Run Around

Today was a busy day, a day of festivities, a day of supreme sugar intake (Amanda J., I think I might have you beat. I know Avery does.)

Do you have one of those friends that you adore that never dated much and you just couldn't figure out why and you couldn't wait to see who they ended up with? That is Dom. Dom is a gem of a guy. A true gentleman, a wise man, a man that we were forever curious who God would bring to him.

She's here and she's perfect!
Dom and Megan are getting married this December. Shawn will be a groomsman...hee, hee. They live in Houston so I hadn't met Megan yet. I'd heard bunches about her but no face to face. Dom's family held an engagement reception for them today and that was our first stop. I snapped a pic of the bride and groom and groomsman-to-be. Look at Dom, he's glowing!






A quick stop at home for naps and then we were off to Lewisville for our niece, Caitlyn's, first birthday. She is my brother's daughter, three weeks younger than Asher and a total hoot. That girl was THE perfect birthday girl/hostess. She made her way from room to room with a big toothy grin for all the party guests. My brother and sis-in-law loved it b/c there were folks in every room to corral that busy gal. She's probably 17 pounds and I don't know 2 feet tall. She's a tiny toddler toddling. It's the cutest thing. Avery adores her and she and Asher already seem to be buds. Oh and she had the perfect party dress. She looked like a bunch of balloons, so festive!

Cake smashed, gifts opened and it was time to hit stop number 3. Dave the drummer is in town b/c the guys are playing at First Dallas tomorrow morning. We met him and the greatest sound guy on the planet, Bobby and his wife Brooke at BJ's. YUM! Shawn and I held off eating at the party so we could stuff ourselves right.

Isn't it great when you make a wise choice? I tell you what, I could've past over dinner and moved straight to the pizookie. I don't know if I spelled it right, I don't even care. It's so good, it covers a multitude of wrong spelling. A warm chocolate chip cookie (big, I say) in its very own tin with a big ol scoop of ice cream. Shawn, Avery and I were like pigs at a trough. Shawn would scoop some cookie and Avery would swoop in with her spoonful of ice cream and steal his cookie. Yum, double yum.

AND, Bobby and Brooke picked up the tab! Hallelujah!

And now I'm fat and happy on the couch about to dive into an episode of House (it's actually work I have to do! Love those random research projects.)

Oh, and tonite while I was getting Avery ready for bed, she informed me that she has a sister named Emma who lives in China...??? Prophetic, maybe? Who knows.

Also, I'm glad to see some new "faces" visiting here. Welcome and thanks for the sweet comments!

sim

From pleasant to the pits in no time

Have you ever had a day where you are teetering on the edge? Of course you have...right? Right?

A seemingly harmless beginning to today has continued to unravel with each passing hour. The saddest thing about it? I'm the one pulling the thread.

I cannot shake the funk that has me in a stronghold.

The words, "Get out of that pit!" are on replay in my head. Maybe because I just saw Beth Moore's book on the shelf at well, a bookstore.

This morning, we were invited to "bring a friend" day at The Little Gym. Okay, sounds good. We won't be signing up but a free hour of play should be fun for Avery.

Ah, see the fray...

Our "friend" that invited us is nowhere to be seen. Avery is hesitant to join in the group activities without a parent in tow. Partly because her "friend" is not there, partly because that's not how she rolls. Daddy finally persuades her to go in there by telling her he'll sit on the side up against the wall. Deep breath and she agrees.

And does well. She and Shawn keep exchanging these looks that same something like, I don't really get this. Avery, because she's never been to one of these. Shawn, because he's one of the few objects emitting gross amounts of testosterone.

So, I want in there. Asher won't sit still, getting into everybody's business. I wave Shawn down and we do the swap.

And I yank on that thread.

Avery doesn't see me come in, doesn't notice me sitting there for a few minutes. I'm beaming with pride at my redhead beauty doing her warm-ups.

She sees me.

And her face crumples.

And I feel like absolute crap.

She breaks from the group, ignoring the exuberant calls from the bubbly teachers and plants herself firmly in my lap and lets the tears flow. I try to talk her into going back out there, having fun, you know. But she won't do it. I figure, oh well, we're not signing her up, this isn't a test run and I need to go to the store, so let's go.

