Emma's new pose

This picture really makes me laugh. I have absolutely no idea where she learned this but it is so funny!

In case you wanted to see it again my dad took about 50 pictures!!

Jesus and the Whopper

On our way back to Memphis, Emma and I stopped into a Burger King in Tuscumbia Alabama. It was lunch time and moderately crowded. I ordered and told Emma to pick a seat. There was this group of about five construction guys sitting at a table. I thought I hope Emma doesn't pick the booth next to them, because I don't want alot of whistling and carrying on when I walk by(insert laugh here). So I did my best non sexy walk and sat in the booth next to them. Being totally judgemental, I thought they would probably be talking about football, flatulence, and babes.
But to my surprise they were talking about Jesus. That's right Jesus! Out of the five guys at the table I would say that two of the men were believers, and the other three were seekers. The believers used words like free will, heaven, mercy, and the seekers used words like unsure, and hell. They asked the same questions that many ask, why do bad things happen to good people? Why does God allow children to die, war, sadness, and if I have been a sinner all my life can I really find forgiveness?
I wanted to put down my chicken sandwich and scream yes, you can find forgiveness, grace, mercy, and peace! You just have to ask for it. For almost an hour they battled back and forth. By the end of lunch, the three men still were not convinced about the saving grace of Jesus, but it did give me great peace to know that these men had friends that weren't embarrassed to talk about Jesus in a Burger King.

Kraft Kamikaze

I am crazy for crafts!!! It all started when I took this scrapbooking class on how to make gift tags. The ad for the craft even said once you make your own tags you can never go back to store bought peel off tags! And I am here to testify they are right! So I decided to stock up on supplies and make all of my gift tags for Christmas this year.


I have had so much fun, but that fun has turned into a dark crafting obsession. I am now making ornaments


Picture boards..

Ahh this beautiful madness, you name it, I have probably mod podged it.

One Size

We have all seen this "claim" one size fits all, on various articles of clothing, hats, socks, shirts, gloves, etc. But does one size really fit all?
So as I was touring the aisles of Target tonight looking at all of the one size fits all stuff, I began to have some deep thoughts on the subject. I started thinking about all of my friends. Most of my friends there is no way I could wear their one size fits all , and no way they could wear my one size fits all. So how do designers get away with making this claim? So still deep in thought, I went to pick up my pictures at the photo lab. (Side note: This was the 4 time I tried to pick up my pictures and Christmas cards a.k.a. photogate). So I get to the counter and my pics are finally ready and the young lady behind the counter checks me out. She says "so sorry about you wait." I heard, "so sorry about your weight." And I am staring there looking at her and thinking you're no skinny prize either. And I said, "I have never had anyone say that to me before," she looked confused and I was disturbed, then I realized what she meant. Duh she was sorry I had to wait for my pictures. When we both realized what the other was saying we both died laughing. One size doesn't fit all!

Literally

I have discovered that 2 year olds are very literal creatures. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Emma and I spent some time at my parent's house in Alabama. One night, Em was getting ready for her bath, so my mom had her stripped down and ready to toss in the bath, when she declared "I brshh teff." (Loosely translated means I brush teeth). So my mom sits her on the counter and she starts to brush her teeth. She worked really hard on the top teeth, so I said, "now do your bottom." So she takes the toothbrush to those cute little butt cheeks and tries to "brush the bottom!"

Craft days or Crap days

WARNING:This rambling, I mean post may offend some. Caution while reading.
Today was our big craft show at a local church. Emily and I had big hopes for this show. We decided it couldn't be any worse than our last one, ahh but indeed it could be worse. The last show we did was an outdoor show and the big seller was the pvc pipe marshmallow shooter.


