A Minute with the Martins

Love

2012-01-21T11:11:00.002-06:00

With Valentine's Day fast approaching all the stores look like some pink and red heart fairy has exploded all over! (Not to mention all the Easter stuff that is already out...but that is another post). I actually really do like Valentine's Day, I always thought it was fun to send your friends cute cards and you know any excuse to eat candy is okay by me. But LOVE has gotten so distorted in our society many people loathe Valentine's Day because it represents something they think they should have but don't. Anyway, I recently read this blog post, a response to the Huffington Post article "How to Talk to Little Girls", and I just had to share it with you. If you've read this blog before you know my take on the futility of trying to get joy from worldly things (and also how I feel about Proactive! Curious? Read this!. As a completely random thought- they no longer play those commercials. Thankfully.) However, as a mother (I think this should apply to any mother, not just mothers of girls) I am constantly questioning how I can instill in my daughter the idea that she has worth beyond what the world can give her. One of my 'resolutions' for this year is to be more intentional about modeling my faith to Harper and more intentional about talking with her about it. While she may watch me fail at that again and again, I want her to understand the simplicity of the love of God. He loves you. The end. No "what if..." or "I didn't..". He. Loves. YOU. Below is an excerpt from the blog I referenced before. This is how the author says he will talk to his little girl:
“I love you. I love the way your hair rolls into ringlets and falls into your eyes. I love the way you read yourself books, even though you can’t read. I love the way you dance and twirl around the kitchen. I love the way you wave at cars that pass on our walks. I love the way you scream “Dad” in the middle of the night. I love the way you say “do it again” when we do something fun. I even love the permanent marker custom design you put on my new Mac. But as much as I love you, Jesus loves you more. I sacrifice a lot because I love you, but Jesus sacrificed everything because he loves you. So if somewhere along the way you fail a test or love a boy who does not love you back or have a mastectomy or develop Alzheimers or gain some weight or lose a job, you will still hold infinite value because Jesus loves you. No matter what. You are loved exactly as you are. Always.”

Always.

15 months- a little late

2012-01-01T18:28:00.002-06:00

Harper at 15 months (on Christmas Eve):
-I seriously can't even count the number of words this child says. New (ish) ones that I haven't listed on the blog before include: Grandaddy (dadadi), Grandmother (mamama), rock (as in on a horse or in a chair), bed, eat, door, open, close, roar (lion/tiger/dinosaur sound), horse, moo, meow, no maam, no way, good dog, sit, treat, tree, teeth, sign for drink, baby doll, happy (pronounced "Abby"), button, walk, bus, truck, ow/ouch, and go. She probably has more new ones than that but that is all Jason and I can remember. And that is plenty for a 15 month old! She puts together novel two word utterances now, like 'mama button' meaning "mama's button". She also copies us (when she feels like it) doing funny things like finishing the old Tom Jones song...if we say "What's new pussy cat..." she says "whoaaaa". Jason also thinks getting her to repeat the diadochokinetic rate ("puh tuh kuh") is funny. And she does it fairly well. I recently gave Harper a standardized language test. She scored a 128 on her understanding of language (following directions, understanding what certain nouns and verbs mean, etc.) and a 129 on her use of language (number of words she says, social use of language, etc.). Her overall language age was one year, eleven months. That is 9 months ahead of her actual age! Her age equivalency on the language use subtest was 2 years!
- Sassiness. Unfortunately (and fortunately) Harper is learning how to stand up for herself. She tells Toby 'no maam' if he accidentally knocks her down and shakes her finger at him. She also sasses us occasionally and tells US no. We are having to find other ways (NOT using the word 'no') to correct her behavior (i.e. 'feet down', 'be sweet', etc.). Sometimes she tells herself 'no' as she is doing something she shouldn't. I am not sure if she is trying to correct her own behavior or just remembering that she was told 'no' when she did it before!
- Social- she is fitting in well in her now not so new daycare class. She still does not like it if the kids get really rowdy and cries sometimes if it gets too crazy in her room, but overall she has adjusted well and is slowly learning to play with the other kids. She also tries to correct her friends at school sometimes when I pick her up, telling them 'no' if they are doing something she thinks they shouldn't. She thinks she is everyone's little mama. She takes a few minutes to warm up to new situations but once she has she wants to be the center of attention. When we flew to Virginia a few days ago she got the chance to wave to the entire plane and ate it up! She did her queen wave!
-Physical- Harper is quite the climber now. She will declare 'rock rock' and climb in her rocking chair in her room and sit and rock. She can climb on everything now! She also jumps now (in her bed!). She is still very much into dancing. And swinging between us if we each have a hand while we are walking.
Misc.- Harper's pretend play skills are really developing. She loves to feed her babies and makes eating and drinking sounds when she does it! She will also brush the baby's hair and carry it around. Her new play kitchen has been quite a hit, too, and she enjoys stirring things on her stove like mom!
Well, that is Harper lately. I find it hard to believe the difference between this Christmas and last year! Time goes by too fast!

How to...

2011-12-25T20:33:00.006-06:00

Before

After

Playing with our new kitchen!

So, I've had a couple of requests about how I did Harper's kitchen (see pictures). The original idea came from here. (via Pinterest). In case you don't know about Pinterest, you should, unless you value your free time. Okay. Here goes. Harper's total cost for her kitchen was approximately $20. For all materials. The website I referenced has pretty good detail but some things I changed and some things she left out. So here goes.
1) Find an old tv stand, preferably one with a door (we had to add one which added a whole boatload of steps because ours didn't have a door). It would be great if you had an old one you wanted to get rid of, we didn't, so we found one at a thrift store. Cost $6.00
2) Cut a hole using a sabre saw to fit the sink. We used an old metal dog bowl that Jason found in the woods. Cost $0. They are cheap if you wanted to buy a new one, though.
3) We put two coats of primer (Kilz) on the tv stand to cover up the ugly wood laminate. Cost $0 since we already had the Kilz leftover from another home project.
4) Painted topcoat color on once primer dried. Cost ~$10 (bought way too much paint, tons leftover. You could use spray paint if you wanted for a fraction of the cost. The paint basically doubled the cost of this project. Long story made short, I was supposed to be able to get free paint and it didn't work out).
5) Painted 'eyes' of stoves with craft paint ($0.99).
6) Added stove knobs. Cost: Free (many appliance stores will give you old oven knobs for free).
7) Added door. This involved buying a scrap piece of lumber from Home Depot, getting them to cut it to size. Cost: $0.51. Seriously. Always check in the scrap section for projects like this. Had to paint and prime the door as well. Used the craft paint to paint detail on 'microwave' and 'oven'. Bought hinges and 'oven' handle for less than $2.00. I recommend always checking stores like Habitat Restore, that resell used or surplus construction and home project stuff (everything from cabinets to door knobs, to used furniture, to new ceiling fans) for these items. They sell them CHEAP and the money benefits people in need. I got the 'faucet' for the sink for less than $1.00 from our local store. This would be a great place to buy a tv stand, too, but our local store had tv stands that were too tall for Harper. We used liquid nails to place the 'faucet'. It takes 72 hours to set so take that into account before you give it to your little one.
8) Added fabric. I hemmed 1/2 yard of fabric to make a curtain then used a staple gun to attach it. The tutorial I linked to made a curtain with a curtain rod, but since I didn't have anything to attach the curtain to since it was an open piece originally I just stapled it. The fabric was on sale, I can't remember how much I paid. 1/2 a yard was probably around ~1.50. I picked a fabric that was retro looking, had muted colors that coordinated with my paint color, and wasn't too obvious for a kitchen. I looked a one that was fruits and veggies, but this was so much cuter and seemed more retro kitchen-y somehow.
The tv stand came on wheels but I took those off and added padded furniture strips to protect our floors and to make it a better height for Harper. Time wise this whole project didn't take that long, mostly just waiting on the paint to dry. We did have one issue since we had to add a door. I bought a pretty thin piece of wood since I didn't want the door to be heavy. The hinges, however, had screws that were too long and poked through the back of the door. In order to be able to mount the door correctly Jason had to use his dremel tool (cutting head) to cut the back of the screws off. Which required a Christmas Eve trip to Home Depot. Other than that, this was a fun, low stress project. And it is special because we made it just for Harper. I hope you guys are inspired to try your own project!

thanks. part 2

2011-12-20T19:12:00.006-06:00

So, I had intended this to be a sweet post about how I am thankful, not only at Thanksgiving, but also at this time of year. For an amazing family, for my dad who sends Harper musical Peanuts cards in the mail just because she dances to them, to my mom who drives twelve hours to spend one day with Harper, to my father in law who tuned up my car before I went on a road trip giving me peace of mind, to my mother in law who teaches me important things like tying bows and how to be a great mom. And how this time of year I am thankful for the gift of babies...Harper and Jesus. Not in that order. Anyway. That was BEFORE I had one of my top 5 scariest moments of my life. I got home from work, unloaded my car (including Harper), let Toby out of his kennel, and as I was doing this got a call from Jason. He was on his way home from work (45 minutes a way). Then I turned on the Christmas tree lights. Toby and Harper were running around together. Then I opened our front door to turn on our Christmas lights outside. We have a regular door and a storm door. I left both open as I reached around the storm door to plug in the lights. Then I heard a click. I looked behind me. Harper and Toby had closed the door. Aggravated I try to open the door, "How did they get to the door so fast?" I think. The door does. not. open. I push. Horrified I slowly realize that the doorknob must have gotten locked (can Harper reach that?). 'Don't panic' I tell myself. I probably left the door into the laundry room through the garage door open. Now I hear Harper crying through the door. I run to the garage door. It was not unlocked. And no amount of shoving it with my shoulder opened it. 'Maybe I left the back door unlocked when I let Toby out to go to the bathroom earlier.' Now Harper was REALLY screaming. I ran to the back door. Also not unlocked. Of course. I am so cautious about anyone ever getting into the house I ALWAYS lock the doors. Now, you may be saying "why is she panicking? why doesn't she just get the key out of its hiding place?". Well, several weeks ago my hidden key fell in between the slats of our deck making it impossible to reach. So now my child, keys, cell phone, and dog are all in the house. And I am out. And it is raining. I stayed calm externally. Earlier, when I was still inside and I had let Toby out I had pulled up the blinds on the back door so Harper could see him outside. Now I was so thankful that I could sit by the backdoor and see her inside. We sang. We identified our eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. We (well, I) screamed and banged on the door at Toby when he stole her brand new stuffed animal and tried to tear it to pieces knowing I couldn't do a thing about it (I mentally told him he was lucky I couldn't get in). All with a door between us. I could have gone to a neighbor's house or gotten them to call the police. But really they would have just done the same thing I could have done. I knew I could either a) retrieve the impossible to retrieve key (which I tried multiple times) or b) wait the (now 30) minutes until Jason got home. So we waited. Harper cried. I wanted to cry. I am not sure if she was crying because she knew something was wrong or because she wanted to be outside. Finally after exhausting all songs, memorized books, and non-curse bad words (to Toby) that I know I heard a truck go down our street. I ran around to the front and thought I saw a truck in the drive. I blinked. It was really there. Jason was home. I ran screaming and crying "unlock the door, they locked me out!". He thought someone in our family was dead or seriously injured by my reaction. It is hard to be a grown up and keep it together forever, though. Anyway. So after my afternoon (followed, sweetly, by a dinner at Panera and a Shake's frozen custard), my new thanks list is as follows:
1- I am thankful that I worship a God who is bigger than door locks and fear and terror and mistakes.
2- I am thankful that God gave me 40 minutes of (mostly) calm so I did not freak out my child.
3- I am thankful that on the same day a sweet friend at work gave Harper a new teddy bear for Christmas she had something new and cuddly to cling to while she watched her mommy sit outside the door.
4- I am thankful I have a husband who calls me to let me know when he is coming home and that I actually got that phone call prior to the locking out. Otherwise I would have broken the glass. Also I am thankful Jason remained calm and took me to eat, which he knows makes everything better (although I felt so sick to my stomach after this I didn't eat much. Harper did, though!)
5- I am thankful I have a dog that is sweet as sugar to my baby and so even though he stole her teddy bear (which she took back) I did not have to worry about him hurting her.
6- I am thankful for my sweet, spirited daughter who loves to investigate and explore. Even door locks.
PS- this is our 100th blog. When we started this thing I never thought I would be posting about my child locking me out of the house!

Random

2011-12-11T06:01:00.002-06:00

So I braved the crowds yesterday (which, in all honesty, are nothing compared to most places this time of year...I shudder remembering when I lived in Birmingham! You can't even get near the Galleria this time of year!). Anyway, back to my original point, I braved the crowds and had some adventures.
1) Apparently it was men in kilts convention at Tiger Town- there were tons of men (I mean, upwards of 10) wearing kilts. Nice.
2) As I waited in the drive through line at Chick-Fil-A just to get the Peppermint Chocolate Chip milkshake and it seemed to take forever, I thought "Is this really worth it?". IT WAS! That milkshake and all its glorious calories got me through a three hour shopping trip!
3) Stores sell a lot of crap. You have a lot of time to look around as you wait in line and there is all kinds of junk being sold. It's the kind of stuff that wouldn't sell at a yard sale for a nickel! Why do they have it?
4) The Books a Million lady got angry with me when I turned down their special card offer. I told her "I never shop here" and she then went into this whole spiel about how it would only cost me $12.99 today instead of the regular $20. I said "So I get to use it today if I purchase it?" and she said well, the discount can either be looked at as applied to the purchase or the cost of the card. I say: "so basically I am just adding $12.99 to my total purchase price? No thanks." and she got really offended! Point is- do they get commission off these cards or something? And honestly, I almost always buy my books off Amazon anyway, so I'll just be wasting the money. I was already spending a lot of money at their store, just leave me alone!
5) I love love love to give presents. Jason would tell you that if he didn't watch me, I would spend all our money on food and gifts. It is just fun to pick out something that you know will give someone happiness and give it to them! I also really love wrapping gifts. Anyway, all that being said, I really lost sight of the joy of the season during yesterday's holiday shopping. Oh, I got excited about finding just the right thing, but all in all, the craziness and business of this time of year really usurps the real reason we celebrate Christmas. I need to continue to try to focus on THAT and not let everything else get in the way!
Merry Christmas!

thanks.

2011-11-25T20:16:00.002-06:00

Waste Not

2011-11-18T14:00:00.004-06:00

My small group has been reading the book by John Piper "Don't Waste Your Life". I recommend this book to anyone, but I am not going to talk so much about the book but more about a decision I made because of reading the book and feeling a tugging at my heart. I decided to give up television and facebook for a week. Not so hard, you might say. Well, it honestly wasn't. But I've had quite a few people ask me "Why?" so I thought I'd explain. First, I read this from Piper's book:

"Television is one of the greatest life wasters of the modern age....The main problem with TV is not how much smut is available, though that is a problem. Just the ads are enough to sow fertile seeds of greed and lust, no matter what program you're watching. The greater problem is banality. A mind fed daily on TV diminishes. Your mind was made to know and love God. Its facility for this is ruined by excessive TV. The content is so trivial and so shallow that the capacity of the mind to think worthy thoughts withers, and the capacit of the heart to feel deep emotions shrivels. Neil Postman shows why.

What is happening in America is that television is transforming all serious public business into junk....Television disdains exposition, which is serious, sequential, rational, and complex. It offers instead a mode of discourse in which everything is accessible, simplistic, concrete, and above all, entertaining. As a result, America is the world's first culture in jeopardy of amusing itself to death."