We walk back out to the lobby and she makes a beeline to the blocks that Asher is playing with and Shawn makes a beeline to me. Frustrating conversation occurs between said hubby and myself. He doesn't see my side of it (let's just leave) and I don't want to see his side of it (you just shut down and now she wants to shut down. That's stupid).

More threads come tumbling out. I'm fighting back tears b/c I've screwed up again. I don't know how to persuade a 3 1/2 year old to "have fun".

But daddy does. He gets her back in there after awhile and attaches her to a friendly teacher, sits back with an encouraging smile and watches Avery have a blast.

I lose it. All I can think is get me out of here now! Mom = tears, fear and escape. Dad = encouragement, patience and stick-to-it-iveness.

I cry the whole way home. Someone please tell me hormones are at least a little at work here. Please.

I've now successfully unraveled the better part of my day. I'm stuck in my self-pity pool and can't seem to muster the energy to get out. And I sure don't help things by denying myself proper sustenance to raise that blood sugar. A few slices of turkey does not a healthy meal make.

I did hear some great words on the radio from Alister Begg. He was speaking on reaping/sowing. Right before getting out of the car I heard him say, "when you remain in your self-pity, you are sowing self. When you don't read what you should, you are sowing self. When you read what you shouldn't, you are sowing self."

That leads me to this:

I have a chance to run to the store by myself to grab milk. Two separate gallons, no less. Skim for the majority of the family, whole for little man. While in there I want to grab a diet soda and read some entertainment mags. Gorge myself, if you will.

And as I'm joyously looking over the covers and deciding what I want to get my grubby paws on, what nugget of Truth rams itself into the forefront of my mind?

Grrrr. I know I shouldn't waste time reading and investing energy in the lives of celebrities. For me, it's an escape and a worthless one at that. On my walk to the back of the store for the milk, I wrestled with if I would obey and move on or ignore that little itch of Holy Spirit.

Hey, I had already shredded my day, so...

Why blatantly disobey? Me, who asks God to allow me to hear His voice. He complied, I left without so much as a clue as to how Paris's life has changed post-jail time and here I am, sharing this wordy account with you.

I feel better already.

By the way, the "friend" showed up an hour late...to his own class! Seems there was some miscommunication between mom and dad. I just can't imagine...

A thank you.

I really have nothing to say but sat down anyway. Asher is in bed, Avery and Shawn in the tv room, playing the piano. I am perched on the stool in the kitchen, typing away, hoping inspiration will show it's flighty face.

So far, no luck.

Today was pleasant on a few levels. I like pleasant days.

From time to time, the kids and I meet a few other moms at Willow Bend for playtime/lunch and any visiting we can squeeze in. These are women I don't see regularly but respect and enjoy and look forward to seeing. Today, two moms I have only known through blogging came and what a treat to meet them. And the kiddos? TOO CUTE!

I love knowing about people. I'm working on the whole "love knowing" people deal and "love people" command and well... Not that I don't want to know people, I'm just not so good at it. I spend way too much time wondering what MY dork factor is, not engaging others in conversation, yada-yada. I kinda freeze when it comes to small talk.

But, finding out about peoples' lives I love. I want to find a connection, a common ground, interesting tidbits. And, it really is a small world! The six degrees of separations is alive and well. So, all that to say, I found some common ground with my new "face to face" friends.

And, let me say, its crazy how much we learn about each other through blogs before even laying eyes on one another.

So, girls, thanks for a good day. I look forward to more visiting...I'm thinking at a yummy restaurant sans kids one evening so we can really talk, uninterrupted.

What'd ya say?

True Obedience

The LORD God has told us what is right and what He demands:
"See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God."
Micah 6:8

Pathetic, but hey!

So I didn't take too many pics this week. I kinda stink at that. Here is my humble offering:

Hang on, bub! We're so close now. Avery looks happy here...she took a break from seeing if she could scream louder than Asher to offer a semi-smile.

In the hotel room. Do they make rooms smaller now? I swear the walls were closing in on us. Notice Avery watching the tv. We don't have cable or satellite or anything much besides channel 8 and 13. She got her fill of Disney and Nick.
Avery and Kennedy. Kennedy is the daughter of Drummer Kevin. She is a year younger than Avery and every bit just as girly. See her camo purse and sippy held just like a Starbucks?
Sweet Cindy Foote and daughter Liberty Song. She is a very busy 19 month old...Libby, not Cindy. Poor Cindy just wanted some sleep. Amen, sister.
And...the final touch. Last night as we drove home, God told us He loved us THIS MUCH. I don't think I have ever seen a perfect rainbow from end to end. Avery hadn't and we enjoyed this so much. It was vibrant and perfect. I did my best with the camera while driving too fast on a windy road. Hey! I just wanted to get home!

