Do You Judge?

I was suprised and interested to receive an email newsletter called "Mamapedia Daily". As the email indicates, I get them on a daily basis and sometimes skim them for interesting information. In it today, I found an article on judging other moms/parenting styles.

So come on, tell the truth - do you judge other moms?

I don't judge people who vaccinate or don't. I think it is just one of those decisions that as a child's parent, you are able to make. I know some friends of mine who chose to delay vaccinations or not get them at all because of some medical problems/issues. I know others who sit on the fence. I know people who don't give their children flu shots, and mine get them every year since Gracie was a year old. I even started getting them last year. So for me, vaccinations are kind of a "to each his own" topic. Some like them, some don't. And we all have our reasons, I'm sure!

I know before I became a parent myself it was really easy to get annoyed by that baby that was screaming two aisles over in the grocery store and would not quiet down. Now my son, too excited to show off his walking skills and sit in the buggy, is the one crying/whining because he doesn't get his way.

Oh, and I am that mom, who lets the same toddler stand up in the back of the buggy. It makes him happy. Don't judge me.

And trust me, I became alot more sympathetic to moms with the same issues! Now I just kind of pass them while I'm shopping, kid screaming in their buggy, and we exchange that knowing smile.

As I've told my sister, Jessica, who recently became a parent: "Welcome to Mommy World!"

Happy Birthday!!!

She claims that no photos exist of her. She tells everyone who will listen that we only have one home video of her. Between my aunts, uncles, and mom everybody in the family has 3 kids - until my mom had her.

And then it just messed everything up!

Wait. I think I'm supposed to be saying nice things....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TINA!!!

Tina is the baby of the family. And yes, you can totally tell it by the way she acts! She is loved and adored by every single kid she has ever come in contact with. I think she is everybody's favorite! Gracie loves for her favorite aunt Tina to paint her toenails and brush her hair!

So today I want to show off some pictures (that do exist!) of the birthday girl. And it just wouldn't be fun if some of them weren't a little goofy looking!










We love you, Tina! Happy birthday!

Reflections

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9


I have been sitting in quiet reflection for about an hour now. Last night, I searched through my Bible to see if I could find some verse or some section that would find what my heart was looking for.

As today approached, I thought long and hard about how meaningful I wanted to make this post. And as I am sitting here now, I am on pins and needles counting down the next twenty minutes until my babies come home.

They have been gone for seven days.

That is the longest seperation I have ever had from my children.

And while I dreaded every single second leading up to it, I am finding it even harder to collect my thoughts for what I wanted to say in my first post of this brand new year.

So I'll start instead with a look back.

2010 was a bad year for me. I believe in all the years of my life, it was probably one of the worst.

I have until today avoided even commenting about why, which suprises me only because it is not a secret I have been keeping.

Bryan (my husband) and I seperated in January 2010.

As of September 2010, we were divorced.

I am starting a new year as a single woman. And this was my choice. But the funny thing is, this post has nothing to do with the past. I am learning very slowly that letting go of the past is the best thing for me.

So I want to talk about the future. The Bible verse at the very beginning of this post has literally been my life verse for 2010. And I have made the decision to just make it my life verse for 2011 as well.

Can I share with you some of the things I have learned as I left 2010 behind and moved forward into 2011?

1. God is faithful. God is good. And if he can bring you to it, he will bring you through it.

2. I have one of the best friends that God has ever blessed me with. God may have seen me through 2010, but I believe with all my heart that Amy Wade may have seen me through it just as much.

3. I have the most wonderful church family that the daughter of a King could ever ask for. I love my church family. I love that I am told on a regular basis that I am thought about, prayed for, and loved. That place is home to me.

4. I have three sisters, all of who I am old enough to have given birth to. Okay so I would have had to have been 12 to do so, but who cares? We have had our differences and squabbles at times, but there is nothing the three of them would not give to help me and my children. They spent this year being an emotional support system for me in more ways than I can list here.

5. I have been blessed with two of the greatest gifts in the entire world, who in just ten short minutes will be coming through the front door. I wish that I could begin to express that while 2010 was a bad year for me, two of the most precious people in my life were the reason I kept going: Gracie and James.

I wish I could express in words (and I just don't have the time and I am way too excited right now!) what being a mother to these two children has meant to my heart. I have said it before and I will say it again, if you are not a parent - even a mother - you just have no idea, until it happens to you, the kind of blessing that children can bring you. They change you. Literally. Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually.

I was glad to see 2010 go. But I am waiting in anticipation of the great and wonderful things that God has in store for my family in 2011.

And as Joshua 1:9 reminds me every single day: I have no reason to fear. My strength is in the Lord because he is always with me!

New Man in My Life

Baby Jacob!
He is bigger than this now, but these are a few of the photos I took on the night he was born. What is funny (to me) is that he was born at 3:53pm on Nov 4th. Gracie was born at 3:35pm the year that she was born. Very neat to have two cousins who share a birthday!