-John Piper Don't Waste Your Life
It got me to thinking about the reasons I watch tv and get on Facebook. I couldn't really come up with any GOOD answers. I guess the biggest reason is to literally waste time. Most shows I watch are not quality, informative programming. They don't do much more than to provide a background for whatever else it is I'm doing. Or not doing. Sometimes I turn on the tv when I'm bored. Because it's there. It beckons "turn me on, I'll help keep you mildly entertained for a while". The same is true, for the most part, for Facebook (oh sure, I keep up with friends and family far away, but mostly, I just got on because I was wanting to waste some time). Thinking all this over I came to the conclusion that I have so much more LIFE to be living and that I am called to live it, not waste it. So for a week I watched no tv and did not get on Facebook. Oh, I fretted "What if I miss something?", "What if someone tries to contact me and thinks I am rude for not replying?". Well, those are silly reasons. Guess what? A tornado hit the city I live in, people tried to contact me, and I didn't get on FB or turn on the TV. And I'm still here. My friends still like me. The tornado would have come whether or not I knew about it. The destruction would have been there whether or not I turned on the tv to gawk at it like a rubber necker at an accident. So, I gave up Facebook and tv to start living life a little more. What did I do? How did things differ from before? Now that it is over, have things changed? Well, I spent more quality time with my daughter, dog, and husband, spent more quality time in the Word, and was able to find time to do more things for others, even silly things just to say "thinking about you". Today was day one of being back to 'normal'. I turned on the morning news for a little while, checked Facebook, even uploaded a video! But my attitude about it was different. It wasn't something I was doing just to waste time, I had a purpose, I fulfilled that purpose, and I moved on. Do I think I had some sort of "problem" with TV or FB? No. No more than any of you reading this. Do I think I am better than anyone for having given it up? Of course not. I do think I am a better ME, though. So, if you ask "why?" there you go. My life is being shaped and changed so that I live each day in an effort to glorify God and use this life wisely! And by the way, the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon (By Bill Watterson) has always made me laugh and is so appropriate I had to include it!

Messy

2011-11-11T19:32:00.002-06:00

Sometimes life is messy. Literally and figuratively. When life (and children) give you messes, take a picture because then you'll laugh later!

Harper "reading"

2011-11-11T19:05:00.002-06:00

Harper's favorite book currently is "Hurry Hurry" by Eve Bunting. In fact, we've read it so many times that she has memorized parts of it. Here she is "reading" it with her Daddy! (And no, we did not use 'Your Baby Can Read').

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-04T18:24:00.003-05:00

Here is our sweet little chicken... she thoroughly enjoyed her costume and even liked to dance in it, which was super cute because all the feathers bounced. Thanks to Martha Stewart for the cute, easy, costume idea!

Chatter box

2011-11-04T06:59:00.004-05:00

So, all non grandparents and non SLP's will probably not be interested in this post. However, this is the best way for me to keep up with all of Harper's developments. Harper is beginning to enter that 'language explosion' period. She is learning new words almost every day now. My favorite language development is that Harper (finally!) says 'mama' consistently!!! Not just when she wants to eat, but when she wants me to pick her up, when she just wants to see me, when she wants a kiss- she says mama! Yay! She also learned to say Poppa, which is what we call Jason's dad. Since he helped us with the yardwork she occasionally points to our new sod and says 'Poppa' as well! Usually she whispers it when she says it, which is so funny. She says 'go' all the time now. She uses it for different things, like when we are leaving daycare she usually says 'go!'. Then she says 'go' in response to 'ready, set...' when she goes down the slide. She says 'go' when we are grocery shopping when she thinks I've stopped the cart too long. So funny! She says 'hot' and 'hat' now. I don't think I've logged those before. She is so funny everytime she gets near the stove she waves her hand in front of her and says 'hot' with the final consonant! We have hats hanging by our garage door and she says 'hat' and touches her head which means she wants to put one on. She also tries to say 'War Eagle'. She waves her hand around in a circle in front of her and says "whoaaaaa"! She says 'shoe' very clearly now and labels any shoes she sees at home. She also likes to try to put our shoes on. She says 'yes' every now and then when we ask her a question but that isn't consistent yet. She now says no, too. My LEAST favorite word. Most of the time she says it to Toby. She actually spanked Toby one day after we had fussed at him for trying to eat Jason's dinner! We told her 'be gentle' and she petted him sweetly and hugged him. She also says 'nuh nuh nuh' if you pick her up and she doesn't want to be held. She said 'bus' yesterday when we left her daycare and she saw the bus they have parked there. She says door, but it sounds more like 'doh'. She has been imitating several two word phrases, as well, including 'go car', 'hi daddy', and 'close door'. She says 'hey' now when she picks up one of our cell phones and will whisper 'hey' while waving to people we see at the grocery store. She continues to be social and loves meeting new people. However, when in a new environment with lots of people she usually has quite the serious face and likes to just watch and observe for a little while before making friends. Physically she is now able to climb...anything. She climbs up steep stairs, climbs the ladder to her play set, tries to climb our bookshelf. She runs faster and faster each day (occasionally away from me!). She is still snuggly and still loves to eat everything. She still loves to read and in her favorite book (Hurry Hurry) she actually tries to read it out loud by herself and babbles the correct number of words and syllables per page (i.e. on the page that says 'Hurry, Hurry' she says /h^d^ h^d^/ and the page that says 'Ready? Read?' she says /rE^ rE^/). Sorry to those of you that don't know the IPA. It's fun to learn! I am so amazed by this little girl and my prayer is that I can be delighted in all she does and that in everything I do I can do it for God's glory. John Piper says even changing diapers. I'll keep working on that one! ;-)

DIY

2011-10-23T16:51:00.003-05:00

Jason and I have been hard at work all weekend updating our yard. Thanks to the help of his parents, we made a ton of progress on Saturday and finished up the last little bit today (which took almost as long as it did on Saturday, mostly because we had Harper helping us!). Here are before and after pictures- we LOVE the results and ended up being the neighborhood entertainment this weekend thanks to the big change!
The pictures are, from bottom to top: 1) Before...welcome to the jungle, 2) In process, 3) front of house- it looks so much bigger!, 4) flowers by the mailbox and Toby who just HAD to be in the picture!

Happy Birthday Harper, part 2

2011-09-30T14:44:00.002-05:00

Harper had a fabulous birthday weekend, full of lots of family and friend time. It started with the arrival of my parents Thursday, then Jason's parents Friday. We all went to the raptor show which Harper LOVED. She even won a coloring book because she was having a birthday! (Which reminds me, I need to add to the other post- she claps now and says "yay"). Saturday (her birth DAY) she woke up to all the grandparents here. Jason's parents got her a playset for outside which she loves. She has already mastered sliding and is getting better at climbing! Then Sunday we had her party. She did SO well with all the people around and she was miss social hostess with everyone. So glad she enjoyed it- because that is why we had a party! Here are some pictures of our fun weekend!

Happy Birthday Harper, part 1

2011-09-30T14:10:00.003-05:00

So, I want to remember Harper's birthday and I want HER to know how much we love her and what she is doing right now. Maybe she'll read this someday. That's half why I write it down, anyway. So, this is the mushy, to Harper, part. Skip it and just look at the pics from her birthday weekend if you want.
Dear Harper,
Somehow when you become a parent, you get the magical skill of making time speed up. Unfortunately, I would prefer just to have it go slow, or at least regular speed, because I truly enjoy spending time with you! I was not sure what to expect before you were born. Your Daddy and I took a class and read books and articles about being a mom and dad, but nothing can really prepare you but experience. You have made being a mother SO much easier than I ever imagined and have been the sweetest girl since day one! Each stage of your life has come with challenges and joys. I enjoy each one more and more (I always think, man, I'll miss this stage, this is my favorite, and then the next one comes and I love it, too!). Your Daddy and I were talking the other night and we were remembering how nervous we were when we first brought you home. Our goal that first night was just to make sure we kept you alive! And we did it! :-) Harper, you are truly a gift from God. I pray that you will come to know and understand true and lasting JOY, that can only be found in knowing your heavenly father. He has given me so much and entrusted me with you! I pray that this quote can be recognized in your life: "She knew that she was formed by God's hands, dreamed up in His heart, and placed in this world for a purpose". Your Daddy and I joke about what that purpose will be, but I want YOU to discover that on your own and not let the schemings of others decide your purpose. Thank you for being such a wonderful daughter!
I love you,
Mommy
PS- Here's the stuff you probably care about:
Height: 28.5 inches...although I think they measured you wrong, because they usually do and then they have to remeasure. You are slightly taller than average for your age. Big shocker there considering your family.
Weight: 19.23 pounds. You eat like a horse and I wouldn't be surprised if you were 30 pounds the way you eat! Thanks for being such a good eater!
Speaking of food- you drink out of a straw and regular type sippy cup now, you drink whole milk (organic of course!), you eat table food, and you (thanks to your birthday) have a big sweet tooth like your mommy. Your favorite foods are still blueberries, but really any kind of fruit. You also love carrots and sweet potatoes. You are also a big meat fan and have eaten everything from fish to pork to beef to chicken to lamb.
You wave hello and bye appropriately now (that just started a week ago). You used to waved towards yourself but now you wave palm out with fingers outstretched.
You also sign 'more' spontaneously and consistently now. You look so proud of yourself when you do it!
You are walking, running, climbing, dancing, and 'throwing' now (throwing is more like dropping).
You are talking up a storm. Thank goodness! You say: Daddy (a lot), Mama (hardly ever unless you want to eat), duck, dog, up, uh oh, hi/hey, bye bye (which you whisper when you say...we haven't figured out why!), brush, baby, that (your new favorite word...you point to things you want us to show you and say /daet/), bird, and /bob/ for Toby. I don't think I left any off. You imitate a lot of things we say but don't say them spontaneously yet, like cat.
You follow directions very well (give me the ___, put the ___ in the bag, hands down, give ___ to Toby). I hope you KEEP following directions your mom and dad give you well.
You are VERY social and you wave to everyone we see. You love being the center of attention but you are still pretty chill when you aren't. You let strangers hold you and pick you up and you even reached your hands up to the waiters at the Mexican restaurant when you saw them. Mommy does NOT like you wanting strangers to hold you. At least you are friendly, though.
You love to play, whether it is peek a boo, which you will initiate, chase, hug your stuffed animals, pretend with play food (you feed Mommy and Daddy), you love toys that you can dump out and then put back in (although they usually end up out when you are done!), but most of all you LOVE to read. You pick up a book then back up against a person until you are in their lap! You want the same books read to you over and over. Currently they are: Little Kitten, Aubie Loves Sports, Goodnight, Baby, Hurry Hurry, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. You also love lots of other books that are on the 'forbidden' bookshelf so you don't rip the pages.
Speaking of ripping pages, you get in trouble sometimes, too, now. That is new! You love to play in Toby's water and you know you aren't supposed to be there, so you sneak in to play. You pull books off the grownup books shelves but usually respond if we say "Harper...." or "no ma'am" or "hands down". You also like to play with cords and you try to wrap them around your neck. Which is giving me gray hair. You get in BIG trouble for that because it is not safe. Oh, and for running down the driveway towards the street. Which is hilarious to you but frightening to Mommy.
Okay, that is all! Love you sweet girl!

2 down!

2011-09-02T20:44:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Dutch, the beautiful horse in the pictures, I accomplished item number two on my thirty bucket list! He was a very sweet animal and made riding a horse VERY easy. He also kept trying to stop and eat, which I thought was hilarious! I was good and told him no and pulled the reigns up!

Eleven.

2011-08-25T16:53:00.003-05:00

(no more paparazzi mom!)
So, Jason and I are now the proud parents of an 11 month old! So crazy how quickly time flies by. Having a child reminds you to not live for tomorrow but to cherish every second that we have! So here are some Harper updates:
-she is now running and walking. She loves to dance with her daddy (which basically consists of bouncing up and down). She climbs now and actually climbed out of the pool yesterday! (help!) She also opens and closes doors as long as they are not shut all the way. She also learned how to climb in and out of baby sized chairs last week (thanks to Cooper!) and keeps disappearing. When I find her she is sitting, grinning from ear to ear, in her bumbo chair in her closet!!!
-she is still babbling away. She also says up, uh oh, dog, /m^m^/ for more, mama (yay!), dada (but she usually whispers this when Jason walks through the door...haven't figured that one out yet!). She also makes a noise when she is doing something sneaky that sounds like /s-s-s-s/, almost like a little snicker. Usually that means she is trying to get into Toby's food or water. She will also imitate a lot of what we say (yikes!) and has imitated duck, quack (/wae/), go, ball, and several other things I can't think of right now. She said ball a couple times by herself but doesn't do that one consistently yet. She also imitates the sign for 'more' occasionally but mostly she just growls still.
- 6 teeth! (can you believe it?). 3 tops ones came in on one day. That was actually not that grumpy of a day, either! Two on bottom, four on top.
-She now eats mostly table food. It is a little sad not to be making baby food so often but now I will just give her what we are eating, prior to salting it (i.e. she ate black beans and rice the other night., she eats beef stew, boiled chicken with veggies, etc.). She is drinking much better from the sippy cup but I still can't find a good one with a straw. She still won't drink that well out of her cup at daycare, but she usually at least drinks half now.
- She is becoming quite bossy with other kids (I don't know WHERE that came from...) and I have seen her take a toy from a group of boys. They literally just sat there with their mouths open. She is also incredibly sweet and is nice to the other babies mostly. She also shares well, we had friends visiting last weekend and when their son was crying one time she offered him her prized tupperware lid she had gotten out of the cabinet. She and Toby are still great pals, although he is not the biggest fan of being climbed on.
Well, that is 11 month Harper in a nutshell. I dread posting next month!!! But I am also thrilled to be the mother of such a wonderful little girl. Oh, and PS (if there is such a thing in blogging) I gave her a language assessment (PLS-5) and she scored 5 months above age level! Did I have any doubt, though?

One down- 4 to go!

2011-07-31T19:45:00.003-05:00

Thanks to our family trip to Gulf Shores, I was able to check one item off my 30 bucket list. Yay! (If you are confused, click here )

10 Months Old

2011-07-24T16:37:00.004-05:00

So, it is hard for me to believe that in two (very short) months Harper will be a year old. Where has this year gone? Where has my tiny baby gone? I have been mourning her baby-ness for the past month (now I see why some people choose to have babies so close together- they stop being babies so quickly!) but I am so thankful for the times that she is still baby like- snuggling, sleeping so peacefully, her sweet baby voice. I am SO thankful for all the things she can do now as well (smile, laugh at us, give us kisses, etc.). Anyway, the past month has been especially hard for me since she has started walking- it seems to signal the end of babyhood. But it is also the beginning of an amazing little girl! Here is what she is doing at 10 months:
-walking (she started that a week after she turned 9 months old)
-dancing (thanks to Caedmon!)
-saying 'uh' and pointing up when we say "Harper, where is up?" and saying 'uh oh' after we say it when something falls (or, uh hum, is dropped)
-She loves opening and closing cabinets (especially forbidden ones), unscrewing drawer knobs, and climbing in and out of the rungs on the dining room chairs.
-She still loves giving us kisses and will do so virtually anytime we ask.
-She loves to 'swim' and will kick her legs and move her arms...but not at the same time. She also keeps sticking her face in the water which makes her mad, but she keeps doing it anyway. She also likes to drink the water.
-She FINALLY drinks from a sippy cup (we tried a new kind and it worked like magic) but she still takes her bottles, too.
-She is not as wary of strangers as she was a few months ago but still plays the staring game with people out in public...if they don't look at her she stares them down until she gets a smile!
-She is eating all sorts of finger foods now, any soft veggies or fruit (or soft cooked, like green beans or steamed carrots), she loves eggs (no salt or pepper, just scrambled and cooked in a little butter), her favorite food is still blueberries but she also loves her chicken with apple and sweet potato. She drinks water now in addition to formula and sometimes 'juicewater' at daycare just so she will drink something during the day (She went on a drink strike for a few weeks at daycare...not a food strike though!). She basically will eat anything we put in front of her and stuffs her mouth usually so we have to be careful not to give her too much. She doesn't growl as much as she used to but she still doesn't spontaneously use any of the baby signs ('more' and 'eat') that we are teaching her.

