Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Feelings

Excited... that I get to see Eclipse tonight with a good friend. Yes, I am one of those people.
Thankful... that we got Brayden in to see the doctor yesterday instead of today. He woke up with red, swollen eyes, green snot and pointing at his ear fussing. The antibiotics are working though, and I am hopeful he'll be on the right track by the end of the day.
Blessed... that we got a changing table/dresser combo for $25 off of craigslist. It needs new knobs, and perhaps a paint job since I am not crazy about the honey oak finish, but for $25, I am not complaining.
Prayerful... for my good friend and mentor Ann Parkinson as she is trying to get back to Little Rock to be with her daughter Betsy, who was in a terrible car accident yesterday. Betsy is in ICU right now with several head trauma wounds. The brain is not swelling, which is good news, but she is sedated and intubated right now. Please pray for the Parkinson family.
Nervous... as we near the date of our "big" ultrasound.
Blessed... the have a relatively healthy baby boy, an awesome husband and an amazing family.
Thankful... for an awesome God who will take away the nervousness of the ultrasound and who holds me in His hands.
Hungry... which means it's almost time for lunch, so I should probably quit blogging and figure out what baby boy and I are going to eat today.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

18 Weeks & A Sick Baby

Today is 18 weeks into this second pregnancy of mine. I feel absolutely fantastic. Well, other than the fact that I have to pee about twice an hour, it's hard for me to sleep on my stomach now, and I get heartburn if I eat anything that has even the remotest hint of acid in it. Yes, other than that, my pregnancy is going fabulously. I had my 18 week OB appointment. I was taken back within 3 minutes of sitting down, but sat in the exam room for what felt like 30 before being seen. I love my OB. She's 10 weeks post partum from twins. It's fun now that she's had children. We talked today about how this stage of pregnancy is so much fun. Feeling the baby move, having a little bump (although I can only imagine that at 18 weeks she was a bit bigger than I, since she carried two little bundles of joy!). The baby's heartrate was at 144... same as the last appointment. I am thinking this is a bit lower than Brayden's was at this stage, but have to go back and check.

Brayden woke up from his nap today with two gooky eyes. Upon calling our nurseline they advised me to call his pediatrician's office because they think he has pink eye. Lovely! Her advise was to use warm compresses, frequent hand washing and make sure he keeps his hands out of his face. I understand that those things seem necessary, but to a 15 month old, asking him to keep his hands out of his face is like asking someone without legs to walk. It's just not going to happen. I think one of the most frustrating things about infancy is not knowing how to handle illness. They can't TELL you what hurts, itches or burns. But it's obvious something is wrong. And then trying to decide if it's worth going to the doctor.... the great debate! Fortunately it turned out to be a good thing that we decided to go in. While my little man was happy as a lark, waving at the doctors and nurses, walking up and down the hallway, his eye infection was found to be secondary to a DOUBLE EAR INFECTION! Poor baby! I had NO idea. He's slept fine, acted normal, etc. The doc said that if I had let it go he probably would have not slept through the night tonight. We got a round of antibiotics to ward off all of the infection, and hopefully he'll be back to 100% in a few days. I think I honestly caught it early enough to not be in too bad of shape, because as the afternoon wore on it started getting worse. I definitely think if I had waited till tomorrow we'd be telling a different tale as far as Brayden's demeanor goes.

Needless to say I've had a whirlwind of a day today, driving here there and everywhere. I am thankful for a peaceful night of blog designing and tv watching. Oh, and I almost forgot-- we found a dresser/changing table combo on craigslist for $25!!! It needs new knobs and a possible paint job, but we are SO excited to get what we were looking for for so cheap. God definitely provided yet again for our family... I feel SO blessed!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Change of Heart

Perhaps it's because I'm finally consistently able to feel this baby move, but I feel like in the past 2 weeks God is finally softening my heart. If you've not read my blog for long, you might want to go back and read what my initial reaction was when we found out we were pregnant with number two. But feeling this new life kicking inside of me, it makes me kind of giddy. To be honest, I LOVE being pregnant at this stage. I am not miserably uncomfortable, I am definitely looking pregnant and not just flubby fat, and I can feel the baby move, quite possibly one of my favorite things about pregnancy and definitely one of the most miraculous things anyone could experience aside from the actual birth of the child. I am excited about narrowing down name possibilities with Drew, excited about learning what we're having (although I am still a bit nervous about the entire ultrasound), and preparing our home for our newest addition. I can definitely tell God is working on my heart... removing those insecurities of the type of mom I am, and allowing me to enjoy my life in the moment, however imperfect it may be. That's a huge step for me... allowing my life to be imperfect. I tend to want everything a certain way, at a certain time with a certain type of something... allowing my life to be imperfect allows God to come in and show me the things that really matter. And honestly, it's kind of fun.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Weekend in Review

Can I just tell you guys how much fun we had this weekend? Seriously, SO much fun! I didn't feel overwhelmed with a busy schedule, we had quality family time, plus down time... it was GREAT!

