Meeting Jennie Finch

My daughter, Mary Emma, is a HUGE Jennie Finch fan. For those of you who don't know who she is, Jennie Finch is an Olympic Softball pitcher, a current member of the USA Olympic Softball team, and an overall GREAT person. She is a wife, a mom, an athlete, and a GIRL! She loves Jesus and isn't ashamed of her faith. She lives what she talks - and that's a rarity with celebrities these days. When she signs her name, she puts a Christian Fish next to it. She is an inspiration to each girl who meets her.

Last night, the USA Softball Team played an exhibition game against the University of Alabama's Softball team. The game was at the park in my neighborhood. We have been excited about this game for MONTHS. Yesterday when Mary Emma got home from school, she said, "Mommy, Jennie Finch is in my neighborhood." It was all hitting home for her.

We got to the field REALLY early to get good seats. After a while, the USA team arrived to warm-up and take batting practice. Mary Emma was GLUED to the fence looking for Jennie. Then there she was. We even got pretty close so Mary Emma could say hello - she got so overwhelmed that instead of yelling "Hey Jennie" she just sat on Daddy's shoulders and cried.

After the game, each player lined up on the fence to sign autographs. We were about 20th in Jennie's line (the line had about 500 people in it) and she graciously signed, took pictures, smiled, said thank you, etc. to every person that she could get to in the time they allotted her. Mary Emma got her picture made twice and got a USA ball signed. She was wearing a Jennie Finch jersey and really thought she was a celebrity, herself.

We didn't get home until almost 10:00. Mary Emma was exhausted, but soooo happy. She wore the jersey to school today. She wanted her hair in a ponytail "just like Jennie wears hers." She wants to redecorate her room so the pink walls don't clash with the red, white, and blue Jennie Finch posters, pictures, and autographs.

Here's the part that I'm so grateful to Jennie for. We have been talking to Mary Emma a lot lately about being a good sport, how to act like Jesus wants us to act, humility, gratefulness, basically the whole Fruits of the Spirit bit. There were almost 3000 people at the game last night, most of whom came just to see Jennie Finch. She could've been cocky. She could've hid behind the security guards and flaunted her celebrity status. She could've signed autographs quickly, carelessly, and without giving a thought to the person who was freezing while waiting in line to see her. She could've disregarded the fact that EVERYONE there paid money to see her and probably bought a bunch of her merchandise. But she didn't. She smiled. She laughed. She waved. She even took a ball to each team member to get signed and gave it to a little girl who was hit in the back by a batting practice ball. She had no ego. She exemplified the Fruits of the Spirit. She was living proof of the kind of person that we have been talking to Mary Emma about. Her character radiated Jesus.

I have been a softball fan of hers for a while. I love to watch her play. Now I am a Jennie Finch fan. She's awesome.

Oh, and she and her team are gonna SWEEP UP in Beijing at the Olympics. Go USA!

Par-tay, People!!!

Thank you, Big Mama, for this really fun party in Bloggyville.

Loving it.

But also realizing that my fashion prowess (or lack thereof) is pretty humbling...

Here's what I wear...remember I live in Alabama. Unlike some of you, it doesn't get really cold. No need for true winter clothes. Warm-ish will do.

Summer: ("summer" to me means anything above 60 degrees, which is about 10 months out of the year...)
1. Shorts - "nice" shorts have a button and a zipper. "Junky" shorts do not. Those are my shorts categories.
2. T-shirts - mostly Auburn ones.
3. Flip flops - I LOVE These and live in These.

Winter: aka -cool weather
1. Jeans
2. Said t-shirt from "summer" - I might venture out into the long-sleeved variety....
3. Hoodie zip up jacket
4. Said flip flops.

Flip Flops are NOT seasonal, people.

When I'm getting "cute" - meaning I have to dress for something besides staying home with the kids, Gymboree, or going to the ball park, I like stuff like this skirt or these shoes.

Also, if money were no option, I'd SO have these shoes. That red sole is ah-ma-zing. But I'd definitely look like a poser in really cool shoes, because I'd invent some sort of walk to show off the red sole and let everyone know I was wearing Christian Louboutin shoes. I don't think I could truly pull it off....

Doesn't matter - doubt I'll be paying $760 for a pair of shoes anytime during this lifetime....

Well, that's it. That's me. Plain and simple stay-at-home mama girl. No frills.

In other words,

BORING.

Now off to put on junky shorts, t-shirt, and flip flops and head to the ballpark. Nah, my mom is coming in town - will probably wear "nice" shorts.....

New Friends

I love meeting new people. I love talking to them and finding out all that we have in common. For example, I've been reading Lisa's blog for a while then realized we both live in Alabama. Not too far from each other. I've also been reading BooMama's blog (and laughing hysterically at it) and realized we're practically neighbors.

Here's another It's a Small World story.

I took Mary Emma to a dentist appointment today. It's a pediatric dentist, so the waiting room is usually full of moms waiting for their kids. When I walked in today, there were 3 other moms in the room and they were all laughing at the stories one of them was telling. I sat and listened for a minute before I HAD to join in.

I can't sit quietly in a room full of women for long.

If you knew me, you'd agree. I LOVE hearing stories. And I LOVE telling them, too.