I mean I can see what the big draw is, being the first to claim you put someones eye out with a marshmallow, cool right? Well this show the big seller was wait for it...... Santa poop. Yes, you did read that right, Santa poop. Of course this booth was right across from us, so you could see all of the buying going on. And the infamous marshmallow shooter was only a few booths down. So this is my problem... to me a craft show should be a craft show! A craft to me is something YOU make. Not something you buy from China for pennies and sell for dollars. Sorry friends, but some of this stuff is just junk! I have to many crafty friends not to appreciate true talent and the art of creating something with your own two hands, not the hands of Feng Shui. I have decided that many of the people who come to "craft shows" don't appreciate someones fine work. As I walked around looking at the booths I felt like shaking the hands of the handful of people who actually made stuff. Like the old guy who made duck calls, the decoupage cross lady, and the lord help me crochet cup holder lady. I didn't say I would necessary buy any of these things, but it was nice to see something handmade.
If nothing else these past few craft shows have been an experience.
*AND NOW A LITTLE SHOUT OUT TO MY CRAFT CLUB:Thanks for being such great and inspiring people. I love our Monday nights together! It is great to have such fun, creative friends to hang out with.

Traditions

This past weekend we headed to Tuscaloosa for Alabama's homecoming. I was so excited because I haven't been back to Tuscaloosa since I graduated a few centuries ago. I was especially excited to take Emma to the big homecoming parade. So my parents, my aunt and uncle, Tom, Emma and I headed to T town for the parade and game. As soon as I stepped on campus it was like I never left. Even though my life and body for that matter all have changed, it was like stepping back in time. No, I wasn't wearing my Dorothy red slippers, but it did seem like I was back in Kansas.

The parade was really cool and Emma loved it. She got so excited when the people on floats would wave to her. She would just laugh and wave.

After the parade my parents took Emma and headed back to Birmingham. Tom and I headed over to the stadium for the game.



The tide rolled to victory over Arkansas State and improved their perfect season to 9-0. It was the perfect weekend!

3 thirty somethings+3 two year olds+craft night=#@*&#@*@#

Ahh, Martha Stewart we do love you, but I would have to guess that little Alexis wasn't around while you were creating paper wreaths, and wooden door signs. That might be why grown up Alexis has a new show called "Whatever Martha." Anyway, tonight was craft club night. I love craft club night, mainly for the people that are there, but it is just fun to get out of the house for awhile. I have become obsessed with Michaels and Archivers. It seems like I am in there everyday buying something fun. Needless to say, friends you be gettin some handmade gifts this year. But tonight's club would be a bit different since I would be bringing the Emminator. I prayed for a peaceful time and hoped for the best. I could just end here, but that wouldn't be any fun, now would it. Some highlights from the night:
Potty Wars Part Deaux: Avery, Faith, and Emma all wanting to use the Elmo potty at the same time.

How many times can we take our diaper off game, followed by the lets dump cheerios all over the floor game.
My child wanting to paint with mod podge. Why do I bother to try explaining to a 2 year old it is not paint!!!!
And finally three frazzled mommies sitting on the couch thinking do I smell poop again!!!!
But through it all I had the best time! Viva la craft club! Ole

Mama said there would be days like this, Mama said

Don't you just love song titles about life:Papa don't Preach, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Purple Rain (well maybe not that one), and Mama said there would be days like this. Hmm, I don't know if my mom has ever said that, but I am sure somewhere in the world someone has heard that. Well mama, today was my day. The day started out as usual, alarm clock goes off, stumble out of bed (literally), and hit the bathroom. The day begins to turn sour (literally again) when I realize the milk has expired and there is nothing for breakfast. This doesn't do a body good. Fast forward, we are now at the Preschool and Emma insists on being carried!!!!! I think this bothers me so much because it is way to hard to do it with my bad legs! Today was also party day at school. Yippee! Anyway, after school I am just super tired, and Emma decides to take this opportunity to have a full on, four alarm, get some help, i need tylenol, all out fit. That was it! No more will I be a participant to these childish rants. Oh did I mention she is two! But the best was yet to come . We are cleaning out our guest room for company this weekend. Our dear friend is dog sitting for us while we are out of town. So we have been working hard to get the room ready. Yesterday, I stacked up three boxes of trash, and next to the boxes was my box where I have been storing all of my jewelry for the shows we have been doing. Before I left for my friend's baby shower, I told Tom there are three boxes of trash that need to go out. He said ok. Flash forward- When I got home tonight I went to get some of the bracelets I made out of my box of stuff and well the box wasn't there. The following is a dramatization of our conversation: "Tom, umm where is my box with my jewelry stuff?"
"You said to throw away three boxes." "Yes the three boxes stacked up, not the one with all of my work in it." "You said three boxes." "yes, but all of my stuff was in that box." "You said three boxes." The end
*no one was injured in this dramatization.