Friday night we (or I should said I, since Drew kindly stayed home to take care of Brayden) kicked started the weekend by attending Razorback Relief: Operation Haiti. The University of Arkansas teamed up with Numana, a humanitarian organization to pack meal packs for the earthquake victims in Haiti. It was a 24 hour effort, and they were trying to break a world record in the process. I am proud to say that we broke the world record. What was even neater though was knowing that the rice, the packs and the boxes we touched will be touched by the victims. Haiti has a special place in my heart since I visited there in 10th grade. I wish sometimes that I could live with half the joy that they live with, and they live with far less than anything we have here... and that was before the devastation of the earthquake. If you have a way to help out in any capacity for Haiti, or any other organization that helps 3rd world countries, I highly recommend you do it. It's so humbling to pack small ziplock baggies of beans and rice and see that the food will feed 6 people... makes it hard to complain when you are eating something you don't really like and puts things into perspective. I loved seeing families there with their kids, and can't wait for Brayden to be old enough to participate in things like that. I don't want Brayden to grow up in a bubble and think that everyone lives like we do... and things like Razorback Relief make that very real for young people! Here's some pics of our group in action:
Me in all my hairnet glory :)
The Tyson track center, packed with 75 tables of volunteers.
The megatron-- you can see me walking over on the left :) LOVELY.
(PS, thanks to my friend Susan for taking these pics with her Iphone. I totally forgot my camera in the car!)

Saturday we decided that we'd check out one of the local summer festivals in the area. I wasn't really excpecting much, and to be honest, there really wasn't a TON to do (atleast for a 14 month old anyway), but there was a local farm club there with some animals.... BINGO for Brayden! He LOVED it. He kept saying "ha ha ha" (which is basically a dog bark, monkey call or a sheep baaing, depending on the animal he is around... in this case, sheep).


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I think I finally found something that is more miserable than a pregnant lady in the summer... poor sheep had a good 4 inches of wool on him/her :(
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Petting the lambs with daddy
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Getting a glimpse of bunnies. The one on the far left was named Elvis. Poor elvis got a little bit of some love taps from Brayden. B even tried to kiss Elvis... haha!
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Talking to the sheep... he kept saying "ah, ah, ah"... trying to baaaa at them I guess :)


He also got to milk a fake cow. We didn't think he'd really know what to do, but once Drew showed him he really wanted to do it himself. So funny! And yes, for those of you reading this, in Arkansas we have fake cows to learn how to milk. I promise you we're not as redneck as we sound or look... haha!


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learning to milk the cow from Daddy.
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doing it all by himself. we might have ourselves a dairy farmer on our hands (dear lord please no! haha!)

After the festival we headed up to the splash park. Brayden LOVED it as always!


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nothing like a good enima on a warm summer's day. LOL.
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He kept clapping and saying "yay!"
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Saturday night Drew was working out in the yard so Brayden went out to play along. He was playing with the hose and it was close to bath time, so I went ahead and turned it on-- he had a BLAST. It was so funny because he would put his whole mouth over the hose and then water would squirt everywhere and he'd start laughing. He's a hoot!


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I love his facial expression here... it's like he's saying, "hey, quit squirting me in the face!"
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"whew, that is coming out a little harder than I thought!"
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Toby even got in on some of the water action! I love this dog!


Today was pretty low key-- church, naps, and then we had some out of town family over for dinner. Sadly I didn't get a picture, but I assure you that Allison, Emily, Lucinda and George all had fun playing with Brayden and Toby!

I have an OB appointment on Tuesday-- can you believe I am almost 18 weeks? We have our big ultrasound on July 13th. I honestly am more nervous this pregnancy than I ever was with Brayden. I think it's because over the past two years I have had more friends lose babies or have terrible things go wrong with their children that I am so much more aware of the blessing that is a healthy child. I know a lot of people call the big ultrasound the one where they find out what they're having. And while we plan to find out, I also realize that the main purpose of that ultrasound is to make sure that everything is developing as it should. Please pray for peace as we near that date and that God would bless us with a healthy baby!