Well...I think that is about it for 10 month old Harper! We are still in awe of our amazing (notso) little blessing!

Adventures with Babies (also known as the weekend I 'witnessed' a miracle).

2011-07-20T16:04:00.008-05:00

So, I am not sure how to even begin this post. I feel like I have got to write it down before the magic of this weekend goes away. And by magic I mean God's amazing provision in our lives. So, I think I might write this in bulleted points because otherwise I could get a little carried away (which you won't be surprised about if you've already read any of my previous posts). This past weekend I flew to Dallas to visit friends, help host a baby shower, and see my friend pregnant (because pregnant girls are TOO cute!). My dear friend Rachel flew with me and was my traveling companion/sanity saver/Harper's second mommy. THANK YOU Rachel for being such a help and being so sweet and patient with me and Harper...even when she woke you up every day of your vacation before 6:15am. Okay, gotta stick to bulleted points now...
1) flew in Thursday, got to introduce Harper to my Dallas friends and got to see how big their kiddos were (born and unborn)
2) Got to go to a crazy nice mall on Friday and eat French food from the mall food court and window shop. Oh, did I mention my friend's hubby watched our kids so we could have a girls day? He was a SAINT this weekend. Thanks Jeff!
3) On Saturday Harper inspired her friend we visited to walk. He had been kind of walking but I guess he thought "this little girl isn't going to come in my house and show me up!" or maybe "hey, that doesn't look so bad!". Maybe HG will be a physical therapist someday and inspire others....and in turn, the sweet boy taught her how to dance. I love it! All I do now is sing her a song and she bounces and shakes her hand. Poor thing. She'll probably dance like her daddy and I do.
4) Also on Saturday while in Texas we got word that my friend we were staying with was going to become an Aunt (her sister in law went into labor a week early!). It was a very exciting day, we were all pumped for the baby shower since we were all thinking in baby mode. The baby shower was lovely and such fun. Always nice to see old friends and meet new ones!
5) Sunday morning we were leaving for the airport. Harper woke up extra early and when I went out to the living room my friend for whom we threw the shower was awake (she hadn't really slept). She tells me she is having "cramps" and that her water has broken. WHAT!?!? Needless to say I was wide awake sans tea at this point. Sadly, I had no clue whether or not she was experiencing braxton hicks or real contractions, since I never really had any braxton hicks and since I was induced. So our Dallas friends headed to the hospital and Rachel and I headed to the airport. Thanks to Saint Husband Jeff who gave us a ride.
6) We are anxiously awaiting news while at the airport...it comes...our friend indeed is in labor and is progressing FAST. Oh. Did I mention her husband is 7 1/2 hours away in Middleofnowhere Texas? And that she is 3 weeks early? And that this isn't suppose to be happening right now? Yeah.
7) Stupid no phones on the airplane rule. It was excruciating waiting the 2 hour flight. We land and get word that her husband has made it PRE baby. What? How is that possible? They had to arrive at the hospital about 7amish. He probably didn't leave until after that. This was 1pm that we got word he had made it. To be able to drive all the way to the airport from Middleofnowhere, get on a plane, fly, drive from the airport to the hospital, all in that short time and all the while no baby has come. That is divine intervention. Also...her mom made it in town from many many miles away. Also pre baby.
8) 5pmish. A beautiful, healthy, baby boy arrives. :-) Praise God! HE knew what she needed and what her baby needed and provided a way for all of that to happen. Truly a miracle. If you aren't a believer in miracles, start looking for them. God is moving and working. As a brief aside, even if her husband hadn't made it, God would still be good. We would still praise Him. His perfect grace would still be enough. I know she would agree.
9) Our flight landed 30 minutes early. Miracle #2 for the day. Here are some pictures from our fun weekend.
S- sorry for telling your story...it is too amazing not to tell and since I was a tiny part of it, I felt I needed to share it!

Meredith's manners- travel etiquette with children

2011-07-17T19:25:00.005-05:00

I love people watching. Here are some travel tips based on my observations this weekend.

1) Just because I have a child does not mean I like your children, nor do I want them climbing on me, my luggage, or my child, especially when said children have been coughing and crying.
2) When in a crowded public area it is best to actually keep an eye on your children. Otherwise they might wander off and meet strangers, get lost, or bother other people (see above).
3) Allowing your child to kick the back of someone's seat on a plane is NOT polite.
4) This goes for all travelers: while I do enjoy chatting with people next to me on the plane, I probably don't want to hear your entire life story the entire flight. Sometimes I like to sleep or read. This also goes for most other travelers. When you increase the number of alcoholic drinks consumed that does not increase the likelihood that I want to hear about your friends from when you were in high school. (This makes me sound anti-social...I really do enjoy chatting with people on the plane, but I observed a lady today who went on and on the entire flight to the guy next to her and she never got the hint that he didn't want her to keep talking!)
5)This goes for all adult travelers: consuming large amounts of alcohol, either in the terminal or on the flight, is probably NEVER a good idea. It results in quotes like this- said loudly on the large escalators at the Atlanta airport in front of a LOT of people "I had an epiphany today. I don't hate babies. I like them. I sat next to this 12 year old on the plane and it gave me hope." HAHAHA!

By the way, miraculously- our flight arrived home 30 minutes early!!!

Walk like a baby!

2011-07-10T15:02:00.003-05:00

June 30, 2011...Harper took 4 steps in a row unassisted. Since then she has been standing up all by herself (without pulling up) and taking several steps (up to 8) all by herself. She still prefers to crawl, though, since she can get there faster. She is definitely proud to be walking, she gets the cutest look on her face when she does! I can't believe my baby is walking!

Sharing!

2011-07-09T13:37:00.004-05:00

I have been in "house mode" for the past 3 months or so (Jason would say for MUCH longer). Since our contract was finalized on our house, however, I have been crazy about HGTV and looking at blogs about renovations, etc. We are fortunate in that our house had no immediate changes that needed to be made (no painting, no wallpaper removal, no appliance updates). I know that we will eventually update a lot of things (first...the kitchen, then the light fixtures...especially our horrible gold arrowhead chandelier- see it here). However, I love looking at renovations and gathering ideas for later dates. Here is a blog post that has some amazing renovations. I LOVE this kitchen, so much natural light and so functional but beautiful.

Harper's first Fourth!

2011-07-08T21:30:00.004-05:00

The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays...how could I resist a holiday that has celebrations that include yummy grilled food, WATERMELON, and blowing things up! This 4th Jason, HG, and I were lucky enough to get to go to Destin for a long weekend! We got to introduce Harper to the beach- one of our favorite places, spend some time with friends, and just enjoy some family time! Here are some pictures of our fourth. Our friend Kevin's parents took us for a boat ride to watch the fireworks from the boat. It was fantastic! Harper slept through most of it (thanks to the boat ride) but woke up during the finale and watched wide-eyed. She wasn't worried though, she was safe in her daddy's arms! Oh- we also got to see an air show- it was so fun! We didn't know it was going to happen but we walked outside the house and looked up and there were these cool old planes flying up and down and sideways and upside down!

9 months old!

2011-06-25T07:35:00.004-05:00

So, I knew Harper was 9 months old. But it really hit me when her pediatrician says "I'll see you again in 3 months...when she's a year old." WHAT!?!? How is that only 3 months away? But back to Harper at 9 months. She is 17.2 lbs, 28 inches long, with a head circumference of 49 cm (Jason thought they said 42 though, so..maybe that one is not accurate). She is in the 63rd percentile for height and the 15th for weight. I was worried maybe they thought she needed to gain more weight but Dr. Freeman looked at Jason and I and said "children usually take after their parents, she's just tall and thin". She is still on the same growth curve she has been on since last September so she is healthy, happy, and 'a beautiful, perfect baby' as Dr. Freeman says. She just got her first tooth last Saturday! Harper babbles all the time. Her favorite thing to say currently is /dada/ but sometimes she even says /dad/ or /dadi/. She uses this in reference to quite a lot, though, so unfortunately for Jason she isn't saying daddy just yet. She also says /baebaebae/ which sounds like bad bad bad and she says it to Toby a lot! She also loves making silly noises too and will either blow raspberries with her tongue to make us laugh OR will bubble her lips (we call it the motorboat sound). She also copies us when we make sounds! She does really well following directions with or without gestural cues (if we hold out our arms she will crawl to us to have us pick her up or if we say "Harper, come here" she will crawl to us as well). She also will give us kisses if we say 'give me a kiss' and thinks it is funny to attack us with repeated kisses. She also shares really well (thank you daycare). She puts her paci in your mouth if you say "give me your paci" and we pretend to suck on it for a minute then she takes it back. Just this week she's started sharing her food with us offering us the food on her fingers after she's stuffed her fingers in her mouth. She likes it when we pretend to eat it and then say "thank you!". Speaking of food, this child LOVES to eat real food. If you don't get the food in her mouth fast enough she makes this horrible growling noise that sounds like a wild animal. Her daycare actually videotaped it because they thought it was so funny. I have been trying to get her to use baby signs so she'll quit growling! She is busy crawling as fast as I can walk just about all over the house. She loves exploring things and banging them against the floor to see if they pass 'the baby test'. She is very close to walking and transfers from one piece of furniture to another and stands without holding onto anything (sometimes even with toys in her hand). She has actually taken a few steps (not at the same time) but we don't count that as walking because it is one small shuffle step and then she sits down. Toby is her best friend and she loves playing with him, taking his toys away, giving him her toys, snuggling with him. She smiles so big at him and laughs and talks to him more than anyone! She has days where she is a mommy's girl and days where she is a daddy's girl. She does really well when I drop her off at daycare and just goes straight to the toys to play but she is also always so happy to see me. She is starting to need to be told 'no' but doesn't understand what that means- maybe because she has heard us yell this at Toby her whole life. Overall- the past 9 months have been SUCH a joy and she has been an amazing tiny blessing!

30 Bucket List

2011-06-24T08:43:00.004-05:00

I meant to post this a while ago but when I turned 30 we had just moved, so...here it is. I don't mean this to imply that I think I am going to kick the bucket because I am now "so old", I just meant this as a list of things I want to do before I am not 30 anymore. And if I post it in blogworld then maybe I will be held accountable to it!

1) Visit a new state
2) Eat something crazy (I am thinking raw oysters or sea anemone sushi...I've already eaten rattlesnake)
3) Ride a horse (believe it or not, I've never done this. I have sat on a pony/donkey and been led around but I've never actually gotten to ride by myself!)
4) Find the waterfalls at Chewacla (to those of you who live in Auburn you probably think this is crazy, but Jason and I have been to Chewacla several times and STILL have yet to see those falls!)
5) this is the BIG one...participate in the Music City Half Marathon! (Note that I didn't say run. I want to complete it but I also don't want to set myself up for failure in case I can't finish training for it. It will be completed and I will run MOST of it, hopefully all of it).

So- help me out peeps! Cheer me on! It's not a long list but it will be fun getting it finished...I only have 11 months left!

Why I make my own baby food

2011-06-24T06:49:00.007-05:00

So, I think it would be fun to start my own blog just about making baby food but...I have a job and a baby and a life so, I have no time to consistently blog about things. BUT I wanted to at least share a little about it. So many people have said "you must be supermom" to be able to make HG's food, but the secret is- it is SO easy. I want other people to be able to do this as well, should they so desire. Also, this post is not meant as a judgement on people who use (*sarcastic gasp*) jarred baby food. I grew up eating jarred food. HG eats jarred food occasionally too. I really enjoy cooking and have time to whip up food for her (although, after you read this post, you'll see that you probably do too!). I don't think you are bad or wrong or notasgoodasme for not making your baby's food. Just like you didn't think I was bad or wrong for not breastfeeding (oh wait...but that is another blog entirely and a fiery issue as well so I am not going to touch that with a 10 foot pole!). I just want to share what I do in case someone else is curious.
So- why do I make my own baby food? #1- I enjoy cooking. It is relaxing and fun to me. If you loathe cooking this is probably not something you should do. Except some 'recipes' are easier than cooking! #2- If you look at the date on a jar of baby food you'll see the expiration date is sometimes as much as two years past the date of purchase. That isn't exactly fresh. Also, in order to get food to stay good for that long you have to cook it at such a high temperature it becomes pretty bland. How can babies develop a sense of taste if this jarred food doesn't have any? I want Harper to enjoy eating and be willing to be an adventurous eater (not Andrew Zimmern level, just willing to try new things!). The second 6 months of life is the time to introduce babies to a variety of new flavors to help develop their taste buds. #3- I have a secret desire for Harper to become a foodie. #4 (Addendum)- Thanks Jenn for reminding me of this VERY important reason- IT IS CHEAPER! That was one of the main reasons I got started and I totally forgot to mention it here!

So, how hard is it? If you can use a fork, you can make baby food. Some of my favorite 'recipes' are bananas and avocado. Here is the recipe: Mash the banana (or avocado) with a fork with a little of your baby's usual milk. Feed to baby. Ta da! The bananas actually stay fresh for a while, so I can make it at 5:30am and Harper can eat it at 10:30am at daycare (when it is refrigerated). Making baby food requires no fancy equipment. I do use some great products that make it easy, but in all honesty, I could just as easily use my blender or food processor. To make baby food what you'd need is: a steamer (a simple metal steamer insert is less than $8 at Target or Walmart), a food processor or blender (to puree the food), cutting board, knives, pots/pans, and ice cube trays. One thing that makes cooking baby food so easy is putting the prepared food into ice cube trays, freezing it, and thawing only what you need. That way all your (not so) hard work lasts longer!
Pictured is my Beaba Cooker (it steams and blends all in one- fancy and fun but not necessary), what I use instead of ice cube trays to make individual portions, and my bags of preprepared food in the freezer (sweet potato, flounder with peas and cheese sauce, cinnamon applesauce, chicken with apples and sweet potato, and strawberry/peach/applesauce). Harper loves eating all of it and hopefully will not be a picky eater as she gets older! If you ever want to know more or want some of these fabulous recipes just ask!

Beautiful

2011-06-10T13:25:00.004-05:00

So, this seems like a pet peeve but I have thought a lot about it and I really think this is a much deeper issue in our society. It all started on my way to work. I have an hour (well, 45 minutes now post move!) to think or talk or listen as I drive to and from work. Every morning I was hearing the same ProActive commercial. Now I love ProActive- it works, but after hearing this commercial a billion times I think I may not recommend them so highly. The commercial is targeted to teens or parents of teens and says about acne:
"...it robs them of their joy."
I may be waaaay over thinking this, but even so, here is my rant. ACNE should not rob you of your joy. I firmly believe that joy and happiness are two different things and JOY comes from the Maker of the Universe.

Psalm 19:8 "The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes."

It breaks my heart when I hear this commercial (I know, I should change the channel or get XM radio). To think about how this commercial just falls in line with our society when girls are taught from such a young age that their joy and happiness should be derived from their looks. You are what you wear. You are equal to your beauty. See all those girls on tv, that is who you should aspire to be. This world has NOTHING for us. If your hope is built on the brand of clothes you wear, what you look like physically, or any other aspect of your outward appearance then you will surely have great disappointment in life. Now, I am not saying that I do not fall victim to this or that I don't care a thing about what I look like. However, my appearance is not what defines me. I am SO THANKFUL that my mother raised my sister and I to believe that who we are, and not what we look like, is what is important. She taught us to present ourself well, but more importantly, taught us that the kind of people we are is what truly matters. Now that I have a daughter the brokenness of this world is so much more evident to me. With the rise of social media (and media in general for that matter), the emphasis on physical appearance has increased since I was a child. I pray that my daughter grows up knowing that she is loved for who she is, not what she looks like. That she has a heavenly Father who loves her no matter how ugly she is (inside and out). I pray that she knows that her hope is found in Jesus and not in the pages of Cosmo. I pray that she knows her worth is not in what she looks like. I am going to try hard to keep her from believing otherwise. It is difficult because everywhere we go I hear "She is so cute" or "She is a beautiful baby". Well she is. But I typically say "She is a sweet baby" or something to that effect. I would think she was cute if she had four heads. But I want HER to believe that she is beautiful because she is herself. She doesn't need makeup, certain clothing, dyed hair, etc. to be beautiful. She is beautiful to our Savior. YOU are too, as a matter of fact. So, in summary:
Our joy comes from the Lord.
Please don't ever let anything or anyone tell you something of this world has control over that. We will have trials of many kinds in this life, we will have sorrows and disappointments and suffering. But we will always have joy if our hope is found in Heaven.