I think if he at least had apologized it would have been easier to take. My song title for this day is When Doves Cry by Prince

Things I Learned Showering with a 2 year old

So my husband has been working alot on the weekends. It was time to shower and I decided Emma gets into way too many things, so just put her in the shower with me. These are a few of my keen observations from this event.
First, if you have a muffin top* (see definition below) water will spray off of it and into your child's eyes. Second, your child will stare wild eyed at your naked body! You must get passed this, but I know she was thinking "why does mommy have those huge watermelons stuck on her chest ,and how do they stay on?" She probably concluded that the melons rest so nicely on that Costco muffin top, that must be how they stay on. Third, while you are thrashing around with your wash cloth, soap will probably fly into their eyes! And I can tell you Irish Spring does burn. And lastly, if you have any cups in the shower take them out! Because when your child fills them up with hot water, chances are good that when they drink the water they will burn their throat!

*muffin top-that large flappy part of skin in the lower abdomen that hangs over your belly. This phenomenon happens usually after child birth. And despite sit ups and crunches it just doesn't go away!

Ahh Tranquility

Last weekend, my husband and I packed up the family truckster and headed down south. Huntsville to be exact. We had a fun filled anniversary weekend planned sans our child. Since Emma was born 2 years ago we haven't had a night alone. So we dropped her off at Nana and Papa's, and headed for the hotel. We decided to stay at the Westin Bridge Street. The hotel overlooks this amazing outdoor mall, movie theater, gondala rides, paddle boats, outdoor carousal, just about everything. The Westin also has a very nice spa. So Saturday we headed to lunch at a place called Ketchup before my spa day.



After lunch I headed back to the Westin for my spa day. I got a massage, manicure, pedicure, eyebrow wax, and a leg rejuvenating treatment. Well after the lady doing my eyebrows removed 3 layers of my epidermis it was time to head back up to the room.
Feeling rejuvenated and kinda pretty we headed out for a fancy dinner. And fancy to me means no chicken fingers and french fries, and no sippy cups! We ate at a place called Dolce. It was this retro Italian place. It was so dark in there I could barely see Tom, much less read the menu. But the food was great and it was nice to be able to actually chew my food, instead of scarfing food down before my child goes nuts. The cool thing about this hotel is we never had to leave!! Everything was right there. On Sunday we saw to fabulous movies, Fireproof and Billy the Early Years. Overall the weekend was a time to reconnect and relax. We both decided we need to do that more often!!

A few musings

In my spare time recovering from the dreaded stomach virus, I was watching the news. They were doing a story on obese people in America. So they roll tape on obese people walking on the streets of America. Can you imagine being the unfortunate victim of one cameraman's eye. I mean what do they say go out and video a bunch of fat people walking around!! I guess they have to have video. But really, can you imagine sitting down and turning on the news and seeing your belly walk across the screen? Awful. I guess that is why they never show their poor faces. My other musing: I was reading the bottle of Pepto Bismol and it says something like this, "a harmless blackening of your stool or tongue may occur." A harmless blackening...... is no one else alarmed by this. I personally find it alarming that my tongue might turn black. That could make for some awkward conversational moments. I think I may have too much time on my hands.

Stomach Virus 08

Ahh, no matter how much I washed my hands and prayed it away, it happened: the dreaded stomach virus. So I have compiled a list of the 3 favorite things I can now do now that I don't have the dreaded stomach virus.

3. My skinny jeans fit perfectly now (this could be because I haven't eaten since Sunday).
2. I can now take a shower (without the great desire to fall into the fetal position next to the toilet).
And the number 1 thing I can now do: pass gas without pooping my pants!!!