I hope everyone has a great week!

Friday, June 25, 2010

5QF

I honestly am so pooped this week that I can't even come up with a great intro paragraph explaining how excited I am that it's the weekend. I mean, I am sort of excited, but more because I know atleast one day this weekend my husband will let me sleep in and not have to mess with oatmeal and diapers at 7am! It's the little things in life right?!



1. Do you know how to play a musical instrument?
Well, sort of, but not really. You see, I somehow convinced my parents to allow me to be the only sibling who only took 1-2 years of musical training. All of my other siblings? They know how to play piano beautifully. One even majored in it. Me? I remember one song that my grandma taught me when I was about 11. I can also play mary had a litle lamb and chopstix. I know, I know, quit gasping at your shock of my amazing talent. I even shock myself sometimes :)
2. What is your pet peeve while driving?
Perhaps the question should be, what is NOT my pet peeve? LOL. I tend to be a road raged driver. I think the thing that really ticks me off is people driving too slow. Like, when I am behind someone who is trying to merge onto the INTERSTATE going 40 MPH??? I seriously almost blow a gasket, then wonder if the person in front of me has a death sentence.
3. Would you rather have a housekeeper or unlimited spa services?
Definitely spa services. I can deal with cleaning a house if I know I have a 2 hour massage waiting on me upon completion. Plus, I am SO picky about how things are cleaned, that it would be really hard to find a housecleaner who could live up to my expectations.
4. Is there a song that you hear that will take you back to the moment, like a junior high or high school dance?
Pretty much any song that was on the top 40 in 1999 brings me back to riding around Little Rock in my 1987 Honda Civic blaring out the music thinking I was cool. I am pretty sure I can SMELL my Civic if I hear "No Scrubs," "Where my Girls at?", etc. And for the record, I am pretty sure I was NOT cool. haha!
5. What song best represents your life right now?
Is it sad that I have no idea? My life is chaos right now. Sometimes organized, sometimes not. Is there a song called "whirlwind?" I feel like that would be most appropriate. That or "She's losing her mind," LOL.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Around the House

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Last night Drew was grilling vegetables from our garden, and let Brayden help out. Think he liked helping Daddy?
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And when he CAN'T help Daddy, well... this happens...
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But then, if you give him a stick, it's all better. Because you know, sticks are good for:
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Sharing with your puppy,
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And then tasting it yourself.
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You always have to show mommy your new find. Who needs toys when mommy can just get sticks?
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And if you're a dog... you just sit back and enjoy the view. (Such a sweet little puppy!).

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Just Call me Vera.

Ok, not really. I mean, if you know me at all you know that I am no where near Vera Wang. Which is funny since my husband leans on me primarily for fashion advice. Of course, if you knew Drew before we started dating, then you'll know his fashion has come a long way since I've entered his life (long way as in, he no longer wears plaid flannel shirts and socks with sandals). On a typical night, as I am drowsily laying in bed waiting on Drew to finish getting his things together, he'll come out of the closet with his outfit for work the next day and ask if it matches. Normally he's pretty good at matching these days, so I usually only have to do it with one eye open. Unfortunately, last night I went to bed before Drew, and so I was unable to certify his outfit for work today. And thus began the fashion faux paux of the week.

I got a call from Drew this morning around 8am. Basically the conversation went like this:
Drew: Hey babe, are you running any errands today?
Me: Well, not really. B has his tumble class today, and that's all.
Drew: [sighing in obvious relief] Oh good! Anyway you can come by my office a little before?
Me: Sure, but why?
Drew [with a bit of a pause]: Well, um, you see, I wore my brown plaid shorts today (they were going to a baseball game and so they wore summer clothes), and I didn't really match my shirt right. Apparently it's pretty obvious. I've had a couple of women ask if you saw me before I left the house.
Me: Well what shirt did you wear?
Drew: I wore that button up navy blue plaid one. You know, the one that's really old (side note: he won't let me throw it out, even though there's a huge rip in the back). Apparently you're not supposed to wear plaid shirts with plaid shorts.
Me [trying not to hold back laughter]: Babe, you seriously wore that? You have to look like a pretty big dweeb.
Drew: Yeah, it's pretty bad. Can you pick out something that matches?
Me: Sure. I'll bring your BROWN Hilfiger shirt :)

And that was the end of our conversation. About an hour later I get a second call, asking if I can come even earlier. Apparently he got even more comments. Poor guy! Thankfully Drew's one of those guys who is able to laugh at himself, so he kind of just made it a big joke. When I pulled into the parking lot to meet him, I slapped my knee for not bringing my camera. I'm pretty sure I could've gotten him on a what not to wear website. I got a good laugh and he changed in the parking lot, and ran back in matching and as cute as can be. I told him that this just goes to show that other women really do check to make sure that I dress my man cute :) I'm pretty sure I'll be asked to check outfits even more now that this happened. But I don't blame him one bit :)

Published.