Anyway, I started talking to the funny, story-telling mom and formed an instant friendship. Her name is Dawn, and I swear I've known her all my life even though we just met. She has one daughter, is a nurse, and loves Jesus. We talked about Beth Moore (who we both love) and her Bible Studies. We talked about out faith and our walk with Christ. We talked about things in our lives that have been totally God inspired - like her switching jobs
14 days before the entire company went belly up or us meeting a doctor for Tait who just happens to be one of only 4 in the world with this specific specialty. We talked about our kids and how they are like/unlike ourselves. It was awesome and I'm glad that God put us in the same place today.

Her daughter was through before mine was, so as she left, we exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. She is definitely someone I'll keep up with.

Good to meetcha, Dawn.

The Biggest Loser Hits Home

My husband and I are Biggest Loser fans. Love the show. Last season I wanted to be friends with all of the contestants and even had a small desire to have Jillian (the trainer) yell and scream at me. Love it. This season I haven't been as big of a fan. Haven't really had time to sit down and watch it. Haven't gotten as emotionally involved as I have in the past. Until this past week.

The guy that was most recently voted off is named Jay. He and his brother, Mark, were the last surviving "couple" on the ranch. They are born and raised Massachusetts people. They love each other like brothers should. They say things like "cah" for car and "hahd" for hard. The people of Boston would be proud. This Southern girl has to listen hard to understand some of their words. I'm sure they would need an interpreter for my twang, too. God bless America. :) Anyhoo, after a contestant is voted off, the Biggest Loser people give an update on them and let you know how much weight they've lost since being on the show, show their families and how their new healthy lifestyle is changing them, etc. Jay was coordinating a 10K walk/run to support the Beckwith-Wiedemann Children's Foundation. Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome is a rare pediatric disorder that Jay's daughter has. Characteristics are a large tongue, larger than normal height and weight, large birth weight, a higher tendency to develop childhood cancers like Wilm's Tumor and hepatoblastoma, abdominal wall defects, earlobe creases (that's a weird one), low blood sugar, etc. Characteristics in each child vary by degree and the scary part of the Syndrome (the tendency for cancer) is all but outgrown by age 8 or 9. Beckwith-Wiedemann kids are monitored for these cancers very closely. They have blood work done every 6 weeks to check liver function and have abdominal ultrasounds done every 3 months to check for abdominal tumors.

Here's the clincher.

My middle daughter, Tait, has it, too.



It's so rare that I've never met anyone else with it. I've NEVER seen in in any sort of national news. I was floored. My husband was floored. And we were INSTANT Jay fans.

The number of kids who have Beckwith-Wiedemann is 1 in 15,000. That's RARE. To show you how rare, here's a statistic. In the year 2004, 4.1 million kids were born in the United States. Only 274 of them had Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome. My daughter was born in 2005. I'm sure her statistic is very similar.

Wanna read about Beckwith-Wiedemann? Support them? Learn something new today? Visit the website. Beckwith-Wiedemann Children's Foundation.

Please pray for every BWS parent who has to go through cancer screenings for their child every 6 weeks. It's a tense time, but always a peace of mind when the tests come back negative. I know that God has His divine hands on Tait every day. I know he also hears our prayers for her health. He is a just, sovereign God who does all things for good and I trust His every move. I also think He gives us a little extra "wink" every 6 weeks when those tests come back negative.

Oh yeah, go Jay.

Ugh.

I have the flu. 103 fever. Yuck. I'll be back in a couple of days when I feel like doing simple things like opening my eyes.
Nite nite.

My New Favorite Thing

Ok, I admit to living vicariously through my 6 year old. Especially when it comes to clothes and fashion. She loves it, too, and is probably a bigger shoe fan than I am, which is saying a LOT. Anyhoo, we were in Target yesterday and found some Chuck Taylors. And they were pink. And I, er...um...she, had to have them. Check them out HERE. Yes, she wore them today. Yes, she thinks she's a rock star. Yes, I think she's a rock star, too.
I also fully admit that I'd look like a big ole crazy goober if I wore them, so I'll let her be the rock star and I'll sit back and smile at her.
I guess this is a sign that I'm definitely getting old. I can no longer pull off Chuck Taylors.
Boo.

I've Been Tagged

Tracye tagged me. I am a blogger beginner, so I'll see if I can handle this technological challenge.

Here are 10 random things about me...

1. I have always wanted to be an astronaut. If NASA calls tomorrow, I'm outta here.
2. I LOVE to know how a movie or TV show is made. I would be happier watching the behind the scenes footage of a movie than the actual movie.
3. I love to cook (and am pretty good at it) but hate more than anything to clean up the kitchen.
4. I want to hike up HalfDome @ Yosemite National Park.
5. I am super excited at this exact moment because I just figured out how to add a link onto my blog. See the beginning of this post for Example A.
6. I am 33 years old and have never taken a trip or stayed in a hotel all by myself. I will do this for the first time in August when I go to San Antonio for LPL. I am both excited and nervous about it. Mostly excited, though.
7. I have a secret desire to become a famous singer. Actually, what I really want to do is really learn to play my guitar well and jam on stage with someone famous.
8. I am a huge Auburn fan and will have words with anyone who says the SEC isn't the strongest conference in the nation. My husband is a huge Alabama fan. This is what is known as a "mixed marriage" in Alabama. People look at us as though they are anticipating our divorce. Cracks us up.
9. My dad and I want to go to Culinary School at Disney World. That just sounds like heaven to both of us.
10. I am a huge Reba McEntire fan. Think what you want. I don't care.

Ok. Now my next job is to tag 5 people. I might've reached my technological peak for the day with the whole link thing. I'll try and see what I can come up with.

See y'all.