My jeans are laughing at me

So I lost a few pounds and decided to buy a few nice things in hopefully a smaller size. Because lets be real here, when your jeans are to big they sag and I personally could start a pants fire with all the chaffing going on. So I was "professionally" fitted for some jeans, and to my delight I was a size smaller. Now I will confess they seemed a little tight to me, but the sales lady assured me they looked great and that jeans always stretch a little. Well as soon as I brought the new jeans home, there was this immediate tension that existed between my new size and my old size. At night, I swear I could hear sounds from my closet, mumblings if you will. I distinctly heard one pair say, "you will be back," and another old pair said "you have new pants but can you button them?" All very valid points from my closet friends, but I was determined to defy the odds!! So today I put on my smaller size jeans, and wouldn't you know it, I did have trouble buttoning them. Were my old jeans right? It couldn't be! So I remembered what Scarlett O'Hara said, "As God as my witness I will never wear those fat jeans again!" I am currently accepting applications for a walking partner, so I can stay in my new jeans and maybe buy some new ones!!

A Special Time

Today was the NICU reunion at Baptist Women's Hospital. This is the second year we have attended, and we look forward to the first of October every year. The kids dress up in their costumes, and they have food, games, and a moon bounce. The coolest thing to me is they weigh , measure, and make a clay handprint of each child. They made a certificate with Emma's birth weight and her weight now. It is so amazing to see how much she has grown! At birth she was a tiny 3 lbs and now she is a whopping 25 lbs! Each year I like to just sit down and look around. I am surrounded by hundreds of God's little miracles. As the kids run by I read their NICU stickers that have their birth date and their birth weight. Some of these little babies running around me weighed less than a pound at birth!! Of course some of these little preemies have obvious physical problems, but many of them appeared to be happy and healthy. Each year this reunion takes Tom and I back to that time when our little girl was fighting for her life, and how scared we both were. We will always have this special unspoken bond with many of these parents of preemies, as well as the doctors and nurses of Baptist Women's Hospital. We feel so blessed that God has chosen us to raise Emma for Him.

Al Fresco

So I never go to Taco Bell, but I was going to be late for my mom's group so I stopped at the only place on the way. So as I peruse the menu, I noticed they have gone al fresco. Now before I go on, I should mention that while ordering I really had no idea what al fresco meant. I just knew this al fresco burrito didn't have rice on it! I am not sure why they put rice in burritos, but maybe some people like that. Anyway, I learned what the spanish to english translation of al fresco is: dry, chewy, no much taste burrito. I should mention I had them hold the tomatoes, so I am sure the juice from the tomatoes might have helped with the dryness issue. The other thing al fresco stands for is overpriced! The loaded chicken stuffed burrito-89 cents, al fresco 2.89! So my vote for the al fresco grilled chicken no taste dry burrito-sad face!

Faith

We went to Chick fil A the other night for a gourmet dinner. It was kid's night, so if your kid is screaming, it was drowned out by everyone else's kids. Emma wanted to play in the little fun zone area, so of course after not eating i rewarded her with a trip to play. Bad Britney. To my knowledge, Emma has never played in the "fun zone." She can sometimes be shy and scared in new situations, so I was intrigued to see how this would go. She would start out by climbing up one step, then immediately want to come down. But the thing was she couldn't put her feet down on the next step. After about the millionth time, I admit I was a little frustrated. I said "Emma just put your feet down, you know the step is there." And just as the words left my mouth, i had this epiphany. A chick fil a epiphany. As I looked at her little legs dangling there it occurred to me that her lack of trust that the step would be there is alittle like faith. As Christians, we are asked to believe in something we can't see. Like the step, we know it exists, but do we believe it will be there? Belief in God is a leap or a step of faith. Trusting in things not always seen is difficult, but believing there is nothing is tragic.

For Emma, it just took attempt after attempt to realize that indeed, each time something was there.

If You Just Believe......

While we were visiting my parents this weekend, we decided to go to the new outdoor mall. This place is really cool. It has an outdoor carousel, gondola rides, paddle boat rentals, and great food places like Ketchup! To every parents dismay they also have little toy vending machines. Ugh. Emma went to Hobo school and has learned to search for money left in the slots, whats next robbing the wishing well water features? Anyway, like an eagle spying her prey in this case a plastic alien, she was on the hunt. She would not be deterred.

Well of course I didn't have any quarters on hand, and they don't yet accept Am Ex, Emma was out of luck.

So sad, right?

Uhh, back the bus up, what just happened here. Well it is obvious, she has a special gift! She indeed got that alien, unfortunately, some poor kid left it in the shoot. Aw sweet victory!

Surprise!