A few months ago, I was approached by a new parenting website that had just started up called New Parent. They were looking for bloggers to write community posts related to being, you guessed it, NEW PARENTS. I honestly didn't think they'd like article, and was starting to hunch that I was right when a few months had passed without any communication from them. Imagine my surprise when I got an email today saying my post was up, AND that they want me to write again in the future! What a fun little thing! I decided to write about choosing to make your own baby food. I know you're probably shocked that I didn't write about breast feeding since that topic seems to come up a lot with me, but honestly, that topic had been written about so many times on their site already, and I wanted to choose something that a lot of parents are intimidated by but really shouldn't be because it's SO easy. You can read the article HERE.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Sure.

Sure...
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I may be exhausted...
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...But...
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I'm also sure...
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...that I'm completely, totally, utterly, 100%....
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...in love :)

Can you blame me?!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

i heart faces: teens



teen entry wm

I really had no idea what to enter this week for i heart faces. I've done a couple of senior photo sessions, but they were kind of just the typical poses. Then I remembered this picture of my brother that we took at this old river warehouse during his senior shoot. You kind of have to know my brother for this picture to be funny; he has a pretty laid back, easy going personality. He's a funny guy, but not one of those people that you'll find in the middle of a group of people at a party making everyone laugh. That's why I think this picture is hilarious. He's not smiling, he's kind of looking off, and the word funny is right there. It just captures him so well, and the background just adds to the picture as a whole. Plus, I love all of the bold colors... I'm a sucker for a photo that has colors that just 'pop'. Be sure to check out all the other teen entries this week over at i heart faces!

A Story of God's Provision

It will probably come at no surprise that Drew and I were contemplating our next move on what to do as far as transportation goes for our growing family. Drew was pretty sure that we could swing packing two kids in our 4 door Honda Civic, but I was less than enthusiastic about the idea of having to shove baby crap in every nook and cranny of our car just to go on an outing to the park. And if you've ever seen a double stroller, then you'll understand what I am saying when I say that I wasn't sure the trunk would close if we had to put one of those in the back. While I was working (before we had kids) we saved a good little nest egg for our next car, since we don't believe in financing anything (other than our house). The problem was, purchasing a decent used van was going to basically deplete our entire savings account, and trying to build that back up to a decent level so we'd have something stashed away for an eventual truck replacement for Drew would be really hard (at least right now, since money is so tight). It left us in a bit of a pickle, and honestly, a bit of a disagreement. I was the one who would be stuck with most of the driving around in the small sedan, so it made sense that I was the one pushing more for the bigger vehicle. However, Drew was reserved so we really were left with not being able to make a decision.

I've always wanted Drew's next vehicle to be something a bit more family friendly; right now he can't put a child in his Ranger because it has a side airbag, and with no way to turn it off, it leaves the truck unsafe for a young child to ride in it. Drew's always had a truck, and we like trucks/cars with good gas mileage, so the thought of getting him an SUV eventually wasn't really gelling with either of us. So, we kind of sat in a standstill on our future plans for cars, but obviously with baby #2 cooking away, it was still heavy on both of our minds.

I'm not going to lie about this picture; we were both kind of being stubborn headed about our opinions on both sides of the issue, and we had had plenty of disagreements about it. It almost always ended up in a heated discussion where someone would get their feelings hurt and it would blow up. Wednesday night was probably the first night we were able to talk about the entire situation and share both of our hearts without getting in a heated discussion about it, and what's even neater is that we finally prayed about it together and just asked God to show us what to do and placed that provision in His hands.