Ahhhh...

We're home!

After some serious meltdowns Thursday, we threw in the towel.

It's Thursday around 6 PM. We get in the car to head to the school to watch the guys play. Avery is mad (and I mean MAD) that she doesn't have like 30 dolls to play with and screams the whole way from the hotel to the school. She is beyond exhausted and just wants to be done. Asher is sitting in his seat with a glazed look like he's about to nod off and I'm thinking, why are we still here?

Shawn calls as we are in the parking lot at the school. I'm planning on sitting there until Avery quits. He comes out and I tell him we're going home. He balks, which is understandable since we won't get on the road until close to 7PM and it took us 6 hours to get there. Still, We are soooo done. Shawn agrees and helps us load everything up. After getting gas, we hit the road at 6:47 PM.

The kids are in diaper/pullup and pjs so we shouldn't have to stop for potty breaks. My hope is that they'll sleep most of the way.

And...it seemed to be a great decision. We made great time, getting home at 11:30 PM (one drive thru stop to get a diet coke and fries)! Once we got home, it got hairy for a little while. They both woke up and were both groggy and Asher had a messy diaper, Avery was crying and being dramatic in her half-conscious state and that threw me in to psycho mom mode.

Ten minutes after midnight and we were all in bed, close to asleep. I was dead to the world for a glorious 5 1/2 hours before Asher woke up. I fed him and put him back down and went to check on Avery.

Guess who was awake. Are you kidding me? The girl is sneaking caffeine somehow.

I let her finish out the morning in bed with me and we both managed to drift off until a little after 8.

They are napping now, catching up on much needed sleep.

I'm so glad we came home last night. Shawn is not too far from arriving too! Yeehaw. I'll get to hit the grocery store by myself.

Gonna get some pics up here in a second.

Howdy from San Angelo...again

Thanks for the encouragement and prayers. Last night went well. Asher was so tired he couldn't put up a fight. Avery took a bit longer to settle down but at least there were no tears...or screaming...or other guests knocking on our door asking if we are okay.

That was humbling. And a slight bit embarrasing. The worst part? The guy wasn't even staying next door but DOWN THE HALL!

At least he was nice about it.

Okay, so I've heard the guys play now. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that Shawn has been blessed to lead with them. Billy is an incredible songwriter and Cindy? That girl can sing and then some. The only downside? I just can't worship when a girl is singing...I spend too much time in awe of the beautiful voice. I do try to at least read the words. And God still gets the glory for giving her such an amazing voice...even though He passed me up...

No bitterness here...much.

Speaking of words, there is a new song that they have been doing and man, it's incredible! I can't keep the name straight. Something like All Praise to God. Ah, it's the next Not a god.

And little Libby, their daughter from China...too cute. It's a busy time in the green room with kiddos everywhere but we're having fun. Some great folks we have here!

Still haven't heard Neal. He gave me a rundown of what he would cover and it sounded like greatness, but bedtime prevailed. Here's to hanging on to hope.

Signing off now. I'm in the lobby again with Avery while Asher is napping and Shawn is doing some work.

I've taken a few pics of the kids. I'll get 'em up when I'm on my computer.

How's the weather in the Big D? We've had crazy rain which has made it nice and cool. I can dig that.

later ya'll.

We made it.

So while other blog friends have been dashing off to exotic locale, and others are headed up north, I am spending the week in the lovely San Angelo. With the kids. Because of the hubby.

The guys are leading worship at a Student Life Camp at Angelo State. Since this is the "closest" deal they have this summer...here we are.

Six hours in the car by myself. With the kids.

Not fun.

I so feel for single parents.

Stopping for a potty break takes serious forethought.

But, we made it. And the kids actually slept last night (for the most part). I snuck down to the lobby around 6:20 AM for a quiet breakfast before getting them up. I spotted the computer and figured I'd hop on here for a few.

Today we begin our fun. We'll go to the camp to hear the guys play. I haven't seen Shawn play with Billy Foote yet, but he's lovin' it. We'll swim. Someone will hopefully get in a nap at some point. And we'll enjoy being together as a family.