HOME!

2011-06-10T08:51:00.006-05:00

So, it's been a while since the last post, but can you blame us? We just moved! Just a quick update- all is well at the new house. The move went great thanks to our amazing friends and family who helped from everything to physically moving furniture and boxes, strategizing how to get everything from point A to point B, caring for Harper so she didn't notice all the craziness, and unpacking some of our things (seriously, if these people weren't so great at their real jobs, I would hire them out to move- they made the event such a non stressor!). It was such a blessing to have things go smoothly (nothing even broke...that I know about anyway!) because moving with a baby was an extra stressor. You would think that someone who has moved 10+ times (not counting moving in and out of dorms every year during college) would handle it better but, I don't. I am so thankful to all of you who blessed us with your calmness, helpfulness, and strength! Included are a couple pictures of the new home. I am also thankful that we live in a house that I can feel safe in and a neighborhood with super nice, friendly people (close to friends, Publix, cupcakes, ice cream, and church!). :-) We definitely know that God's plan is better than ours and this home at this time is proof positive of that!

New videos of Harper

2011-05-20T09:09:00.002-05:00

Here are some new videos of Harper, mostly for family who don't live close enough to see her often! She has been crawling for almost two months now, but I haven't posted a good video of her crawling. Also included is her pulling up to a standing position, which she does all the time- she has also started creeping while holding on- mostly on her exersaucer. The other video is Harper and her daddy. She was CRACKING UP at his duck calling. I could listen to that laugh all day! Maybe she'll be his hunting buddy. Mommy might not be able to handle that stress, though!

Thankful

2011-04-30T06:34:00.003-05:00

In light of the horrible tragedy in Alabama this week, I have been very VERY thankful this week that my family is safe, that our home is still standing, and that we have been blessed with more life to live. Especially since we are still living in a mobile home! On a MUCH MUCH lighter note, I am also very thankful that I am not Kate Middleton. I know 99% of girls and women would disagree, but I would never want a wedding like that- how stressful! You probably have to make all these decisions for your wedding day based on what is expected or tradition or what is required, rather than on what you want. So thankful Jason and I got to do things OUR way!
(You might think that was a weird combo of ideas, but I always think a little humor helps to get through the hard times!)
Okay, the one bonus of becoming a princess- the Queen lets you borrow a tiara! ;-)

New house

2011-04-24T15:45:00.002-05:00

Okay, by request- here are a few pictures of our new house. We will have a real guest room with a BIG guest bed so friends are always welcome!!! :-) Pictured are front and back of house, dining room, kitchen, and living room.

Update in pictures

2011-04-24T14:46:00.003-05:00

So, brief update on our lives...we bought a house, Harper got baptized!, Harper loves eating everything (rice cereal, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, bananas, paper, etc.), Harper learned to crawl (video coming soon), we took Harper to A-day (and inside Jordan-Hare Stadium) for the first time, and we celebrated our first Easter with Harper! Enjoy the pics..I'll write more soon when it's not Easter!

Addendum

2011-04-03T19:34:00.002-05:00

To add to my last post: As of tonight Harper can pull up to a kneeling position in her crib. Ahhh! Too many changes, my baby is growing up so quickly!

What a difference a week makes!

2011-04-03T15:07:00.003-05:00

Sheesh! In baby world time seems to fly by faster than in pre-baby world. In just a week's time Harper is now sitting on her own (she could do this for a few seconds before but now she can for long periods of time...we still don't leave her unattended though as she sometimes gets distracted and falls on her face!). She is also on the verge of crawling. She has been able to scoot and wriggle around pretty well for a while, but now she gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth. She can move her knees/legs in an alternate pattern but she has yet to figure out her arms. Soon! I am just praying I don't have to babyproof two houses, one for only a month or two! She reaches for everything now, expecting it to be handed to her (which it is a lot of the times). She even figured out that when she reached for our dinner plates and we moved them back she could just pull the placemat to get everything closer. Oh, and she has started the throw the toy on the floor so we can pick it up only to be thrown again game. My parent's neighbor's granddaughter was so sweet and kept picking up her toys for her that now she loves the game! She is definitely learning cause and effect and object permanence. She is still super social and will try hard to get people to pay attention to her. Most of the time they will smile at her and she goes about her business. If they don't though she works and works until they look at her or smile at her. In the airport she grunted at people who wouldn't pay attention to her. She is a well loved baby, obviously. ;-) More on our trip later!

Harper eating rice cereal for the first time!

2011-03-13T19:51:00.003-05:00

Tonight, we decided 'new time change- new feeding schedule'! (Plus her schedule was totally thrown off anyway) so Harper got to eat rice cereal for the very first time. She LOVED it! See the video! Pictures to come.

Videos of Harper

2011-03-06T17:19:00.004-06:00

Here are some videos of HG. They include Harper blowing raspberries for the first time, Harper and Toby 'playing', Harper discovering her mommy's face, and Harper attempting to crawl.
Sorry about the quality, they were taken on my cell phone since our good camera takes videos at such a high quality that they won't upload.

Deep thoughts by Meredith

2011-03-06T16:52:00.003-06:00

Okay, this should be called random thoughts, but I adore deep thoughts by Jack Handy so I had to title it this. Real quick, one of my favorite deep thoughts by Jack Handy:
"What would make a complete stranger dive into a freezing cold river to save a solid gold baby? We may never know."
Okay, and on to random thoughts.
1. I hate e-readers. Kindle, Nook, etc. I loathe the thought of them. Give me paper with the risk of getting a paper cut or tearing a page. I need the sensory experience when I read. I need the rustling sound of the pages. I need the musty smell of old books. Yes, I am a nerd, that has been established. I own it. Maybe this is because I worked at a library for so long. Maybe it is because I am becoming more and more like my mother with each passing day, rejecting the newest technologies (we didn't have an answering machine until 1998). I also love libraries, I can't wait to take Harper when she gets old enough. I love to visit the libraries of cities I travel. I recommend out of town visitors go to the Nashville Public Library when they visit Nashville (they never do). All of this to say, I promise I do not look down on those of you who do own or use e-readers. I could just never use one. However, if someone has an i-pad they want to give me...
2. I will follow an "I hate" thought with an "I love" thought. I love the diversity at Harper's daycare. First of all, I just love her daycare and the way they care for her and love on her. It makes it easy to leave her while I work. But back to my point. I love the diversity, I want her to be exposed to all different kinds of people from an early age. I loved moving around the country for that very reason when I was younger. I didn't intentionally pick her daycare for the diversity, but I am happy that she has that.
3. Why do bikers in Auburn not use the designated bike lanes? If I have to share the road with you, then you have to share the road with me. If I hit you because you are not where you are supposed to be, then you will be hurt. I don't want to hurt you. Also, do not ride on beehive road at 5:45am with dark clothing and no lights. The road is curvy. Again, I don't want to hurt you. We have had too many bikers injured in Auburn. Just because you are dressed like you are in the Tour de France doesn't mean you can ride without caution.
4. Why do babies smell so good? If they made a baby smell perfume I would buy it. Weird? yes. But everyone knows it is true. Even Jason knows what baby smell is now!
5. I really don't want Harper to ever email or text because I hate that people do not know grammar or punctuation or spelling anymore. I know, I know. You are mentally counting all my grammatical errors in this blog. I blog how I speak, though, and not how I write. Or if I were a 16 year old, I should say "i blog how i tlk nt how i rite". Grrr. Your versus You're, write versus right, there versus their versus they're. Do we not teach this in school? Do we not take off points for these things on papers?
6. They say pie is the new cupcake. But it seems like frozen yogurt is the new cupcake. Is it just because I live in Alabama and we are at least a year behind? Is frozen yogurt in a separate category? PS-I like cupcakes better than pie.
7. Last one, my husband is psychic. Not in the "I can see the future" kind. He is just an expert in predicting if someone is having a girl or a boy. He was at 100% last year. This year he missed ONE so far, but it was a second baby, so we are thinking he is only first baby psychic, not second. If you want him to tell you if you are having a boy or girl, give us a call. He says you have to be in the continental US for it to work. I just had to give him a plug! ;-)

30 is the new.....

2011-03-03T18:08:00.001-06:00

PS- Jason turned 30 on Monday!!! Judging by the looks of this picture, I think rolling into the next decade went pretty well!

5 months old!

2011-03-03T16:31:00.003-06:00

Wow, a lot has happened since January...I need to blog more so the non-facebook crowd can keep up with my life! Let's start with Harper. She is 5 months, 1 week old. She can now shimmy and scoot around pretty much wherever she wants to go (which isn't super far since she just wants to get to things that she can see). She isn't crawling, but using a combination of rolling, scooting, pushing, and pulling to get where she wants to go. She is more entertained by her toys now but her favorite thing is still to just talk to someone. At daycare they say she talks all day long (loudly) and sometimes not to anyone in particular, she just babbles to herself. She is her mother's child, I suppose. Once when I took her to Publix (I can't just say "the grocery store" because it is so much better...but I digress) she talked the whole time and people actually commented on how much she was talking. When I say talking I mean babbling. She even does some variegated babbling, for you SLP's. She also says 'mama' sometimes (not as a word, just as babble) but I still run over to her and say "I'm your mama!" or "Here's mama!". Just so she knows. And maybe she'll say mama first. But probably not, because she thinks the word dada is hilarious. She is cutting her first tooth and was absolutely miserable Tuesday. She had her first fever, but thankfully it was due to teething and not to illness! I hope she has someone else's teeth...all of mine had to be pulled but two (one naturally came out at the age of 10, the other got knocked out in a skateboarding accident when I was 7 or 8). Okay, so there is the Harper update. She is still the sweetest baby. Very chill but also very quick to let you know what she thinks, I am just thankful that most of the time she is happy so she smiles to tell us she's happy. On to other updates. WE. SOLD. OUR. HOUSE. Two years in the making, but we did it! We are so happy to be looking for our first REAL house and a place for our new family. Harper is excited about having a new room and Toby is happy to finally have a yard. I am just happy that everyone will be happy! Love to all!!!

One more thing...

2011-01-16T16:02:00.003-06:00

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention in that last blog update that AUBURN WON THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! Things were CRAZY here in Auburn. It was pretty exciting to live in the city where the winning university is located. I never thought that would happen. Since Jason and I are both alum we headed over to Toomer's Corner to roll the trees there. This is a tradition that is great fun. Since this is probably a once in a lifetime opportunity we took Harper and a roll of toilet paper and celebrated with 1,000's of other people! Enjoy the pictures. For more info on the Toomer's Corner tradition, go here

Growing up!

2011-01-16T13:28:00.002-06:00

Here are some pictures to document miss Harper. More for me than anything else. Now that she is finally over that RSV she is growing like a weed! She loves to sit and babble to us and we can usually get her to laugh by making silly faces or talking to her in a funny voice (usually a lower pitch voice). Her little laugh is so cute and raspy and we will do anything to hear it! She loves to use her feet now to do things, such as kick at the polka dots on her blanket, kick her toy to make it light up, grab on to our finger or lips (yes, she uses her toes to grip things!). She also finds Toby super amusing these days and when we went for a walk yesterday she spent the whole walk watching Toby!

Harper's First Christmas!

2010-12-27T15:37:00.002-06:00

:-) "Child of wonder, close your eyes, rest here in my arms tonight. Some day you will save the world, but tonight I'll hold you right here in my arms. Precious miracle of life, child of love. The gift of hope, the gift of light, from the Father above. And you were made, for all mankind, and you will always be mine. Child of love."
I think about this song a lot now. This Christmas season I have thought (more than ever before) about how Mary must have felt and how she dealt with not just being a mother, but being Jesus' mother. Talk about pressure. This song really illustrates in a such a beautiful way how she could have been feeling. I feel like this song illustrates how I feel about Harper. Our first Christmas with Harper was wonderful, all that I could have imagined and more. Not perfect, but it was truly special. I sang this song to her several times throughout the night on Christmas Eve and in the wee hours of Christmas morning. As Jason put it "She was too excited for Santa to sleep". Even teeny newborn Harper slept better than that night. We all survived, a little worse the wear for sleep, and had a lovely Christmas day with Jason's family. The day was cloudy and rainy on and off and it was just beautiful. Typically a rainy day is not beautiful but Jason's folks live on a lake and it was so pretty to see the gray skies against the water. Harper was very interested in all the shiny presents and the rustling paper. She even helped open presents (see pictures). We had a very merry Christmas day, I hope everyone in blog land did too!
PS- We Martins are real...these pictures show our real life. No makeup, snotty noses, fussy models, etc. But this is OUR life and we wouldn't trade it!

Helpless

2010-12-18T21:41:00.003-06:00

Suffice it to say...I have felt very helpless as a mother over the past week. I knew Harper would get sick eventually, and most likely from daycare, but I didn't think it would happen so quickly! She got RSV and started feeling pretty crummy about this time last week. It literally broke my heart every time she would cough or sneeze. To see someone, especially your own child, so small and so unable to help themselves- even to the point of not being able to blow their nose- was horrible. Some days we were both crying because it hurt me so bad not to be able to wave my magic mommy wand and make her better (oh, did they forget to give you one of those, too?). I am very thankful for a wonderful support I have in my husband, mom, mother in law, doctor, and her daycare, all of whom helped ease her discomfort and eased my anxiety. I am most thankful to God who gave me HIS promise through his word that he would always be here and never leave me. I am very thankful that all we had to deal with is RSV. While it was scary and heartbreaking, I will never take the lack of severity of it for granted. She is well now and I am thanking God that my sweet, precious, tiny baby is well! What a test of my faith, though...leaving me with lots of questions that I am too superstitious to ask in this blog.

Born to Die by Bebo Norman

2010-12-18T21:30:00.000-06:00

Andrew Peterson - Dancing In The Mine Fields

2010-12-18T21:29:00.000-06:00

Child of Love

2010-12-18T21:28:00.000-06:00

BOTH favorites...

2010-12-18T20:56:00.005-06:00

If you know me well enough, you know this is a Brian Regan reference. However, there are more than 'two favorites' so, you will have to forgive the inaccuracy of my reference. These are some of my favorite songs of late, 2 of them Christmas, one of them not. Enjoy!

PS- Couldn't get them in THIS post...so they will follow.
PPS- Had trouble finding 'Child of Love'. Originally done by Sara Groves for 'City on a Hill' Christmas CD. Love it. My favorite Christmas song ever. Especially now that I am a mom. Hard to imagine Mary's emotions and thoughts this time of year...

Thankful!