Last weekend, my brother and I hosted a surprise 60th birthday party for my parents. We had the party catered by their favorite mexican restaurant! It was a bit difficult planning a surprise party three states away, but the look on their faces was the payoff! Everyone had a great time, including Emma who was more than willing to open Nana and Papa's presents!

you tube

So I haven't figured out how to post a video, so I had to post this whole video bar thing to your right. Anyway, you can hear the song I was talking about.

Britney

Like everyone I watch with disgust as the paparazzi hounded poor Britney. It seemed like her every mis-step was captured on some short of film or video. I am no Dr. Phil but I think Britney lost touch with reality for a time and I think her soul. I of course don't know Britney, but I felt sorry for her. It must be horrible to know that everyone around you wants something from you, using you then losing you. Everyone that is except the one that most celebs deny-God. I think it is so easy to fall into this trap of judging people, but instead shouldn't we be praying for people. Helping those that are lost find something greater than themselves. I stumbled onto this song by Christian artist Bebo Norman. Oddly enough it is called Britney. And you guessed it it's about Britney. My favorite line in the song is "I know love goes around the world we know, and you never see it coming back, but I can see it coming back for you." Then at the end of the song the lyrics change and he says"I know love goes around the world we know and you never see it coming back, but I can see Him coming back for you!" I can't seem to shake that line from my head. Maybe because it is so comforting to know that He is coming back for you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_Q_wVfGAfA

Am I Raising a Couch Potato?

It is so funny, we moms just seem to fall into routines. For us there is a certain routine on the days I work, and a totally relaxed routine on the days we are home. Of course school days are super rushed and usually start with me dragging Emma from the bed, just in time to walk out the door. You might could say she is a late sleeper. The rub with routines is you don't really notice things that are not part of your everyday routine. Well that is until last night. When my husband got home, Emma was so excited to see him. She ran over to her Dora the Explorer House (actually it is a mansion! ) Anyway, she sat down and said, "Daddy play Dora".


The word I would like to focus on here is "play". I don't think in all my days has she ever said "mommy play". Hmmm, now I am no Sherlock Holmes, but I think there might be something here. So I began to review our routine in my head, and I realized we are always on the go, shopping, going to lunch, shopping, working, shopping, and shopping. Stop reading here if you can't handle a pity party.... I guess that made me sad. Most of the people who know me know I am struggling with chronic knee pain. I will save you the pitiful details, but I just can't do alot of the things I want to do! I think it seemed easier to just stay painfully busy than to stop and enjoy the silence. I can't get on the floor and play, much less take her to the park and play.I have grown afraid of doing the things I love the most.
End pity party-So I have decided I must do better. It all became clear as I laid her trying to sleep. I felt this calm presence and I heard these words "Live Simply". So this is my new motto. I love it. Just stop the time sucking activities and enjoy life. I need to recruit some friends to help me hit the parks and the pavement and get out there and make a change even if it is painful. Emma needs me to do it and I want to do it!

Carrot part 2

Click on the second picture and you can really see my carrot friend smile

Is a Carrot just a Carrot?

So you all have seen these crazy reports on tv, where people claim to see images in their food. One lady saw Mary in a cinnamon roll, someone saw Jesus in a piece of toast, and more recently a husband and wife claim to have a Cheetos in the shape of Jesus on the cross. Mmm really? The crazy thing is people actually buy this stuff on Ebay. Well I thought this all a bit of rubbish until tonight at dinner. We had pasta and a mix of veggies. Emma of course didn't eat her dinner, so I grabbed her plate and looked down and I saw this little carrot face staring back at me. Can you believe it !It happened right here in Memphis Tennessee, my very own carrot face. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to capture this on film. My husband would just keep walking by saying words like, obsessed, give up, really Jen. But I would not be denied. The pics don't quite capture the essence of my new carrot friend, but I did the best I could. My new carrot friend has inspired me to buy a new camera and wait for my next veggie encounter. I will not let my new friends down.

Potty Training Boot Camp Day 1

Emma and I both stayed home from preschool today because we both were feeling a bit under the weather. So what better time to try and potty train your 2 year old. My mom's friend found these Carter's training pants, so I decided to give them a try. The first pair in the bag was just a plain white pair. When she put them on it reminded me of Risky Business, all she was missing was the socks and the shades. But here is the rub.. umm she doesn't want to keep them on!! So I would look down and see this pair of underwear and a little naked butt run by.