That's when it happened. Friday morning I was kind of thinking about everything again, and I had an idea. I wasn't sure how it would go over with Drew, but I figured I'd at least share it, and at worst he'd say no.  On the way to the pool, I said, "Hey, um, I've got this idea. And you may think it's stupid, but I figured I'd just throw it out there." I got an "OK shoot," so I breathed deeply and then proceeded with my idea. "Well, I was thinking. We don't really NEED a vehicle as big as a van right now. But obviously you know my opinion on the size of the Civic. What is we purchased a mid-sized SUV, used it for the next 3 or so years, and THEN bought a van, and you could use the SUV as your car." Probably about 2 seconds of silence, and then.....
"BABE. You're brilliant (I know, what every woman wants to hear, right?!)! Why didn't you think of this sooner? That's a GREAT idea!" We had finally found our middle ground. Then, I told Drew how I had seen an older (2001) model CRV on craigslist with really low mileage. He thought it sounded like a great deal and called the owner. He went over Friday evening with my uncle and checked it out, and came home with a great peace about it all. Saturday we went back so I could see it and test drive it. The car is in PRISTINE condition. I mean, the interior looks as new as a brand new car looks. The best part is that it only has 58K miles on it! We put an offer in on Saturday night, and they accepted. Turns out, the couple attends our church, so we met after church to close the deal and bring the new (to us) car home. We got an AMAZING deal on it, and the mileage is so low that by the time it's "Drew's car" it will still have a good deal of life left on the engine. It gives me more room than the Civic so I am comfortable, but keeps our gas mileage at a decent rate so we're not breaking the bank on gas. I can boil this down to only one thing: we asked God to show us, and He totally just dropped it in our lap. What's even greater is that we found an option that Drew and I are both happy with and that suits our family both financially and comfort wise. God is so good. Drew and I are just so amazed that every time we sweep away our differences and just go to God and lay it at His feet, He time and time again shows us that He will provide for us even in the little things. We got home too late for me to take a decent picture of the car, so I'll just give you the pic that was on craigslist. Now if only I can find an appropriate name for our newest baby :)

Weekend in Review

I've decided that it's incredibly difficult chronicling the our life right now with anything other than words. We had SUCH a fun weekend, but honestly, even if I bring my camera along to our fun outings, trying to get a picture in between talking with friends and chasing Brayden is next to impossible. This weekend was chalked full of fun times with friends and family, and alas, I have no pictures to prove of our adventures. So you will just have to take my word for it :) 

Friday Drew got off early again, so we headed up to the pool for a fun family outing. Pools are a must when you're pregnant in the summer. I seriously could just float until I resembled a prune.... LOL. Brayden can't decide what he really wants to do at the pool; the ground is far too hot to try and walk around, but he gets frustrated and bored just sitting in the pool. We're having to CONSTANTLY entertain him, so it's doubly exhausting for us. But I know that Brayden enjoys it, and it breaks up some of the monotony at home, so it's worth it in the end. 

Saturday was NONSTOP. We literally woke up at 7, and were only home for Brayden's first nap. We left the house early in the AM to run errands as a family, then came home and let B nap while I got things ready to go to a friend's house to swim. A few my friends and I sent the boys out to play golf on Saturday for Fathers Day, so Drew spent the morning and early afternoon hours playing golf. Too bad it was STEAMING hot here, so they were literally melting by the end of their golfing event. Brayden and I spent most of the morning hours after naptime at my friend Mrs. Linda's house. She has a pool in her backyard, so we just swam it away! After leaving there we headed up to my Aunt and Uncle's house and enjoyed some fun family time and some good food! Brayden LOVES spending time with his cousins because he gets TONS of attention :) He has such a rough life ;o) My cousins watched Brayden for us while we went to... (big bombshell enter here)... test drive a car :) More on that later... it deserves it's own post on how everything worked out, but let's just say that God totally came through and provided in a way I am still kind of amazed about. 
Saturday evening once we got home, I left immediately to do a photoshoot. These children were precious, and I can't wait to show you some of the pictures. I love photographing older children, because they are so into whatever you tell them to do, so it's not as stressful as chasing around an infant who is more interested in eating sticks and exploring :) I treated myself to a snow cone on the way home-- seriously, snow cones are pregnancy heaven. I don't think there's anything else out there that satisfies my deep desire for cold and sweets more than a snow cone. 

Today we went to church, purchased the car we test drove on Saturday (don't worry, I'll explain more later), and then went to a cookout with some great friends this evening. It was at their neighborhood pool, which also has a playarea/park so it was PERFECT for Brayden. He literally spent the entire evening swimming, then exploring, then swimming. Normally he has a "witching hour" around 6ish, and he literally never started fussing. I finally asked Drew what time it was, and it looked kind of late.... it was 7:45... the kid normally goes to bed at 7! I am crossing my fingers that tomorrow isn't a day from you know where... that's normally how it goes on days after he goes down really late. We'll see....

