How many stairs did you just climb?" The guys, of course, hadn't counted and had to start over. I woulda cleaned up on that one.

2. I refuse to blow my nose. Ever. I hate it. I actually think it doesn't help, because on the rare occasion that I have blown my nose, it feels stuffier than before I blew it. My husband knows I'm REALLY sick if I'm resorting to blowing my nose.

3. I hate ketchup and mustard. Actually, I can tolerate mustard, but ketchup grosses me out. I don't like marinara sauce, spaghetti sauce, or tomatoes in stuff (sandwiches, salads, etc.). I, however, love tomatoes plain.

4. I eat M&Ms in even numbers. If I grab a handful of M&Ms out of a dish I will put one back if I have an odd number. But only if the dish is mine at my house. Ok, that's not a true statement. I will put one back anywhere, anytime. I ain't scared.

5. I'm a sucker for all things school supply/office supply related. I have a babysitter who keeps my girls one day a week while I run errands/get haircut/grocery shop/go to doc/sit in my car and listen to something that's not "Dora the Explorer" and I have to make myself avoid an office supply store. When my discipline fails, I spend way too much money in Office Depot and then I kinda feel guilty while I draw pictures with my new 24 pack of multi-colored sharpies. Ok, so maybe I don't feel that guilty because HELLO, it's a 24 pack of multi-colored sharpies.

6. The other day, I bought the most fantastic pair of trouser jeans EVER at Talbots. And they didn't even have to be hemmed, which is saying a lot, because EVERYTHING I own has to be hemmed. Thanks for the short genes, mom & dad. I know that's not a particularly quirky thing, but I thought I'd share the knowledge with all my peeps. You're welcome.

Now, list your quirkiness on your blog and leave me a comment so I can go read them. It's fun to take a breather and laugh at yourself. I know I have chuckled at me today.

Have a fab day.

Yes, Yes, I've Been Slacking.

It's been one whole week since I posted anything. That's a record for me. Sorry about that. Lemme give you a little glimpse into my week.

1. Spencer took a new position within his company. He loved his old job, but the travel took him away from home about 2 nights a week. The new job will allow him to be home more, and is in a division of the company that is looking like where the future of the company is heading. So all in all, it was a great move. There's a "home study" period of time required in the job, so he has been home everyday for 2 weeks. I can't tell you the last time he was home for 2 weeks straight, so the girls and I have really enjoyed spending a lot of time with him.

2. My TiVo was replaced with a new TiVo. Our house has a really complicated home theater system (put in by the family who built the house) that requires an audio visual company to come in to our house to reprogram everything anytime we make a change. According to DirecTv, our old receivers were out of date and needed to be upgraded (for free. Yesssss.) which meant the A/V company had to reprogram our house. It took them 5 whole days. And it's still not 100% done. But for 5 days, I had 3-4 men in my house from 8-5. Annoying? Yes.

3. I found a scorpion in my bathroom. In my bathtub to be precise. I seriously considered selling the house. I hate roaches, because they are dirty and gross, but scorpions are pure evil to me. I think that fear came from the movie Clash of the Titans. I used to watch it when I was a kid. In one scene, tiny scorpions walk through the blood of Medusa and grow to the size of horses. Then Perseus (played by a VERY young Harry Hamlin) has to fight them with a sword. But their stingers kill a few men in the fight. I have chills thinking about it right now. The thought of scorpions make me shudder. Ugh.

4. It's Homecoming tonight for the football team Mary Emma cheers for. Yes, 2nd graders have homecoming. I volunteered (shoot me next I volunteer for something this big) to make posters for the football players. This consisted of making a poster for each boy - 18 of them - to be hung on the fence during the game. I am an artsy/craftsy person, and a perfectionist when it comes to stuff like that, so it has taken me FOREVER to finish these silly things. I finished them last night.

5. Spencer was playing golf Wednesday and threw his back out during a swing. He's an injured man. Nuff said about that. Get what I'm saying?

6. Spencer and I went to the Auburn/Tennessee game Saturday. Without kids. That was awesome. However, Auburn looked horrible. Spencer is an Alabama fan so Auburn's struggles thrilled him to no end. Then we got home in time to watch Alabama KILL Georgia, so his day was pure perfection.

I promise to be more diligent in my blog updating. I'm sure you can all understand a crazy week.

See you all tomorrow with hopefully some more witty stuff....

It's Game Day, But Not For Me.

**First, an update on the Sunday morning church nursery drama....
Camille passed out TWICE within 5 minutes of entering the nursery. Needless to say, we made it through points 1 & 2 of the sermon before we were called out.
Try again next week.
Kudos for these teachers allowing her to pass out twice and not freaking out after the 1st time.**

Today is game day.

Now, for those of you who know me/read this blog, you would think I'm talking about my Auburn Tigers.

Who, by the way, played an awesome game Saturday against LSU, and was 1 first down and 1 good punt away from winning the dang game. And why, in such a close game, did LSU climb one notch in the polls while we dropped 5 spots? Unfair? Uh, yeah. AND, I'm really hoping the Georgia Bulldogs kick butt and take names this coming Saturday against a certain rival school who thinks they're on track to win a national championship just because they've beat 3 lesser teams....

Anyway, this is not about Auburn Game Day. This is about the PeeWee football team that Mary Emma cheers for. For them, it's game day, baby. The guys wear their jerseys to school. The cheerleaders wear their game day shirts to school. Their uniforms are modeled after the high school's uniforms. They have a practice shirt, a game day shirt, a hairbow (this is the South - hairbows are mandatory), a cheerleader uniform, a monogrammed fleece pullover, a turtleneck for cold games, monogrammed head wrap for cold games, leggins, koozie for their waterbottles, pom poms, megaphone, and a monogrammed duffle bag.

Oh yeah, they're in the 2nd Grade.

Don't underestimate the power of pee wee football in the South, my friends. It's serious business.

Here was the main problem this morning.

The game day shirt, that is worn to school on game days, was no where to be found this morning when Mary Emma started to get dressed.

I found it.

In the washing machine. Niiiiice.

So needless to say, to escape the shame and humiliation of going to school on game day wearing something other than the appropriate game day attire, I put it in the dryer. And Mary Emma was late for school. It's a trade off that we had to make. You know, to uphold her responsibilities as a cheerleader. For the "80 pound and under" football team.

And next week is homecoming. The festivities are already being planned. You know, for the 2nd graders. The older girls will be escorted during halftime by a football player. Because we don't want to promote boyfriends/girlfriends in the 2nd Grade (or for the next 20 years, in my mind), our girls will be escorted by their dads. It will be a proud moment for Spencer and a tear filled, picture taking, video taking, chill bump covering moment for me.

Here's my girl, all ready for school, in her game day shirt, smiling just as I asked her to do.


And here's her version of the same picture. She is definitely our First Born drama queen. Agree?