So plan B, we tried a pull up. Here is what happened....
Actually I decided I better not show that picture. Needless to say by the end of the day she was very confused. Notice the shoes.

My poor baby is so confused and so is her momma!!!!!!!!!!

Lions, Tigers, and Bears Oh My

This weekend we packed up the family truckster and headed down to the zoo. We bought a membership this year so we thought with the nice weather it would be a great trip. Emma grabbed her shades and her new Dora shoes (which she slept in) and we hit the road. Here is a pre zoo picture.

The weather was perfect and the animals were actually pretty active. We stopped by to see the two new female gorillas and the male gorilla. I couldn't believe it by the gorilla came very close to us and started making this scare the poop out of you sound. I wasn't sure what he was going to do. He was yelling and rocking back and forth on this rock. Later a zoo employee walked up to me and said"that was a great sound." I kinda looked at her and said uh huh, thinking if I could have translated it might have been something like this: you human ,look plump and tasty. like to use you as a ball and toss you round the yard. The zoo employee said the noise the male gorilla made means he is content. Well with this new information about him being content I decided maybe he doesn't want to eat me!

Overall, the day was great! We ended the day with a carousal ride and an ice cream bar. I can't think of anything better.

Burrito Baby

Emma and I have this little morning routine. I get up and get showered and dressed, then I get her stuff ready for preschool. I then go in and wake her up, sometimes she is on the floor and sometimes she is in her bed. She comes into the kitchen and gets her cup of milk and goes and sits in the recliner. She always says "ooo cold mommy". So I get her a blanket and turn on some cartoons(so Britney Spears I know). I cook something for breakfast and then we snuggle under the covers. It is such a sweet and treasured time. I love sitting there listening to her talk. I pick up every 5 word but it is ok, I am learning to speak Klingon. I love this picture of my sweet burrito baby.



The good thing bout having a burrito baby no carbs or calories!!! My two friends with gestational diabetes rejoice and get a burrito baby today!!!!!!

To Leash or Not to Leash, that is the Question?

So I was sitting here actually laying here not sleeping again, so I decided to put my mind to use and try and plan out my weekend. My husband has taken on the task of painting the outside of our house all by himself, so pretty much for the next few weekends Emma and I will be on our own. I have a few returns at stores and just some other errands to run and as I was planning this out in my mind it lead me to the title of today's entry. Emma has decided (notice I said she decided) that she is too big for the stroller and too cool for a shopping cart, so that leaves maniac child running through store! So several months ago my mom bought Emma an Eddie Bauer (get no money for endorsement) monkey leash.Before I had a child I thought these things are so cruel. I mean who walks there kids? On the leash do you buy a tag that says will fetch toys? If lost call home? But honestly now that I have a child I can see why people use them. For one thing it gives the child a chance to walk about safely, and you don't have to worry about them running off and getting lost. Still, I can't bring myself to strap on the cute little monkey pack. Knowing Emma as I do I think it would be a situation of not walking but dragging her and the monkey leash. What do you do when they go boneless with their little leashes on? Case in point I think the real reason I don't use it is I don't want people to stare and think that I can't control my child. So I guess I will have to do some field tests and get back to ya on this one. Maybe I will even have some pics!

Things you learn at midnight.......

Top 5 things you learn at midnight.....
brought to you by WideAwake inc.
5. Your daughter is on the floor again!
4. Legs get really stiff when you haven't used them
3. The child proof door knobs you bought glow in the dark. Good to know.
2. The Golden Girls is on at midnight! yeah
and the number 1 thing you learn at midnight.........................
YOU NEED A PRESCRIPTION FOR AMBIEN!!!

Picasso or Van Gogh? Don't know

Tonight little Emma shocked her dad and I! She counted to ten! Yes I said it to 10! Well she did leave out a few numbers. It went alittle something like this... 123...678...10 Yeah!I know, I know, this is what jealous mommies call shameless bragging. Well if your mom doesn't do it then who? Put the super cool thing came later that day. She was drawing on her magna doodle, and she would draw something and say "bird" and point to it. SHe then drew a flower, a tree, and a peace sign. no kidding. She pointed to each one of the drawings and named them. I love those little moments. I want to tuck them away in my heart and mind and remember them always. Her are some of her drawings.