 I am looking forward to a bit of a slower week for us. This past week was just SO jammed packed with tons of fun, but it's definitely wearing on this momma! I guess I should get it in while I can though, because soon with two it will be doubly hard to get out and do anything (especially in the middle of winter). Hope your week is fun-filled!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Cracker Barrel Fun

Thursday B-man and I packed up the Civic and headed 45 minutes down south to meet up with one of my old college roommates Mindy and her family. Mindy's due with a baby boy in August, and she had yet to meet the B-man. We hadn't seen each other in over a year, and it was so good to catch up and visit for a bit. Brayden was a bit of a terror on the way there, and I was worried that I might have made a bad decision to try and eat lunch and visit at the same time. Thankfully he did remarkably well once we got there, and God answered my prayers by giving us an amazing waitress who was GREAT with kids. She literally brought him a biscuit the minute we got there, and kept bringing them to him until the food got there. What a great lady! After lunch we sat out on the front porch so Brayden could run around and we could sit and talk more. Thanks so much for meeting up with us Mindy!
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he LOVED the little rocking chairs out on the porch!

5QF

Whew, I'm so glad it's Friday. While this week has been LOADS of fun, it's also been super tiring. I'm a homebody at heart, and running here there and everywhere just about wore me out! I'm looking forward to relaxing a bit and enjoying some pool time this weekend, especially considering it's going to be in the mid-90s this weekend... not much else to do other than go to the pool :) I hope YOU stay nice and cool this weekend, and enjoy celebrating DAD on Sunday! And now I give you my answers for Mama M.'s 5QF (and I got LINKED this week-- woooo hoooo!)




1. What is your favorite thing about summertime?
This is going to sound awfully health-nutty (yes, I just made up a word. Deal with it people!), but I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fresh fruit and veggies. There's nothing like having fresh strawberries in your cereal, fresh blueberries for a snack, fresh peaches with your lunch and fresh tomatoes and squash with your dinner. YUMMY! It's also fun going to all of the different local farmer's markets around town. We've been so busy this summer we have yet to go, but I can't wait until we do because we always get some fresh produce :)
2. What is your ideal retirement location (if money didn't matter)?
St. Thomas, USVI. We went there on our cruise after Drew got back from the deployment, and it literally is heaven on earth. Never has my breath been taken away... until that day that we stepped foot on Saphire Beach. Oh my word was it GORGEOUS. I swear the water was clearer than the pool water at our municipal pool. We took a tour of the island, and when they told me that the mansions that are set into the cliffs, overlooking the oceans, cost only 300,000, I looked at Drew and told him we were going to buy a house there someday. I think he thinks I was kidding... but I was pretty serious. I'm with Kenny on this one... "No shoes, no shirt, NO PROBLEM." And just so you know I am not pulling your leg... this was the view at Saphire Beach. Postcard perfect I tell you. Makes me shed a tear that I am not there RIGHT NOW.

3. Do you live in the same town you grew up in?
Nope. I grew up in several places actually. I was born, and spent most of my elementary aged days in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I was completely traumatized when my dad's job forced our family to move to New Orleans when I was 13. Swore up and down he'd ruined my life, that I'd never make friends, etc. etc. I got used to it. Then 2 years later, at the start of 9th grade, we moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. Talk about a culture shock. And I was most mad of all about that move. In fact, I would say that was probably the lowest point in my life aside from some of the issues we had before we got pregnant with Brayden. It was a pretty rocky time in my Dad and I's relationship too, as I placed much of the blame for the move on his shoulders, and in my eyes my life was as good as ended at that point. But God always bring good to things that seem horrible, and I eventually made some GREAT friends (whom I am still best friends with to this day, even though we're spread thin across the globe these days), and eventually met my husband at the University of Arkansas, somewhere I never would have gone had I still lived in Louisiana. The irony of all of this is that my family moved BACK to Baton Rouge 2 years ago, and while I miss them terribly and wish we lived closer, I LOVE Arkansas and can't see us living anywhere else.
4. What nervous habit did you have as a child that you kicked to the curb before becoming an adult?
{smile}. This was my question. And it was spurned on by me thinking of my horrid childhood nervous habit. I bit my nails. And when I say bit, I mean, I nearly nawed off my entire fingers. So much so that my dad always told me that my nails would NEVER be normal, and they would always be scarred and nasty. I bit my nails until my senior year in high school. Down to the nubs. Till they bled. Yes, it was gross, but honestly, it was a habit that I couldn't just kick to the curb. And I still deal with problems to this day with it-- like if I have a hang nail, I can't just wait until I find a pair of finger nail clippers or a nail file. I have to rip it off. And I have to be honest here; a few months back I nearly chopped my entire nail off when I was cooking dinner. It left a nasty hang nail and there was no other way but to rip it off. To this day I still am biting away at it. I can't get it to grow back because when it gets to where it might start growing out, I bite at it again. Ahhh. I guess it's true, that old habits really do die hard. haha!
5. What is the most embarrassing thing that happened to you while on the job?
Is it bad that I honestly can't think of anything? I am SURE that SOMETHING has happened to me that's embarrassing at work, but honestly, for the life of me I can't think of something. Probably due to the pregnancy brain. I am lucky these days if I remember my own name :) I'm looking forward to reading everyone else's answers though, as I am a sucker for embarrassing stories.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