2010-11-26T11:35:00.005-06:00

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations". Psalm 100:4-5

So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving (which was yesterday) I think it is a good idea to acknowledge all that we have to be thankful for. Okay, I won't be able to get it all, but at least I can reflect on some of the blessings over the past year!
I am thankful for...
1. My husband. Who is so thoughtful, attentive, sweet, caring, masculine (I think the sweet + manly combo is missing in a lot of men these days...), patient, forgiving, and loving. He is an amazing daddy to our daughter and I thank God everyday for him!
2. My healthy, happy daughter! I never thought I could feel this kind of love instantly, but the second I saw her my heart swelled! She is the most perfect gift I could have ever asked for! She is teaching me more about God's perfect love for us.
3. My family. After Jason and I were home alone with Harper for the first time, we said "wow, we really love our family, we couldn't have done this without them". The truth is, we could have. BUT thanks to the love and support of our family, Harper transitioned smoothly into our lives with very little trauma for her or us! Our parents have given us amazing models and I pray that we can live up to the amazingly high bar they have set!
4. Toby. Our sweet, sweet dog who has accepted Harper into our home with so much dignity. He was my first (albeit furry) baby. He is so gentle with Harper and wants to give her a bath so badly! After hearing reports about how other dogs react to such a dramatic change, I am thankful for Toby's kind and gentle spirit.
5. My job. And Jason's job for that matter. In these tough economic times we both have jobs. I am thankful I have a job that allowed me to work half time so I could be a good mom and a good therapist. I am thankful that financially I CAN work halftime, although it will be difficult. I am thankful that Harper will be only 5 minutes away from my office.
6. My friends (did I mention before that this is NOT in order?). I am so thankful for all my friends who have given me advice, support, and loved me even when I might have been forgetful or random or freaking out about something silly. You guys have helped me be a calm(er) mom and I believe this in turn helps Harper be so calm!

There are a million of other things that I am thankful for, but I have a baby that needs attention. SO thankful for that! :-)

Harper's First Halloween

2010-11-04T16:07:00.005-05:00

Here are pictures of Harper's TWO costumes from Halloween!

Sleep Deprivation

2010-11-04T15:56:00.002-05:00

:-) Being a mom is the most life changing, amazing thing I have ever done! Plus, Jason and I got very lucky and we have the perfect baby who only wakes up once at night! That being said however, we are still suffering from a little sleep deprivation. Here are just a few things that have occurred, most likely due to sleep deprivation!
1) One afternoon when it was just Harper and I home for lunch, I poured myself a glass of sweet tea...and then another. I'm not sure if I forgot I had just poured one or if I thought Jason was home. I drank both, I figured I needed the extra caffeine.
2) I was making beef stew. I dumped the entire package of beef into the pot, absorbent liner and all! I have a sweet husband, who scrubbed the burned pad off of the pot!
3) I put the milk in the pantry and the cereal box in the refrigerator. Fortunately, I figured this out right after I did it! (Have you noticed a lot of these involve food? Maybe I should be wary of cooking!)
4) I have called Harper the dog's name...maybe I shouldn't admit this, but it is true. I don't think she is scarred too badly.
5) I have put Harper's diapers on inside out and backwards...most of these have occurred at 2 am, but not all!
6) I have walked into a room and forgot why I was there (oh wait, I did that before I had her, too!)

I am sure there will be many more to come! I wouldn't trade a single second of sleep for this precious girl!

Two weeks old!!!

2010-10-10T16:23:00.005-05:00

I can't believe Harper is two weeks old! It is strange because on one hand, I can't believe it has been two weeks already, and on the other hand, I can't remember life without Harper so it seems like she has always been here! Here are pictures of her at birth, at one week, and at two weeks!

Our beautiful blessing!

2010-10-04T10:00:00.003-05:00

On September 24, 2010 Jason and I had our world changed forever! Harper Grace Martin was born at 4:40pm. She weighed 7 lbs, 2 ounces and was 21 inches long! There are no words that can ever express how MUCH love you have immediately for your child. Learning that you are going to have a child you know you love this being that you haven't even met, but seeing her and hearing her for the first time was AMAZING. I wish I could put into words exactly how I felt. We are so grateful and thankful for our sweet daughter and we praise God that He has chosen us to be her parents! I think the best way to sum up our feelings on becoming parents is to quote the last Psalm, Psalm 150.
"Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
Praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord." Psalm 150
We feel like shouting from the rooftops our joy and our praises to God! Enjoy these precious pictures of sweet Harper!

Thoughts on our long awaited arrival!

2010-08-31T04:28:00.003-05:00

Don't worry- no one is here yet! I have just been asked about a million times "are you ready". Maybe now I'll direct them to our poor neglected blog. My answer? Honestly? No. Of course not. I think Jason would say the same thing. We have been blessed with amazing friends and family who have given us many of the things we need for our sweet girl, we have taken childbirth/parenting classes that have mentally prepared (and possibly scarred) us for what to expect prior/during/after her arrival, and we have been praying that we are spiritually ready. BUT (isn't there always a but?) we have no hospital bags packed, no place for her her to sleep when she first comes home (not put together anyway), not enough diapers, and no car seat installed. Don't panic. It will get done. But even if we had been ready for months, my answer to the "are you ready?" question would still be no. How would I even begin to fathom if I am ready or not? And somehow, I am okay with that. Which might be the bigger lesson. Me, who is so planned, so future thinking, so OCD about deadlines (yes, I was the student that had her papers written prior to the night before) is okay with not being ready. I am already learning that God uses parenthood to teach you to lean on HIM. I have a feeling that many, many times over the next (fill in the #) years Jason and I will be at a total loss and have nothing but God to cling to. In fact, I know it. He promises it. And its okay. For too long I have clung to myself and my plans and my plans have not always happened, but you know what did happen? God's plans for my life, the plans he's had forever for me, have always happened. And my life has been so much more blessed (not in a "I'm rich and successful" way, but in a 'I now know my God more deeply and can praise Him through storms and celebrations' way). My prayer for anyone reading this is that sometime in your life when (not if) you are left with nothing but the Lord to cling to that you will do just that, cling to him. Let him fill you to the measure until you are overflowing. He'd love to do that. He longs to do that.

4:00 am

2010-08-31T04:15:00.002-05:00

I have a feeling I will see this time on the clock a lot more in the coming weeks. 4:00 am really doesn't bother me TOO much, though, since I usually wake up at 5:00am anyway. What really bothered me was that I actually woke up in the 3's...I am the kind of person that needs her 8 hours every night. However, I am pretty sure over the past year plus, and especially the past several months God has been slowly preparing me for parenthood and what little amount of sleep comes with it. Job in another state in Eastern time zone? check! Leaving the house before 6am every day? check! Being pregnant and not being able to go back to sleep? check! I don't say any of this to complain. Sometimes I actually appreciate the time. I have always been a morning person, so I'd much rather wake too early than have trouble falling asleep. When I was little I would wake up pretty early every morning and I loved it because even on school days I would have time to drink my hot chocolate (precursor to hot tea) and play before I had to get ready for school. In the summers when we'd go visit my grandparents I remember walking down the road from our house to theirs in the dark and I'd sit with my grandmother and we'd watch the sunrise through her big picture window. It is comforting to know that another day is here. Another chance to redeem yourself at life! Maybe it is the farmer genes in my blood. Maybe its the baby hormones. Maybe I am just a touch crazy. I don't mind 4:00 am. We'll see if I will be singing another tune after our sweet little sleep stealer comes!

Put Up or Shut Up

2010-06-07T22:00:00.005-05:00

So these are just my thoughts, not necessarily backed up by references but pretty much just pure emotion of the moment I'm in right now. I just feel like I need to get this out.

If I had a collective hand to slap the American public with, I would do so right now. After said slap I would get in their face and tell them to wake up and act like adults. Seriously people! What is up with this fatalistic view of reality we have come to develop in the last few years?! I don't know if it's because of the recession or the war or what it is but it has got to stop. This oil spill is just the icing on top of the cake, I guess. I hear more people bemoaning the end of the world because of this thing than I think I've ever heard.

Do we just lack perspective? Is that the problem? Are we all just so bad at history that we're unable to look at anything beyond the time frame of right now, this second? I think that might be the case but surely some of us are able to take the collective experiences & education of our lives and develop a rational thought about the situation. The Gulf of Mexico (GOM in interweb slang) is a big place. A HUGE place. It's no Atlantic or Pacific Ocean, but it's pretty doggone massive. The oil spill is big. It's huge. It's currently out of control. However, the GOM has seen something like this before. In the 70's. IXTOC I. Look it up. I suggest Wikipedia, though I'm sure there are better sites out there also. IXTOC I was bad. Real bad. It took a LONG time to stop. The Mexican government didn't pay many claims related to the spill. They didn't do near what BP is doing and is going to do to clean it up. However, the GOM survived. She recovered. She didn't die. In fact, I'll propose a really novel thought. We can't kill her! (Yes, she's a girl, same as a ship is a girl. Cause I said so.) How arrogant as human beings do we have to be to believe that we can possibly destroy a part of God's creation as big as the GOM?! Do we even understand what we are saying in a statement like that? (More on my thoughts on the environmental side of this later, if I have time)

I refuse to let this ruin my life, same as I refuse to let the recession dominate my thought processes. After a certain point, this will only be as bad as we make it in our reality. What I mean is, the economical & ecological effects of this will be, for the most part, measurable in terms of losses & costs. However, the emotional effects of this will be exactly what we make them. We're at a crossroads with this thing. We can choose to let it kill us or we can choose to use it to make us stronger and teach us a lesson. I personally choose the latter. I think the jury is still out on most people, but I'd say the vast majority will choose to sit at home and just cry about it, hoping somebody else fixes it so they don't have to feel guilty about buying gas from BP anymore. Let's face it, most people won't actually DO anything about it. It's the same as any other disaster. They'll sit at home, be angry, and hope somebody else fixes it so they don't have to get their hands dirty. Well America, now's another opportunity to get up off your lazy butt, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and be great. It's been a long time since we've been challenged to do that. For far too long now we've had leaders that have told us to just stay at home, they'll fix the problem, they'll make you comfortable. Well America, now you see where that has gotten you. You have a President who is so far detached from the situation that all he can do is give speeches about it saying the same thing over and over again. You have a regulatory agency that is so mired in red tape that they can't actually regulate anything. You have an oil company that's so pressured to produce products that they cut corners on safety so that you can live comfortably at home. So America, what's it gonna be? Put up or shut up? It's up to you, because like it or not, where we go from here is on our shoulders, not BP's. They just have to pay for it.

My apologies if that read a bit like a James Joyce novel. It was purely what came out of my head at the moment I typed it. I'm just tired of all the whining and crying. I'm about to have a baby girl. She'll give me all of that I need. I don't need to hear it from adults too.

A Life Beginning

2010-05-10T20:04:00.003-05:00

Jason and I were talking about all the amazing things Baby Girl Baby has already gotten to do and I thought it would be fun to keep a record of these things to share with her one day. Since she has been hanging around waiting to arrive, BGB has gotten to:

1) Hear some pretty amazing music; she has attended a Roger Daltrey concert (of the Who), an Eric Clapton concert, a Toby Mac concert, and has gotten to worship with us at church every Sunday to some amazing music!

2) She has gotten to go to Dallas, Savannah, Providence RI (at the end of the month), Atlanta, Birmingham, Ft. Walton Beach FL, Columbus GA, Skipperville AL, Wetumpka, and of course Auburn!

3) She has been fishing, on a boat ride, running with her "brother" (Toby), 'played' in the snow, and flown on an airplane.

Oh the places you'll go Baby Girl...we can't wait to show you all this life has in store!

Amazing miracle!

2010-04-27T18:22:00.003-05:00

So, in case somehow someone in blogging world missed it- Jason and I are going to be parents in September! Our baby girl (nicknamed 'Baby Girl Baby' for now since she doesn't have a name) is due September 19th! We are like kids at Christmas and can't wait to meet her! :-) Learning about the development of our child has really reminded me of just how amazing the Lord is! One interesting tidbit of information about how our very creative Creator makes our heart. People have 4 heart chambers, all separated, the upper chambers have a different job than the lower chambers. However, the two lower chambers are supposed to supply blood to the lungs- BUT- babies in the womb do not need this yet, so, there is an opening between two of the chambers. At birth the opening "miraculously" closes if all goes according to plan. The baby book uses the word "miraculously". I am amazed at all the intricate ways our God has chosen to form us. HE can think up things that no engineer could ever design. Our bodies are amazing creations and learning about the little one growing in me is just a great reminder of how amazing God is! When I learn about anatomy and physiology I fail to see how anyone can NOT believe in God. Our bodies are amazing! Praise God for the work that he is doing in our little girl!

Tis Springtime...

2010-03-09T18:11:00.002-06:00

"'Tis springtime, 'tis springtime, cold winter has past.
Warm breezes are blowing and [March]'s here at last.
The birds are returning, their songs fill the air.
And meadows are smiling with blossoms so fair."

Jason and I planted our spring garden and it made me want to sing this song. Not sure what this song is, but my mom used to sing it to us each spring (and sometimes still does!). I love it! It just reminds me to celebrate all the goodness of the earth renewing itself. It is so fitting that Easter is in spring- a time of new life and rebirth. I hope anyone reading this is reminded each time they see a plant pushing out from the dirt or a flower opening for the first time that these are all little reminders of the amazing renewal and transformation that God is doing and can do in all of our lives!

Little things

2010-03-01T19:10:00.003-06:00

Jason and I had the opportunity to stay at Ross Bridge Resort in Birmingham this weekend. I wanted a quick, fun, getaway for Jason’s birthday so this seemed like the ideal place. Jason and I lived in Birmingham the first year we were married, and while we can’t imagine another home for us right now other than Auburn, there are things we miss about Birmingham that Auburn will never have (read: food/shopping). While staying at this amazing resort I noticed some things about Ross Bridge that made it different from the usual hotel. Jason and I are blessed that when we stay in a hotel it is usually a nice one (i.e. no bedbugs) but I have compiled a list of ways that you can tell you are in a VERY nice hotel. Here goes:
1) There are soap dishes in the bathroom. Most hotels just expect you to put your soap on the counter which gets the counter all soapy and sticky and doesn’t seem like it makes for the cleanest soap.
2) The art is better. No crazy hotel prints- Ross Bridge has a beautiful print of Vulcan (classic Birmingham…maybe the words beautiful and Vulcan don’t go together, though….it’s nice at any rate) and a pretty painting of the Cahaba in the bathroom.
3) The coffee set comes with REAL packs of creamer- not powdered. As someone who brings her own tea bags when I travel, I detest (and usually refuse to use) the powdered creamer in my tea.
4) The staff is over the top helpful. And genuinely nice. It’s like these people got selected to work here from a reality show for super friendly people. I think Chick-fil-A might do the same thing. I love it! How can you not feel good when people are that caring.
5) Our room has a balcony! Other than at the beach, what hotels still have balconies? With REAL furniture, not plastic? Ours has a view of the golf course (be jealous Dad!).
6) Oatmeal costs $7.00. Not kidding. For a bowl. Seeing as how I am writing this before it has been delivered to the room, it better be a good bowl of oatmeal!

It's nice to just stop and appreciate the unnecessary (and maybe unimportant) things sometimes! And the big ones, too! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASON! I am so glad you are in this world! :-)

Things I love- Fall 2009 Edition

2009-09-27T18:38:00.002-05:00

So, lately I have been attempting to make more of an effort to appreciate daily the amazing creation that God has given to us. So with that new mission plus the fact that I had a lovely (literally) 5 hour drive from Nashville to Auburn to enjoy the creation and sit with my thoughts I thought I would include this post so everyone knows how amazing our world is!
Things I love:
1) Crunching in fallen leaves (when I am a REAL grownup with a house I want a yard full of hardwood trees so every fall I can go out in my own yard and crunch around in the leaves all I want- even if it means I have to rake 3 times a week!).
2) The first hints of fall (when the leaves are just about to change, when the wind blows and you can smell autumn around the corner, when the days are still warm but the nights are chilly)
3) When the trees explode into fireworks of fall colors (often I will make an explosion sound when I see an especially gorgeous tree).
4) Watching things grow...2 examples
(1) the maple tree planted in our yard (boy will I miss that tree when we move). It came to us after a hurricane which blew the seed into a potted plant on our apartment balcony in Birmingham and in just 4 years is now taller than Jason and turns the most gorgeous shades of red in the fall!
(2) my friend's daughter Meg- every time I see this adorable baby she has grown and changed in so many ways. Isn't it amazing how God makes us so that we are always growing and learning? I mean, we could have just come out knowing everything, but I love it that even in our final days we will still be learning! It is nice to have this reminder in a little baby. I wish as adults we could mature and learn as much in as short a time as children.
5) Football- I love going to the games, tailgating, watching great games on tv. I realized on my drive today, though, that what I enjoy most about football is enjoying this with OTHERS. I think it is just a great bonding experience to have a (hopefully) common goal to share!