Clearly here you can see a peace sign.

Ahh, the lovely but never seen Ivory billed woodpecker and a tall pine tree.

And my favorite Emma pointing to the turkey and pumpkin she drew.

A pondering if you will

So I was having one of those deep thoughts kinda days. It was a rainy day today so Emma and I decided to stay in and she played and I worked on some jewelry. I have recently taken up working with metals. Sounds glamorous right? Anyway, I just feel calm when I am working with my hands. It was during this calm that I had a revelation. Before I reveal this revelation, I have to back track a bit. A great bonus in making your own jewelry is you get to wear some of it, well be honest all of it. So I had a perfectly good necklace that I always wear, but I decided I wanted a longer chain to show of some of my new charms. So I ordered a chain online and when it arrived I put it on immediately. I have worn it now for a few weeks, but today I started thinking is this chain too long? It kinda gets in the way and Emma likes to just about hang from it. So I thought maybe I should just wear my old chain. Wait for it... the revelation was this.... why is it that we or I just can't want what we already have. There was nothing wrong with the first chain, but I had to have another one, and when I got it, I didn't want it.
Some of you might be thinking I need to consult the Physician's Desk Reference for some shopping disorder, but I think it is much deeper than that. I think God created us to always be wanting and to never be satisfied. But NOT WITH THE STUFF OF THIS WORLD! God is waiting for us to realize that he is the only true thing that can fill and sustain us. Not jewelry, and other stuff we can't take with us. It is so overwhelming to think of a God who created this wanting and the same God gives us free choice. I believe he is sitting there looking down waiting for us to chose him!

A Star is Born

Emma at the tender age of 2 has taken up photography. Now I am no Anne Lebowitz but I think these photos might just be something special. They sort of have an Andy Warhol feel to me. I especially think she captured the essence of her nose in this photo.



I also like the flash effects in the following photos!

Where's Waldo?

My favorite time of the day is in the morning when I wake up and walk to Emma's room to find where she spent the night. You see she is in a big girl bed now, so this gives her the freedom she never had in the crib. It is my favorite part of the day because you never know where you are going to find her, kinda like Waldo.


It looks like she has been to a fraternity party in this one picture. At least she drinks at home and it does my heart good to know that her friend Dora is always at her side.

My Poor Husband

This is truly a classic cannot make this stuff up story. My husband rarely goes out for lunch. He is a budget minded kinda guy married to a whats a budget kinda girl. So basically he eats peanut butter and jelly everyday to help save money. But today he learned he got a bonus and a bit of a raise so he decided to treat himself to a fine lunch at Back Yard Burger. On these rare occasions when he does treat himself, he picks up a Memphis flyer and enjoys a nice juicy hamburger. So he walks in , places his order and picks up a flyer. Out of the corner of his eye he sees someone waving to him. It is the President and Owner of the company he works for. He too was dining on a fine meal, and with him was his wife. So Tom sets his drink down at a table and walks over to say Shalom. They invite him to join them, so Tom sets the flyer down and goes to get his drink. At this point in the story I think it is important to mention that his boss is a very Godly man, he has published some books on marriage, and is very active in missions work. So when Tom returns to the table this is what he sees.....

Ahh, Summer

Well it appears to be that time of year again, kids are back in school, and I will soon be back to work. This could only mean one thing.... The end of Summer. The summer was really cool. We spent the summer with great friends and family. This summer included a trip to the beach, zoo trips, and many trips to the pool. I almost have a tan to prove it. I think the coolest part of the summer was just hanging out with friends from the preschool and their kids! It was cool to watch Emma playing with her friends, many of them older than her. Ahh the memories of the kids ringing the bell at Arbys to signal yet another fine meal, crashing high chairs at the mall food court, and the pure joy of the 500th happy meal toy. What a summer! One should never underestimate the power of friendship and making people feel special. My friends did that for me this summer. Trips to the mall, pool dates, zoo trips, and Emma's infectious giggling are the things I will remember fondly when I think back on this summer.