On Questioning God, Sufficiency and Perfection

Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is questioning God. Such a heavy topic, right? I'm pretty contemplative like that.

It seems to me that lately, when I hear about people who are struggling with real life issues, that they fail to question God. Or perhaps they do question Him but are afraid to admit it... I don't know. I just feel like in the church today, people think that questioning God is wrong. Like it's some taboo thing that if you are a "good Christian" you won't do. But didn't David question God? And Job? What about Abram? Even Jesus asked that if there was any way that He might be able to not die, to let the cup pass Him. That's why I don't think it's taboo at all. In fact, I think God wants to hear our questions. He wants to calm our fears and reveal himself in ways to us that may not have been possible if we just play the whole "well, it's in God's will." And on the whole "in God's will" thing... I'd like to step on a soapbox of mine for a moment.

I completely agree that God has a will and that our lives will follow that will in some form or fashion. But that fact does not lessen grief, sadness, disappointment or fear that we may have along the way. When we were trying to get pregnant with Brayden, one of the things I HATED to hear was that it would happen in God's time. I KNEW the truth, but I needed friends to grieve with me and to go through the journey with me, not wait at the destination and say "it's all good. just get through the woods on your own... I'll be waiting at the end to let you know that it works out ok!" Seriously? That's not a friend. At least in my opinion. Some of the greatest friend warriors I have were friends who stepped in my shoes, realized the situation I was in, and instead of pointing out the obvious (that God was in control), they cried with me, they listened to me, and they prayed over me. They were also the sweetest ones to tell that God had answered our prayers-- because I truly felt like they were JOYOUS with us... not just giving me the typical response. I am pretty sure that this stance can be conveyed over to all other forms of grief as well-- whether it be loss, uncertainty with job situations, etc. I'll step off my soap box.

I guess I write all this to say that it's OK to question God. To plead with him on our fears and doubts. What you do with the questions is the real issue. Do you harbor bitterness after questioning if the answers aren't what you wanted or do you question and then draw near to Him. I'll be the first to admit that I question for a LOOONG time before I eventually release. But I eventually do. I think I am finally getting there with this pregnancy. Realizing that God's plan, while a little different than the way I always saw our family growing, will be far better than my own. That this little life obviously was meant for our family before I thought we were ready, and I am curious to see the blessings that will be brought to us from him or her. I find myself getting more excited and less worried about my inadequacies as a mom. Not that the fear of failure is not there; I believe I will always be one who fears failure since I am a perfectionist by nature. I want to be that perfect mom who cooks organic food for her kids, has them on a perfect schedule and has them all nicely dressed whenever we go out. I don't think I'll ever hit the mark entirely. But His strength is sufficient. He will carry me through the long days with two, just like he carries me through (sometimes by what feels like a string) on the long days with one. If I relinquish the fact that I can't teach my kids everything, and that trying to be perfect fails to teach my kids that God is the ones who completes us, then I think I'll be on the right track. For a second at least. Until the next question unveils itself and I start the cycle all over again :)

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

16 weeks

Hi, My name is Lindsey, and I can't believe I'm pregnant. haha! Seriously, I feel like they may hand me a baby in November and I refuse it, not knowing I was pregnant. This pregnancy is literally FLYING by, and with summer and fall filling up faster than I can keep up with, I feel like it will be here before we know it! We find out if the baby is a boy or girl July 13th.... exactly 4 weeks from today in fact!