Well, there are a few things I love about this time of year...and just in general! What do you appreciate? What parts of creation do you appreciate this time of year?

Bueler? Bueler?

2009-08-25T19:40:00.002-05:00

I think our blog is sounding a lot like Ben Stein's character these days. Anyone? Anyone? (BTW- SUCH a great movie!) Wow have we been neglectful! Sorry dear bloggers...all two of you! Anyway, so an update on our life:
house- still for sale, but we are still okay with that (otherwise we'd be homeless!)
my new job- great!...many stories to tell (parents are a crazy group of people)
Jason's job- going well still- he has now learned how to use a tractor and has somehow incorporated his love of duck hunting into his job
Toby- compared to this time last year, a very calm dog! He is on his way to being a very good little (or big- he's almost 90 pounds!) duck hunter, Jason is a great dog trainer and all this duck training has helped Tob become a much calmer dog (when labs have a purpose or mission they are calmer because they know what their job is- kind of reminds you of people, doesn't it?)
life in Auburn- with the students back it takes longer to go everywhere now and WalMart is now a forbidden place considering how crazy it gets this time of year with all the students. Also, the grocery stores apparently don't plan ahead and are out of things I want/need because of the students (sadly, I yelled "stupid students" one night in the grocery store because I couldn't find my pasta...I am lame, I realize that). On the bonus side Jason and I know lots of cool freshman (or just new to Auburn) students this year and are looking forward to feeding and loving on them this year!
That's about it- we will do better with the updates (Jason is here and he says he HAS been blogging- but for his work blog!).

Do you remember?

2009-07-01T08:25:00.005-05:00

Do you know where you came from? Do you know why you are the way you are? I ask those questions because I think those are 2 basic questions that we as Americans cannot adequately answer. How many people liked history class? C'mon, raise your hands. That's what I thought-not very many. I'll admit it, I didn't like it either. However, I learned a lot from it.

You see, today in America there are children growing up who have no idea who Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Adams, or Adam Smith were. To them, Benjamin Franklin is the guy who flew the kite with the key on it and got hit by lightning. They have no idea he was a key player in the formation of our nation.

Why does this matter? It matters because without knowledge of your past you have no way to define your present. You just wander around making decisions on the spur of the moment and falling prey to anyone who presents any idea to you because you have no basis to defend your current stance. This is where we are in America today. We slurp up any idea or principle anyone presents to us as long as they say it in a nice way or look good while they're saying it. No matter if it is detrimental to our freedom or way of life, heck, they sounded good saying it so it must be good, right? Wrong! Hitler sounded good to a lot of people at first, so did Mussolini, Guevara & Castro. I think we all know how that turned out, or maybe not since we don't know history.

Today we have people falling prey to TV pastors who promise to heal their ailments, as long as you send them a check. We have people placing all their hope, freedom, & faith in political ideas. We have people surrendering control of their money all because somebody promises to give them more if they'll just give up what they have first. There are people that actually believe George W. Bush flew the planes into the twin towers, if they remember that event at all. There are people that deny the holocaust in the face of insurmountable evidence!

I cannot understand these people. I cannot tolerate these people. We must teach these people. They must understand the past because we are on the verge of repeating its mistakes. Those mistakes will cost people their lives. My children will know and my children will understand their past. Yes it's uncomfortable and it's not pretty but it's a story that must be told. We cannot be ignorant of what got us here, whether good or bad.

On this week of our Independence Day I urge you to go back, take a minute, and reflect on our history. Reflect on our founding fathers, their beliefs, and their sacrifices. Their sacrifices didn't involve whether or not to get a plasma tv or a luxury car. They involved lives and many of them lost theirs so that we can live in freedom. In no way, shape, or form can we allow that to be forgotten. It must be remembered, it must be honored, and it must be taught. Freedom is in my blood. It is in my soul. It is ingrained in my very being and I will die before I give it up. We've already surrended too many of our freedoms. America, let's not lose it all.

Fast Forward Weekend

2009-06-27T14:51:00.003-05:00

Not that the weekend is over yet (yay!) but I am inside the hotel room in Charleston, South Carolina to get out of the heat for a bit. So here is the past 24 hours:
-wake up before 5 a.m. central time
-work all day
-drive 6 hours from Columbus, GA to Charleston, SC..an easy and uneventful drive (praise the Lord!)
-arrive at our AMAZING hotel at 11p.m. eastern time where Jason was waiting for me
-wake up and get a grande tea from Starbucks in the hotel lobby
-go for a run and explore the city near our hotel
-go to the farmer's market across from the hotel and get a yummy breakfast of Nutella and strawberry crepe for breakfast (yum!)
-went on a carriage ride tour of Charleston
-went to the market and "window" shopped
-saw the tall ships at Harbor Fest
....so, it has been a busy last 24 hours but I am so thankful for a fun weekend away!

PS- I forgot to mention that while at the Farmer's Market I ran into some girls that go to Auburn and had a "war eagle" moment! And stay tuned for more stories about broken dresses, crazy rain, MORE yummy food (because why else go on vacation if it is not to eat your weight in delicious food?), and God's perfect timing/miracles in the form of a taxi!

Walk This Way

2009-06-14T08:13:00.004-05:00

So, in case some of you don't know about ARM (Alabama Rural Ministries) I will enlighten you. This is an awesome ministry that serves families in need in rural Alabama (hence the name!). ARM achieves this by helping families repair their homes, providing day camps for children during the summer, etc. BUT, this post is about ARM's "Walk Across Alabama". A group of sure footed folks are walking across the Black Belt of Alabama (from Tuskegee to Livingston) to raise awareness of the condition of poverty housing in Alabama. This is an amazing endeavor and Jason and I got the opportunity to participate with the walkers in a work day in Selma this Saturday. It was an awesome blessing to us to be able to serve and I hope by blogging about it more people will know about this great group of people! Please pray for the walkers but more importantly, pray for the people they are raising awareness for! I am not sure how to put captions under the pictures, but these are the pictures: Lisa Pierce (Executive Director of ARM), David and Jason (dirty but still smiling), the sort of "before" picture of the house (note the size of the brush pile), the "after" picture (we had 3 other piles going at this point because this brush pile got too tall), the Edmund Pettus bridge (site of the historic civil rights march)

To learn more about ARM and the Walk Across Alabama go to: http://walkacrossal.arm-al.org/

Quick Update

2009-06-14T07:52:00.004-05:00

So many things have been happening lately and no time to blog about any of them (which is fine, it means I have a life away from the computer!). So, to fast forward through the past 4 weeks: graduated with my Master's degree, went on an incredible vacation (saw a manatee, went to the beach, snorkeled, ate a lot of yummy seafood, Disney World, Sea World, home- whew!), had a birthday and am now cringing because I am 12 years away from 40 (by the way, who in their right mind thinks like that?), and started my new job (are people really paying me to play with kids? Awesome!). So- that is our very recent life in a nutshell.

Adding to the Noise

2009-06-02T10:32:00.005-05:00

"What's it gonna take to slow us down
to let the silence spin us around?
What's it gonna take to drop this town?
We've been spinning at the speed of sound.

Stepping out of those convenience stores
what could we want but more more more?
From the third world to the corporate core
we are the symphony of modern humanity, yeah"

--Adding to the Noise by Switchfoot

Have you ever stopped and thought about how noisy our world as Americans has become? We have iPods, Blu-Rays, DVD's, CD's, Plasmas, LCD's, LED's (which I'll admit do look awesome), surround sound, movie theaters, car stereos, blackberries, cell phones, iPhones, etc., etc., etc. That list could be almost endless. There are literally hundreds of things in our everyday world that contribute to noise. Sure, I have an iPod. Very few people nowadays don't have an iPod or some other sort of music player, but how often do you use it to drown out other noise? Doesn't it seem a little odd to be using noise to suppress noise?

I work in a job where I am blessed to have opportunities for peace and quiet while I work. Often if I'm in the office the only sounds I have to hear are the clock ticking and my fingers rapping away on the keyboard. Every now and then the phone rings or the radio goes off but it doesn't happen constantly. If I'm out in the woods all it takes is for me to stop whatever I'm doing for a minute and listen. Usually all I hear are the birds. I hear God's creation and it sounds so much better than any of man's creations! It is peaceful. It is restful. It is refreshing. I love it!

I don't think we were meant to live a life of noise. I think we were meant to live a life of connection to other people. Too many times we're in large groups of people but we have no idea what is going on with the people near us. We go to a concert and it's so loud you have to wear earplugs to keep your ears from ringing or even bleeding. It's so loud you can't even understand the words to the songs. What's the point? This happens across the board too. I've been to many "Christian" concerts and left having an appreciation for the musicians talent in playing their instruments, but having understood only about 25% of the lyrics. Are we really spreading the gospel by drowning out the words and damaging people's hearing? I think not.

This past week Meredith and I had a great vacation through Florida with stops in Crystal River, Englewood, & Orlando (Disney & Sea World). We spent a lot of time in the boat at Crystal River (when it wasn't raining) and Englewood. Other than the noise of the boat when we stopped it was generally relaxing. Disney World & Sea World - my goodness I couldn't believe the noise. I've been to both places several times and I can't ever remember a time when it was so loud. The people were loud, the rides were loud, the music was loud, the shows were loud, everything was just noise. It was exhausting. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the trip, but I was amazed at the general noise. Disney was the worst. I had trouble focusing on what was happening where. It was hard to talk to each other standing in line for rides or while eating lunch. It was over stimulation of the worst kind. I guess they're trying for the "wow" factor but to me it was just too much. If we had kids right now I would hesitate greatly before taking them to Disney. I don't want my kids being bombarded constantly with that much stuff. It can't be good for them.

I think our society now has a vested interest in keeping everything noisy. After all, if it's noisy then nobody can hear the cries for help, nobody can hear the shouts of joy, nobody can hear the pleas for the innocent, nobody can focus on anything but themselves. We want it to be noisy because it's easier than having to hear & see the difficult challenges in front of us. It's much easier to be oblivious than to be informed. We are lost in & consumed by the noise.

By the way, consumerism of our society relates to the noise, but that's a whole 'nother post for another day when I have time to think it all out. No guarantees for a timeline on that!

In the meantime, are you adding to the noise?

More life lessons...

2009-05-07T09:23:00.003-05:00

Life Lesson # 1,247: When giving your 80+ pound dog a bath INSIDE, it is not wise to first bathe yourself...you will only end up needing to take another shower.
(This second shower is due to the physical exertion it takes to get an unwilling dog into the bathtub, the amount of running you have to do to catch said dog and put him back in the bathtub, and the half hour or so of cleaning you will need to do to mop up the bathtub floor, clean the walls, toilet, cabinet, sink, and try to get the wet dog fur off of every surface).

Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings' end...

2009-05-03T18:53:00.004-05:00

So May is my favorite month (I was born in May, got married in May, graduated high school, undergrad, and now grad school in May...it's a great time of the year). This May marks the beginning of many new things: graduation from graduate school, getting a Masters degree, no longer being a student, turning 20something, celebrating 4 years of marriage, starting a new job (okay, technically that is June 1). The most exciting thing so far about May is that I got to meet Meg! Margaret Abigail Heerman was born March 31 to my friends Bill and Jenn and she is SOOOOO cute! I am so excited for them as they start this new chapter of their lives and also so awed by the fact that just a few months ago we had never met this precious girl and now here she is! God is amazing! So enough talk, just look at the pictures!

On a side note, I learned some very valuable lessons on my drive to Nashville this weekend that I thought I would share:
Life lesson # 3,876: Never try to outrun a tornado when driving through the mountains (or really ever).
Life lesson # 3,875: Never eat Cheetos (baked or otherwise)while driving, especially if you just spent an hour vacuuming out your car. (This life lesson is not to be confused with # 2,014: Eating Cadbury Creme Eggs while driving could be dangerous!)

Addendum

2009-04-19T15:13:00.002-05:00

A quick addendum to the previous blog:
I am SOOOO happy that I worship a God who is all powerful; a God who is bigger than any human decisions, a God who will work no matter what we choose to do (no matter whether we use the "right" or "wrong" words, displays, etc). I am relieved that HE reigns over everything. the end. amen. :)

The Cross- Is it important?

2009-04-13T19:14:00.003-05:00

One of our friends recently posted her thoughts about the presence (and lack of) crosses in churches. I loved it and wanted to share it with everyone! Thanks Lisa for having the words to say what I was thinking!
From Lisa Pierce:
A sad trend is happening within a small stream of the Christian church. It is most identified with the ever popular contemporary movement and what would be termed “seeker sensitive”. Seeker sensitive church services tend to be designed around making people feel very welcome and eliminating obstacles that make the general church service feel foreign or uncomfortable. Many people are coming back into the church due to these intentional elements. It is exciting to see! But one move disturbs me. That is the removal of the cross in some of these services.

Why does this disturb me? Several reasons. First, Jesus spoke about it so much throughout his ministry- to disciples who did not understand. He admonished them to pick up their crosses daily and follow Him. They simply could not understand this until after Jesus’ death. My faith is grounded in the notion of sacrifice borne from love and a Savior who said, “pick up your cross daily and follow me”. Second, it is the sign of Christ’s fidelity. Although a method of torture, Jesus’ choice to stay on it- to not use His power to come off the cross shows His commitment to the Father in heaven and to us. So, we must continue to carry it and bear it throughout our life. Thirdly, and this is the place that hits closest to home for me…is that in some cultures…it is not permitted. I’ve been in countries where the cross isn’t popular and is considered offensive. During my time in Iraq, we were trained that crosses were not to be publicly displayed among the Iraqi populace.

So, here’s my story. Soldiers in Iraq were constantly seeking God’s presence and needing to know He was with us. I was one of those soldiers. On the night of January 1st 2005, we'd only been in country a few weeks. That evening we had the most incredible sunset-like none other I have ever seen. The sky was a deep orange and when I turned something caught my eye. A metal pole was standing behind and above a 10’ dirt barrier. Near the top of the pole, as it protruded from above the barrier, was a broken piece of angle iron hanging loosely from it. But when I looked at it from my angle-it formed a black cross against a blood, red sky. I was stunned! Christ was very present, even in what someone might consider junk or trash. What’s more, it stood outside and above our hedge of protection-ironically called a Hesco barrier. I took a photo and had it painted. It hangs in my living room to this day. Therefore, when churches can simply remove it because it may make people uncomfortable or give them negative opinions of the church…I wonder if we have missed the point. If we ever get to a place where we are told we CAN’T have it-it may change our perspective a bit.

Here are a few other thoughts. As the Christian church slowly gets rid of its crosses we begin to follow suit with Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons who also have emptied their churches of them. They believe it is idol worship to have a cross and that it is unthinkable that the instrument of Christ's brutal murder should be seen as holy or worthy of veneration. Our Unitarian friends do not believe in Christ’s divinity so they do not have a cross. Maybe the symbol is overused, maybe we cannot really understand the depth of its meaning… but I would hope that then the Christian church’s role becomes more of constantly reminding us of what that commitment is and leading us to a consistent and sacrificial call to discipleship- not just ridding their worship space of it. Mind you, this isn’t seeker friendly and it may not be culturally relevant…but Christ called us to something much higher and deeper than that, and His church to be counter cultural-to define the culture...to be authentic in a veneer society-so what does that look like?

Do we even need symbols? No…we only need Christ. Anything can become an idol whether it is symbols, the Bible, or a worship style. But, if you go back to the book of Leviticus that was to describe worship for the Israelites, it is filled with symbols that God Himself ordained. The lamp stands, the almonds from the branch, the Ark of the Covenant, the use of incense and light were all things that God ordained within the Holy Place-and the Israelites were admonished to remember what these meant.