Also, Neal McClendon is speaking and I have as of yet, never heard him...though I've heard ALL about him. I might actually still not hear him but I'll give it a shot.

Please pray for me. I want to have fun and that requires relaxing and bringin' in the ol' flexibility that I so don't possess. I swear I will give God ALL the glory and take none for myself if I not just survive the week but really enjoy it.

Have a great day, ya'll! I'm off to see what the troops are up to.

Happy Father's Day!

My dad. The man who instilled in me a love of reading, deep conversation and softball. His daily reading of the Word was a true testament to his faith and an important example for mine. His love for my mother showed me commitment, no matter what. He now loves my kids like he loved us. I am blessed to have a dad like him.

And this man stepped in and has loved me more like Christ than I have ever deserved. Through him I have learned to live out commitment. I am forever amazed at his integrity, wisdom and love of people. He is a tremendous father: consistent, loving, fun and deeply committed to family. God knocked it out of the park with this one.

And of course,

God the Father.

Abba.

Daddy.

His mercies are new every morning.

He is the Giver of all good things.

The Father of Light.

A Great Comfort.

The Example.

Decisions are the worst!

Good morning! I tell ya, it's too early.

So this morning, I scheduled a neighborhood event. In retrospect I'm not sure what I was thinking. Cinemark does a series of kid movies for $1 each Wednesday at 9:30 AM. Sounds fun, right? Sure, if someone can watch your 1 year old who should be napping at precisely that same time. Did I find a babysitter (meaning my mom)? Noooo, not so much. Am I stressed about how this is going to go? Yesss. Did Avery wake up at 5 this morning? Mmm-hmmm. Did I go to bed too late last night? I think you know the answer to that.

Not looking like a promising start.

I will throw myself at the mercy of my mother and ask for a last minute pardon (if she doesn't have any meetings) and beg that she hang with little man while Avery and I spend some time with Clifford that big ol' red dog.

I dunno what's going to happen if ALL of us hit the theater. My mind has been trying to map out different scenarios, preparing itself for all things stressful. There are only so many crackers that a baby will let you shove in his mouth in attempts to keep him busy. At least this is a kid movie and stress is a given. I bet we won't even be able to hear what sweet Emily Elizabeth has to say.

Maybe we should just save our dollars and watch PBS this morning.

Darn you, girl, for thinking you could be ubermom. I could so go for a nanny right now...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ASHER!

This little man loves life...and cake!

We love you, Asher!

Tidbit Wednesday

Once again, naptime has been given over to blogtime. You'd think with all the witty writings I've read, I would be spurred on to spew my own.

Guess it's just not that time of the month...biorhythms and stuff.

I do have to say that I think blogs are so nifty. A labyrinth of fun, so many girls separated by a mere few degrees.

another tidbit - my little man is turning one on Sunday! We'll be having family celebrations on Saturday 'cuz Shawn becomes a travellin' man on Sunday.

On that note, we'd appreciate prayers. Lots of travelling, a new band, no practice...good thing guys roll with the punches a bit better than we do.

I'm reading Bringing up Boys by Dobson. Shawn's mom bought it for us back in 2002 (good thing she inscribes her books to us)...honestly, we laughed and thought it a bit odd. Kiddos weren't on the horizon...or so we thought. I actually picked it up one time to see if I could make heads or tails of my husband.

I didn't finish the book.

This morning, while sitting in the study, half-groggy at 6:20 AM (but hey, I got close to 9 hours of sleep last night!!), I decided I would give it another shot b/c, after all, I am bringin' up a boy now.

Did you guys know that boys and girls are different? :-) Wonders never cease.

take care, my blog fam...

I just have to say that it is impossible to be a nice mom and suffer Texas summers.

Pray for me and I'll pray for you - it's begun.

Family Ties

Last year at the World Aquarium. Avery - 2 1/2, Olivia 2

Yesterday at the Dallas Aquarium. Avery 3 1/2, Olivia 3
These two are the best of friends and too funny. They both rode with me to the Aquarium and I had a hard time keeping a straight face listening to their conversations. Sleepovers are right around the corner. I am so thrilled that they have each other and that the boys have each other.

Even though we don't live within minutes of each other, we're near enough for the kids to be very involved in each others' lives. And I get to see my sweet sis in law (more like a sis).

We love you guys!!