I figured I'd get Drew to take my picture in the MORNING instead of in the evening, that way I look a bit more fresh, and I am not as bloated. The last preggo picture was less than flattering :) When we were taking the picture (it was on Sunday, so I am a little less than 16 weeks in the picture), Brayden decided he wanted me to hold him, so he made a picture too :) I have to say, he looks a lot better than me... haha!

On the pregnancy note, I am feeling great. People are always asking me how I feel, and other than my growing belly, I really don't feel pregnant. I think I have finally reached that point where you feel great, aren't too uncomfortable yet (besides always being hot and not being able to lay on my stomach comfortably anymore), and can still fit in most of my regular clothes. I am finding that I tire more easily, but I just try to take it easy and make sure I get a nap every day with B-man. I am starting to get excited, and entering into that phase where I want everything organized in the house. Which also means throwing out tons of junk. I tend to be a thrower awayer... I really am not sentimental. I feel like most things that are important to pass on are a spiritual legacy, and wisdom and guidance... not tangible things. So I just toss it if we are not going to use it. Drew on the other hand, likes to keep things, especially books, after he's used them, so we have a lot to do to tackle our front room (which is currently used as a study). Anywho, without further ado, I give you baby #2 (with a pic of B man thrown in there for good measure) at almost 16 weeks.


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Monday, June 14, 2010

i heart faces: babies



This is my son Brayden at 5 months old. He was going to be dedicated at church around 6.5 months, and so I wanted to get a cute picture of him to submit for our dedication. I figured I could capture him well in our front yard so went outside to see if I could get anything. Around this same time, Brayden had started doing what we called "scrunchy face". Out of the blue he would scrunch his face up, and start breathing really heavily in and out. It was hilarious to us, but I think it caught strangers by surprise. Which was funny, since he would do this TOO people when he'd see them. haha! Anyway, so back to my shoot. I layed him on the grass (this was before he could crawl or roll, so I was able to just plop him down and shoot away), and he immediately started making this face. No smiles, no grins, no nothing, just scrunchy face. I pretty much thought the session was a bust, but this honestly is our most favorite photos of our son to date. To put some icing on the cake, this photo was purchased last winter by a major greeting card company, and will be used as a greeting card photo come July. I couldn't be prouder that scrunchy face will live on for, hopefully, years to come.




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Be sure to visit the i heart faces website to check out all of the other baby entries this week!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Weekend in Review

This weekend did not disappoint this cabin fevered momma and her 2 boys! Friday, Drew got off of work early, and after naptime we decided to head to the pool. Brayden enjoyed crawling around in the baby pool area picking up sticks, while Drew and I sat at the edge of the baby pool and talked. It was SO nice. Have I mentioned how much I love the pool while I am pregnant?! It's probably the only plus side for being pregnant in the summer.

Saturday we woke up to another nice day, so we decided to head to the splash park. Brayden LOVED it. There was a slight glitch in figuring out how to turn the water on, but literally, the minute it started spraying, Brayden started squealing and walked through all of the water tunnels and sprayers.


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On our way out of the door to the splash park... I love how B is looking at Drew!
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My two boys!
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The water is ON! Wahooo!
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I couldn't get a pic of the front of his face because he was OFF the minute it started spraying!
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I know this one is fuzzy, but look at his smile. He was SO happy!
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I've never seen him so visibly gleeful. It was hilarious. What was even more funny was that there were several children there around his age and ALL of them were complete horrified by the park. I mean, wanted nothing to do with, clinging to their parents, crying. Brayden was holding his own. Of course, by the time 11:15 rolled around, he had had enough of the water and wanted food, and momma had forgotten to pack a snack or lunch. My bad B. Sorry about that! We went straight home, fed him lunch and took naps. When we woke up, I decided it was too pretty to be indoors, so we packed up and headed to the lake. We only live 10 minutes from the lake... someday we'll own a boat! At first Brayden didn't know what to think, but then he relaxed and just chilled out in his floaty in the water.


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calling the Hogs for Daddy!
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Just hanging out
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even Toby the water wonder dog was able to tag along!
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"Oh hey mom, I'm just hanging out here at the lake."
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Nothing's better than a Sonic Cherry Limeade at the lake!


Today was mostly a church day. I did manage to get the kitchen swept and the carpets vacuumed, and I am going to be hopeful to say the bathrooms and carpets will be thoroughly cleaned at some point this week. I also have a lot of grocery shopping to catch up on since we've pretty much been home bound the last 2 weeks. Does anyone have any good summer-y type recipes? I am really not wanting casseroles or soups right now, and NOTHING sounds good to me. I am at a loss for what to cook! Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated.
 

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