The cross became the most well known symbol of the Christian faith sometime around 250 AD. Before that, what we know as the Ichthys, or fish, was used by the early Christians as their secret symbol and code. In order to know if the person they were meeting was friendly and a follower of The Way, they would draw the sign of the fish in the dirt. The early church was borne and grew out of persecution-something we have no clue about. The cross has been the single most used and consistent symbol of those who follow Christ. Yes, it has been abused. But its meaning and what it represented will always stand true. Before we so flippantly throw it out as not being convenient, not being seeker sensitive, getting in the way of our worship band, or what ever other reasons we name-maybe we should pause a moment and remember that not everyone around the world gets access the way we do. My hope and prayer is that we reflect upon Christ’s sacrifice, his fidelity, and the constant reminder that he told us to pick it up our cross daily and follow Him.

"Pick up your cross daily and follow me"- Jesus

The picture is of the cross in Iraq- January 1, 2005

Deep Social Change

2009-03-25T15:02:00.001-05:00

http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=11050

I don't have a whole lot to say about this at the moment because I'm busy but do check it out.

Home (warning: LONG and rambling!)

2009-03-22T11:55:00.002-05:00

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the concept of "home". I am sure that everyone probably has a different definition of what home is, but to me it has always been something very important and very much at the forefront of my mind...I think largely because I have had at least 14 homes (in the structural sense of the word). Growing up, home was a safe space, an intimate space, where my family and I could be together. (My dad was in the Air Force and being together as a family was something that I cherished very much!) Do you have more than one place that feels like home? I do, and they are not always physical buildings. My house in Auburn has never 100% felt like home, maybe because it is mobile ;-), I don't know. Nor has my parents house in Virginia ever felt 100% like my home (Mom- if you read this don't be sad, I always feel home whenever I'm with our family no matter where it is!). I lost the last physical place that I really felt like was "home" after my in laws sold their house in Wetumpka. My parents house there had always seemed "home" but they moved 4 years ago. My house in Nashville seemed like home but again, I haven't actually lived there in almost 4 years. After getting married it takes a while to go from saying "home" in reference to where your parents live to saying "home" in reference to you and your spouses house. Being with Jason always makes me feel at home. Being with my close friends makes me feel at home...even if we are in the middle of a very public space. When I am at church I feel at home. I guess all that to say is my definition of home is that it is not just a physical dwelling, but the space where you share your life with those who are close to you! However, I think the memories made in a physical dwelling often tie us to that dwelling in a way that makes us miss it when we are no longer there. There are several reasons I have been thinking about home lately. One of which is that Jason and I are selling our mobile home and (many prayers needed on this one!) hopefully buying a house here in the Auburn area. Another reason I have been thinking about home is that I am reading the book A Search to Belong (Rethinking Intimacy, Community, and Small Groups) by Joseph Myers. This is an awesome book that I would recommend to anyone who has ever been involved with a small group! In it the author examines the relationships between four types of spaces: public, social, personal, and intimate. Great, great, amazing, thought provoking book. Read it, seriously. You can borrow mine if you want. However, today I was reading about how in our country the definition and expectation of "space" has changed (from front porches and picket fences, to pre fab houses and strip malls). Just thinking about how our culture is so disconnected (and also feeling guilty that I don't know any of my neighbor's names but 1) I am wondering what my definition (and societies) of "home" will be in 10 years....20 years. How will all my huge, life changing decisions in the next few weeks and months (job, house, etc) effect my definition of home once again. I love being home. Having my home be a calm, safe space away from the crazy world is important to me. But I also want my home to be a calm, safe space to others as well. There really is no deep point here, only that I wonder about all you in blog world and what you think about the concept of "home". One thing I am sure of and glad I know...heaven is my REAL home and this earth is only temporary (on some days I am SO happy to remind myself of this fact!).

Saving Thumper

2009-03-10T08:45:00.004-05:00

We do a lot of prescribed burning where I work...I mean A LOT. I will usually be involved in burning anywhere from 10,000-20,000 acres per year. I enjoy the work but it gets old very quickly since it takes 2-3 months of burning 2-5 days per week. That's a lot of smoke for one person to inhale.

Yesterday was kind of a slow day at first so on the first block we burned I didn't have much to do except watch the lines. We were burning around the horse pasture & dog kennels so I was standing on the line between the fence and the burn talking to one of the other guys on the crew. All of a sudden we heard this squealing sound coming from the fire. At this point the fire is pretty calm with flame lengths of only about 2-4 inches so we're within 10 feet of the fire. It turns out the squealing sound is a baby rabbit getting burned by the fire. We both saw it about the same time so I reached down and grabbed what you can imagine was a quite disoriented & scared little bunny. I had seen the momma rabbit run out of the fire right after we lit it but never considered that there were babies in there. So I picked it up and wiped off as much of the ash and char as I could but it still had some small burns on its leg and head - nothing that really broke the skin or should be fatal for the little guy. After I wiped him off I held him for a minute or two trying to decide what to do with him. He nudged his way into my elbow between my arm and my body and calmed down. I put him in a little patch of thick grass that we didn't burn so hopefully the momma rabbit found him last night.

I tell this story because in our society guys are supposed to be tough and thick skinned and not really care about things like baby rabbits. I love my job and I realize our burning does kill some animals but by and large it improves habitat and provides food for those animals that would otherwise not be available. I looked at that rabbit in that fire and without a thought or hesitation I reached right in and grabbed him. I didn't get burned but I never even thought of that until now. I don't know if I had my gloves on or not, it didn't matter. It needed my help and only me pulling it out of the fire would save it. Its mother had left it and it was lost and confused in the fire. It would've stayed there writhing in pain until it died.

I think of saving that little rabbit and it reminds me of what God has done for us - He has pulled us out of the fire and our suffering. He looks down and sees us writhing in pain, burning and struggling, and he picks us up, wipes off the char and soot and protects us. Even when we are abandoned by our families, friends, society, country, whatever, He is there to pick us up. He picks us up, cradles us in His arms, and gives us a new life. What a wonderful savior!

"It's Gonna Be a Bright (Bright) Bright Bright Sunshiny Day!"

2009-02-08T17:10:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to say HOORAY! for the warm weather (70+ degrees today)!!! I have never despised winter so much as I have this year (has it been colder? am I just getting wimpier about the cold the longer I live this far south?) and I am so So SO happy to have warm days and sunshiny weather! Usually February seems like the coldest winter month, but I am glad that weather.com is predicting 60's and 70's the rest of this week! Join me in rejoicing in the warm weather and go frolic in a field somewhere! ;-)

Ouch, are you ready for gameday?

2009-02-02T08:31:00.002-06:00

Bringin' pain in the name of the Lord!

Of course the original idea came from this commercial. This has got to be one of the best Super Bowl commercials of all time. I just wish they had done more of them.

By the way, the Super Bowl commercials this year were definitely sub-par. The E-trade baby commercials were good and one of the Doritos commercials was good. It seems like there was one other that was kinda funny but nothing that really made you fall out laughing. I guess it's the economy, but c'mon folks, we expect funny!

View from the Top of the Mountain

2009-01-19T12:50:00.003-06:00

As I've expressed here before I am very happy that I am done with classes and that my time in graduate school is coming to an end. For several weeks now I've had it in my mind to write this blog but just now decided to sit down and write it (feeling moved to write after listening to Josh Agerton talk on Sunday about our continuing efforts to move our lives from self centered to God centered). Last semester was stressful and busy and I was angry and disappointed with myself for letting the craziness of school interfere with my relationships with my friends, my husband, and most importantly my relationship with God. Last semester I felt like I was in a valley, in darkness from the shadow of a mountain that was impossible to climb. In this low place it was hard to see why I was there. I knew that there was a reason, but it is hard for me to be patient. Now that I have made it out of the valley and to the top of the mountain that was grad school(not by my own strength, though!) I can see more clearly all the work God was doing in me, even as I was having trouble making time for Him. If God was like grad school He would have failed me miserably in my efforts last semester, but instead, just like in every other facet of my life, God loves me no matter what and uses the bad parts to grow me! God's love is so amazing to me! I do not think we can ever fully comprehend the depth of His love for us, and I find it hard to put into words how it feels to be loved in the way that only our Savior can love us. I think all I can say it HALLELUJAH! It is amazing that I am actually able to be thankful for last semester now! Standing atop this mountain I know that there will be many more valleys but I also know that no matter how deep a hole I go in my Creator's love will reach!

No shoes, no shirt, no format

2009-01-14T10:13:00.003-06:00

Ok, so it occurred to me this morning on my drive into work that I have no idea what I really want to do with this blog. Of course it's not just up to me because it's from both Meredith and I, but I have no set format here, no set topic, no set schedule. It really just happens as I feel like writing something about anything. I thought for a little while I would really commit to keeping this thing up on a regular schedule but that's not happening and it probably won't. So yeah, if anybody is actually reading this don't give up on it. I'm not resigning by blog authoring authority but I am admitting to myself that I can't/won't keep this thing up on a regular basis. Yeah, so, enjoy all that.

Meredith - your turn for a blog post! (PS - I think everyone is bored with mine)

Totally Wicked!

2009-01-08T09:00:00.003-06:00

This is just ridiculous but really cool! I don't have it in me to do this kind of thing but mad props to the fools that do.

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

I am indignant!

2009-01-02T08:57:00.003-06:00

Motorists' habits spur call for tax increases

This is the kind of stuff that really sends me into a blind rage. I cannot understand in anyway why somebody would think this is a good idea. Are we not taxed enough? If you don't believe we are taxed enough name one thing you can buy or one transaction you can make that in some way, shape, form, or fashion the government does not have a tax or fee tacked onto it. Sure, gas prices have dropped a lot now, but how is that any kind of reason to raise taxes on people? I am spending anywhere from $200-250 per month less in gas now than I was a couple months ago but that sure doesn't mean the government should be entitled to any of my money! GRRRR! I gotta stop now before I start breaking things and using language I shouldn't.

And don't even get me started on the wording of this article - as if it's somehow my fault that the government refuses to balance their budget and cut costs like I have to do when times get tough!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T19:58:00.002-06:00

Jason, Toby, and I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! And to quote Linus from A Charlie Brown Christmas, see:
Luke 2: 8-20

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men..."
-Luke 2:14

Thankful!

2008-12-06T12:27:00.004-06:00

This may be over a week late, but with traveling home from Virginia and my FINAL week of class ever (did I mention how thankful I am these days?)it is late. But God calls us to be thankful all the time, not just on that special Thursday in November. I thought I would make a list and include some pictures of all the things I am thankful for. God has blessed me so much! I struggle to remember that sometimes when I get stressed or tired but I hope having it out here in cyberspace will help me remember!
I am thankful for...
-grace
-my husband (without whom I could not have survived grad school with sanity intact)
-my family; Dad, Mom, Meghan, JP, Pam, Katie, aunts, uncles, cousins, Granny and Grandpa, etc. (this is a picture of Thanksgiving at my parents' house)
-good friends (below are some more specific listings...I rarely get to see my friends from undergrad but the phone calls and emails remind me why I am so blessed by their friendship- they are amazing women!)
-Cornerstone (our community group, friends...basically our Auburn family)
- the girls in my grad class (see all these brilliant, beautiful girls at our Christmas party...the reason I am sad to be finished with class is that I won't see these girls each week!)
-That I never, as long as I live, have to sit through another class lecture in Haley Center 1202
-My dog! He has provided endless distractions and fun over the past year and a half!
-Being able to finish my first race ever today! The 5K Toys for Tots run. I am hooked now, Music City Half Marathon, here I come!

HAIR!

2008-11-24T07:18:00.002-06:00

There has been much talk around our house this month about hair. First of all, we are always fighting an uphill battle against dog hair, since our 1 1/2 year old lab lives inside most of the time. One would think that he sheds his entire coat of fur every other day! Secondly, Jason had been participating in "No Shave November" (it is as simple as it sounds...men do not shave in the month of November). That means until yesterday, he had a full beard. I was impressed with how quickly he could grow a beard (apparently in man world that is something to be proud of). I was told that women are NOT allowed to participate in "No Shave November". Here is a picture of Jason and I at his grandparent's house in south Alabama the day before he shaved off his beard. Finally, I have been talking about getting MY hair cut for weeks. It is just long and scraggly and I am ready for something different. Bangs? Should I keep it long? Cut it short? Add layers? Highlights? Do you in blog world have any thoughts? I am tempted to go in to the salon and say "be creative" because I am tired of the no style style that I have right now. Don't worry, I am not brave enough to do that! So, all of that to say, there has certainly been a lot of talk about hair around here lately. What is our society's fascination with hair? Men are excited when they can grow a beard quickly, and disappointed when they begin noticing a receding hair line. There are millions of hair products available, from the "Hair club for men" to hair dye to cover that gray. Women are constantly inundated with commercials about shampoo, conditioner, mousse, dye, etc. Throughout history we have been vain about our hair, from wigs for men to fad hairstyles. Someone once said clothes make the man, but I wonder, is it really hair?

Blog Neglect

2008-11-20T14:09:00.002-06:00

Yes dear blog. We have neglected you. We have not updated you on a regular basis. We promise to try harder in the coming weeks to keep you freshened up.

Stay tuned folks. I've got a million things running through my head. I just need the time to gather them together and type them out. The end of the year craziness has started!

2 Tuesday Prayers

2008-11-04T11:31:00.003-06:00

So I have a lot going through my head today being that it is the day we vote on a myriad of issues both locally and nationally. My emotions the past few days have swung from indifference to indignation to fear to worry to carelessness...so basically all over the board.

It is hard for me to swallow some of the things people are saying this election cycle. The vile and hatred we have clothed in some of our arguments is appalling - on both sides of the aisle. We don't all agree and I think it is unreasonable to think that we will ever all agree on everything. The founding fathers didn't agree on everything but they did agree on one thing - God ordained them to do what they were doing. I won't expand my thoughts on that much today because my brain is so scattered it would be like reading a James Joyce novel. I do encourage everyone to read Under God by TobyMac & Michael Tait. It will provide you with an easy read and a great resource to explain just who our founding fathers were and why they established this country.

I voted this morning before work but after going to Man2Man. We vote in Loachapoka...it's ok if you have to read it a couple times to get the pronunciation right. It's a small little town but it's pretty cool. We usually have to wait 5 minutes max to vote there but this morning it was over an hour from the time I got in line to the time I left. I think that's pretty cool. It's about time people stood up and made their voice heard.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous about this election. I feel like the soul of our nation hangs in the balance. I was filled with apprehension when I first got in line, but then it happened. I stopped, took a breath, listened to God, and prayed. I prayed for about an hour, nearly the whole time I was in line. I prayed for the election, for the candidates, for the voters, for people in line around me, for the soldier and his family that walked by headed to the back of the line, for our church, for prayer requests mentioned this morning, for my family, for anything and everything that was weighing on my heart. When I left after turning in my ballot and getting the "I Voted" sticker from the older gentlemen at the door I felt as though a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I left it all up to God. I'm still a little apprehensive about the election, but I'm not losing my mind. I know there's nothing else I can do but pray, and pray I will continue to do. My hope is in God. My faith is in God. My life is in His hands. He knows what we need and he will provide it for us, even if it isn't immediately apparent.

Oh yeah, I also picked up a nice lady, Tina, on my way to work today and gave her a ride a couple miles up the road in rural Macon County. It was totally a God thing. I had no choice but to stop when she waved at me; it was as if I literally couldn't help but stop. She thanked me profusely and we talked for the 3-4 minutes or so she was in the car. We didn't get in depth but it was apparent she's had a difficult life. She moved to Alabama in 1995 from Cleveland. Please pray for her that she would find what she needs, though I don't know what that form that might take. I didn't ask her if she was a Christian. She just said she had to go to the store this morning and was on her way back home and didn't have a ride. Hopefully I saved her a little energy and helped her smile a little bigger today. Those God things can totally take you out of your comfort zone but they are so awesome and so much bigger than we know.

Halloween

2008-11-01T13:25:00.003-05:00

(A picture of our trunk from Cornerstone's Trunk or Treat and a picture of Jason and Toby with our little pumpkin)
I don't have a ton of time to post, mostly because I am watching the Auburn v. Ole Miss game. WAR EAGLE! But I wanted to first of all say "Happy Birthday!" to my dad (and a belated Happy Birthday to my little sister!). My dad was almost born on Halloween, but missed it by a day. Which is probably just as well. My point of this supposedly short blog is to say, what has happened to Halloween? When I was little it didn't matter what day Halloween fell on, you trick or treated and almost everyone on your street had a pumpkin out and had candy or some other treats for you. This year here in Auburn they changed Halloween (which was perfectly situated on a Friday) to a Thursday night so it didn't interfere with high school football. What? Are you kidding? Maybe I underestimated the power of football here in Auburn (ironic that I have to cut this short to watch football). My mom told me earlier this week that she wouldn't let us go trick or treating if we were little now. How sad that the evil in our world is ruining this little bit of innocent childhood fun. I love that churches now have "Trunk or Treats" which are a great way to have some Halloween fun in a safe, friendly, and non-scary environment but they are never on the actual Halloween day. I am not sure what my point is other than that I am sad how much our world has changed since I was little AND that I think trick or treating should not be moved from Halloween day (trunk or treats are the exception). I am interested in what the 2 or so people who read this may think. Do you agree in the moving of Halloween?

Quick note

2008-10-13T18:56:00.007-05:00

So, Jason is gone to Atmore, Alabama (???No clue where that is??? Middle of nowhere near Mobile, I think). Anyway, this morning as Jason was packing for his fire class (more about that later) Toby was pitiful once he figured out Jason was leaving. That dog is very attached to the "pack leader". Here is a pic. of Toby pouting on Jason's suitcase.
(As an aside- what a cool boy job my husband has that he gets to take a class on setting fires! The inner pyro in me is slightly jealous!)

Get over it!

2008-10-08T17:09:00.004-05:00

So, for those of you who have known me for any length of time, you probably know that I hate hospitals. Maybe it is because I have spent too much time in them as a patient, maybe my fear is just irrational. Whatever the case, I have always disliked hospitals. They are creepy and dirty and full of germs that are just waiting to make me sick! (I told you I didn't like them!) In college my friends worked on helping me eat at the creepy "hospital McDonalds" (the McDonalds located inside of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center). I did not want to eat with people who were sick, ew! But eventually I did, and I lived to blog about it (I probably should have been more worried about the fat and calories at McDonalds than the people there). For those of you who work in a hospital, I applaud you. Thank you for helping make people well- you are awesome! I have actually worked for a hospital myself, not IN a hospital mind you, just FOR the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. My office was never located where the sick people were, which I qualify as "hospital". Anyway, by this point you probably think I am weird or uncaring or in need of a psychologist.
I have a point, though, I promise. So, in the Speech Language Pathology graduate program we are required to have experience with both children (yay!) and adults (scary!). This semester I am doing an internship at the Tuskegee VA, which is hospital-like, especially the nursing home. BUT, I love it! The people I get to do therapy with there are amazing and I hope I have half their enthusiasm for life should I ever go through what they have been through. I decided that to celebrate conquering my hospital-phobia (surely that is a real condition with a real name) I would make a list of all the things I love about working at the VA, in the most HIPPA friendly way possible (if you don't know about HIPPA, be glad).

1. I get to work with Veterans; people who have served our country selflessly and fought for our country, even when no one supported them (i.e. Vietnam)
2. My patients are some of the happiest people I have ever met, but they are my patients because they have had strokes, TBIs, or some other horrible medical incident. Still, they smile and always ask how I have been.
3. All of my patients think I am REALLY young. I mean really young, like 18. Sweet!
4. The elderly say the darnedest things. Such as "I know I am older than all you people" (patient looks around the room then motions to the guy on either side of him) "well...maybe not you or you!"
5. I get to observe (and one day participate in) a cool medical procedure called a Modified Barium Swallow. Ask me if you really want to know what that is.
6. I get to see people get well, however slow and laborious that may be, I get to see progress in people, knowing that I just might have had something to do with that! Helping people communicate again is pretty amazing!

Slow Down

2008-09-23T08:52:00.003-05:00

"Oh, I don't want to let go
Of all the things that I know
Are keepin me away from my life.
Oh, I don't want to slow down.
No, I don't want to look around,
But I can't seem to work it out,
So help me God."
--"Slow Down" by Third Day

24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
--Matthew 16:24-26

For those of you that don't know, I have about a 45 minute drive one way to work each day. During this time I have plenty of opportunities to listen to many different things on the radio or I can switch to a CD. Most mornings I listen to Rick & Bubba and then in the afternoons I listen to Sportscall. This morning after Man2Man at church I didn't really have the urge to listen to Rick & Bubba, nothing against them but something in me just said to listen to the new Third Day CD. My dad and I went to the Music Builds Tour in B'ham last Thursday and he bought the new CD but is letting me borrow it this week. It's awesome and I'm going to have to buy my own copy! So I popped it in and down the road I went.

At Man2Man this morning we talked about Matthew 16:24-26 and how that relates to our daily walk with Christ. One of the topics that kept coming up was how busy we can get going about our lives and how easy that makes it to forget about or ignore God. We can get so caught up in trying to make another dollar or doing that next deal that we think we can handle it on our own. We think we know what's best for us when in fact, God our creator ultimately knows exactly what we need. We need Him.

We have to slow down and let God do His thing. We have to be humble and take the time to listen to what He has to say. I'm not always the best at doing that. I get up early in the morning to go to work and many days I work late. Time is precious when I get home. It's easy to go about my day and feel very frustrated when I go to bed. I'm tired and I don't feel like I've accomplished much. I'm learning that if I just slow down, take a breath, and let God take control I will be in much better shape. It should be a simple thing for us to accept but our sinful nature trips us up. I'm constantly working on letting go and slowing down.

At first I didn't draw a connection between the song and the scripture but after I kept repeating the song it hit me. I think God was saying "you're gonna listen to this song until you hear what it's saying!" At least that's the way it struck me. You might have different thoughts about it.

A Few More Songs

2008-09-18T07:20:00.002-05:00

What I Needed

2008-09-14T23:03:00.003-05:00

I don't have much time right now but I'll add some more videos later. God uses music to really open my heart and speak to me and right now I really need to be spoken to. This is one of those songs that really helps me refocus my heart on God.

Man2Man

2008-09-09T12:51:00.003-05:00

Today was the first meeting at Cornerstone (our church - www.cornerstonebuzz.org) of Man2Man. What is Man2Man you might ask? It's a new weekly meeting on Tuesday mornings at 6:15 AM of the men in the church and any other men in the community that want to attend. The purpose is to bring men together to uplift them and hold them accountable for subjects and things in life that are uniquely....well, men stuff. There will be a brief message from the Bible and somebody will share a real life story each week then we'll break up into smaller groups for discussion and wrap up with prayer. Oh yeah, breakfast, juice, and coffee are included for free!

We had an awesome story and testimony today from Mark Fuller and Josh Agerton (Pastor of Connections - www.joshagerton.com) gave a brief message on The Armor of God from Ephesians 6:10-18. Any guys in the Auburn-Opelika area that might read this I strongly encourage you to attend. I truly believe God has ordained these meetings and lives will be changed.

Sweet Friends

2008-09-08T17:05:00.004-05:00

I believe that a mark of true friendship is that no matter how long it has been since you have seen someone you feel like no time has passed. Not that you aren't sad you have missed out on events in the person's life but that their presence is always comfortable and easy. I got to have some precious (and unexpected) time this weekend with some true friends, one of whom I had not seen in over a year because she has been in Asia since last August! God has blessed me with amazing friendships and I am so thankful for them! Having even a short time with my friends was just refreshing for my soul and the distance between all of us made me value our time and our friendship even more!

Absolutely One of the Funniest Things EVER

2008-09-05T09:15:00.002-05:00

This should probably not be as funny as it is...but it made me cry I laughed so hard at it. Call me a bad person because this probably isn't uplifting to these people but they really couldn't have taken themselves seriously. There are very few things I have ever seen that are this funny!

A little disclaimer though...I haven't checked out the rest of this blog so beyond this page I am not responsible for what you might find if you look around. You never know in the blogging world...

http://listoftheday.blogspot.com/2007/09/great-olan-mills-photos.html

Fall is Coming!

2008-08-29T10:08:00.002-05:00

Ok, so it's hard to concentrate at work today. The first college football games of the season were on last night (congrats to Vandy on the win!) and tomorrow is the start of Auburn Football! Let's face it, Auburn should win and win big tomorrow. LA-Monroe (or ULM as they prefer to be called) will probably put up a good fight in the 1st half but we should be able to stretch the lead in the 2nd half. We usually struggle the first few series in the first game but if nothing else our depth should outlast them. I predict at least a 2 touchdown win. Maybe something like 34-17.

Meredith and I will be going to the game Saturday. We should make it to all the home games this year and plans are in the works to go to the Vandy game in Nashvegas on Oct. 4th. Cornerstone (our church) will be taking a team to New Orleans Nov. 5-9 so at least one of us will miss the homecoming game against TN-Martin on Nov. 8th. We haven't determined whether or not we'll both be able to go to NOLA, but we want to.

One quick (kind of) story and then I'll finish. Yesterday I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life while at work. As most of you know I'm a big hunter, or at least I try to be. I love deer hunting and I'm working my way into duck hunting, which I'm now obsessed with, just ask Meredith.

Well yesterday I was out supervising a crew that was spraying some kudzu. It was our last spot of the day and it was a rough, nasty one. Well, earlier in the day we had seen two spotted fawns jump up out of the kudzu and run off. If you don't know, spotted fawns will bed down and won't move sometimes even if you nearly step on them. They don't have much scent and stand a much better chance of surviving foxes and coyotes if they sit still. Anyway, on this last spot one of the guys nearly stepped on a spotted fawn. The crew is Hispanic and speaks very little English so our communication is broken at best. I knew they found something because they all started yelling but I thought it was a snake until I heard the fawn start screaming. I walked towards them and up the hill comes one of the guys carrying a spotted fawn and he hands it off to me. Before I know it I'm holding a kicking and screaming spotted fawn that's probably less than a week old! It was so cool! I didn't know what to do. I held it and petted it to try to calm it down and it eventually quit kicking but kept screaming. John, the other forester I work with, pulled up right about this time and I showed it to him. About the time we were trying to check the sex of it the thing kicked one good time and I dropped it. It popped up and took off running away into some thicker cover. It was ok but quite scared.

For a moment while I was holding the fawn it felt like the world just stopped. It looked at me and I looked at it almost as if we both said, "Why are you holding me?!" Then it went back to kicking and screaming. I have a nice little cut in the middle of my chest where it kicked me the last time but that's alright. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. They are such beautiful animals and that experience helps me appreciate them even more. I will still hunt them but I don't do it for the sake of killing. The challenge of chasing such a majestic animal and experiencing God's creation is one I hope I will always be able to enjoy. I harvest very few animals each year and I thank God each time for the bounty his creation provides.

In that fawn I saw God. I saw and held one of his wild creatures and it was incredible! God is such a wonderful maker!

A Poll

2008-08-26T14:56:00.002-05:00

So today is a slow day at work so I decided to check out the gadgets in blogger. I thought a poll sounded like a fun thing to try out so cast your vote. What was your favorite Olympic sport to watch? I know it may be hard to narrow it down to just one but humor me. I developed the list from what we watched the most on tv.

Olympics

2008-08-24T19:43:00.003-05:00

As the Closing Ceremonies are replayed on tv I got to thinking about the Olympics. Having lost many hours of sleep over the past couple of weeks watching the games I wonder what it is that draws us in to these games. Is it the patriotism? the ceremony and fanfare? the competition? For me I think it is all of these. I love cheering "U-S-A" and pulling for my favorite athletes. I also love watching the opening and closing ceremonies and the medal ceremonies and hearing the national anthems of the gold medalist. And I especially love watching the competition, especially with Michael Phelps going for 8 golds in a row. BUT I think my favorite part of the Olympics is seeing the world come together. I love seeing people from different countries sitting next to each other holding their respective flags, I love seeing the athletes put their arms around each other and congratulate each other, even if they are competitors. I think that this is a beautiful picture of what Heaven will be like! The whole world coming together for a common purpose. (Obviously, we will not be in competition with each other in Heaven!). I just love seeing people from every tongue, tribe, and nation together. It makes my heart smile and it makes me even more excited to see what Heaven will be like! I know that the Olympics are not perfect(can you say China?), and that people are not coming together for the common purpose of Jesus, but rarely do we get such a sweet picture of all of God's people together in one place. It is just nice to have these little reminders every now and then that this world is not our final destination!

Surviving!

2008-08-19T20:38:00.005-05:00

(this picture is from Christmas, but seriously, every time a car drives by this is what happens!)

Okay, so I should probably not have titled this blog so dramatically, but that is how I feel! Jason is out of the country (in Argentina) and he only left yesterday but already I miss him! I have lived by myself, and have lived without him, for most of my life, so I know I CAN live by myself, I just chose not to when we got married! My last first day of school was today (just think about it for a minute)so I have been so busy that I can distract myself from the thought that my husband is 1,000's of miles away. The problem comes with the dog, Toby. I thought he would be so worn after after attending dog daycare for 12 hours today that he wouldn't notice that Jason wasn't home. Shows how much I know! He keeps giving me what we call "basset hound eyes" (those sad puppy eyes) and every time a car drives by the poor thing jumps up and runs to the front window and looks out thinking that Jason has come home. I realize that the dog whisperer would say he just wants his pack home or something, but it is sad! I am thankful that God has blessed me with such a wonderful husband who is such a strong presence in our family that he is greatly missed by both me and the dog!!! Until Saturday when he comes home Toby and I will keep ourselves busy and enjoy some extra hang out time.
On a side note, I really do not know how single parents do it, or even how my mom managed every time my dad was TDY (that is military for a business trip). I know I am not a parent, and I would never think for one minute that this was anything like raising a child alone, but just taking care of a dog and a house by myself after getting used to having someone else there is hard!!! I have so much more respect and awe for my mom (during TDY's) and all other parents out there.

Nothing Like I Planned

2008-08-13T16:26:00.004-05:00

So this week is a crazy one. Meredith is in VA with her family and I'm just all over the place. Monday I came to work like normal but found out at 2:15PM that I would be flying from LaGrange, GA to Valdosta, GA and then driving to Madison, FL to look at a nursery operation on Tuesday morning. Things sometimes happen very quickly with my job. I got to fly on the Learjet 45 so I can't complain. Wednesday night I'm away from home and then Thursday night Meredith gets back home (thank goodness, when she's gone I'm reminded of how poorly I am at planning meals). Friday should be a "normal" day, but only time will tell.

This weekend will be fun, for me at least. Saturday is the Buckmaster's Expo in Montgomery and I'm planning on making a trip up to P'ville to Bass Pro Shops. After that it's hopefully a restful day on Sunday and then I leave to go to Argentina Monday night. I return on Saturday morning early. I wish we could take the Lear to South America! After these last few weeks football season will seem very calm!

Oh yeah, I'm still working with Toby on hold and force fetch. I feel like I'm neglecting the poor little guy because I just can't set a regular training schedule with him. He tolerates it well though. He did really well last night and is starting to understand walking hold. Hopefully I can dive off into full on force fetch after I get back from Argentina.

Welcome to the blogging world!

2008-08-07T18:00:00.000-05:00

We have been toying with the idea of starting a blog for a while...and here it is! I don't really know that our lives are that interesting to blog about but here we are! :-) I guess right now our blog will be about 1) Jason's job, 2) Meredith's school, 3) the dog, 4) our lives aside from these three things! Happy Reading!