And of course, we had cupcakes for everybody (except Jacob!) to celebrate Gracie's birthday. And Jacob's too!

Halloween 2010

So for Halloween we divided up our time. We got to go to East Memorial Baptist church on Saturday night for their fall festival, followed by our church's first "Light up the Night for Jesus" trunk or treat.
Then we also went to Millbrook Baptist Church on Sunday night for another fall festival.

Here are some photos of the kids in their costumes. While Gracie had decided on her costume long before Halloween, James was another issue all together. I wanted to have him dressed as a pirate to kind of coordinate with Gracie's Tinkerbell. Then I couldn't find a pirate costume in stores to fit him. Then when I did find one online, it was $25 and would take four days to ship. I found it the Monday before Halloween.

So I tanked the pirate costume idea and called on an old friend, who had a costume from Toy Story that her son wore last year. James was absolutely adorable as Woody from Toy Story! We just couldn't get him to keep his hat on....

We are here!

Can I just tell you again how awesome Lori Mercer is? The photo you see at the top of our blog is courtesy of her! It was taken when we had pictures taken of Jacob. Keep reading to find out about him!

I am alive. I promise!

The kids are both well, although Gracie was having some kind of sickness over the weekend. I'm not sure what it was just thankful that it has passed!

Wow. There has been so much going on in the last month. Mawmaw arrived on Nov. 2nd, and to celebrate Gracie's fifth birthday on November 4th, we welcomed her new baby cousin Jacob into the family! We divided our time between getting to know our newest family member and then saying goodbye to Mawmaw when she left on Nov. 29th.

We had a revival at our church the days before Thanksgiving, with guest speaker David Ring. I will tell you more about that later. I just wanted to share with you that David's testimony and his messages really affected me. I think everything he spoke about can not only be applied to your spiritual life but to relationships outside of that as well.

We got our Christmas tree up right after Thanksgiving, and I spent most of Black Friday shopping for Christmas gifts! I have only just had time to sit down and catch my breath!

There has been so much going on I am so sorry I haven't posted in over a month. Hopefully over the next several days, I will be able to catch you up on everything.

I just realized this morning when I uploaded pictures from my camera, that I haven't even posted Halloween photos! I will get right on that. Promise!

Another Milestone

I have always been a planner.

List maker.

Note Taker.

I couldn't leave on vacation without a list of items to pack, an itenerary of what I was going to see, and maps for both directions - getting there and getting back.

If it doesn't come with an instruction manual, I just can not put it together.

I function best when there is little chaos, no clutter, and I have everything I need laid out before me.

I planned both of my pregnancies. Those of you who have children know what I mean when I say that.

On November 4, 2005 at 3:35 in the afternoon, a pinkish purple 9 pound 5 ounce bundle of joy came into this world and into my life. For nine months I had planned a nursery and picked out a baby book, filling it in with information as I awaited the arrival of Gracelynn Kay. Her name even got here before she did.

But I wasn't prepared for the sweetest little miracle that God brought into my life that day. I wasn't prepared for middle of the night feedings and an overflowing trash can of diapers. I wasn't prepared for tiny fingers and teensy toes. I thought I was.

Being a first time parent is like opening yourself up to a world full of advice that you didn't know you need. Or wanted. People will share every detail they possibly can - even some of the stuff that leaves you wondering exactly why they might have thought it was important for you to know that.

As I'm writing this on the eve of what will be my only daughter's fifth birthday, I am flooded with a variety of memories.
I remember the smell of her cheek the first time I kissed her in the operating room.

I remember the night they wheeled her to me and I could see her dark brown eyes peering up at me in the dim light of the hospital room.

I remember standing in the Physical Education complex of AUM on the night of Tara's graduation. I had just changed Gracie's diaper on a blanket in the bathroom floor. When we walked out of the bathroom, I was looking down at her. When she smiled at me for the first time I think my heart literally melted.

I remember the first time she laughed.

I remember her first birthday like it was yesterday.

It is amazing the change that children bring about in you.

What is even more amazing than that is watching them change. You blink for one second and suddenly they went from being this totally helpless little creature who depended on you for their every need to shunning you when you want to hold their hand in a public place.

To rolling their eyes and making silly faces when you ask them to do something for you.

To crying helplessly when you break the news that they are not getting a baby sister but a baby brother instead.

From a time when you were affectionately known as "Mommy" to suddenly learn you became "Mom."

And even in those fleeting moments when it seems like you have lost total control, to be asked to snuggle in bed before saying our prayers at night.

To slipping that sweet little smile so that they get their way. And you know you've lost.

To loving so unconditionally and without any hesitation that it leaves you breathless.

Five years ago, I thought I knew what I was getting in to. I never could have expected the amount of change that one sweet little girl could bring into my life. I have enjoyed every single minute of watching her grow into this little person she has become. She is beautiful on the inside and out. She has the kindest heart and is very emotional. She loves her baby brother so much you would never know she had asked God for a baby sister instead.

She is smart.

She is stubborn.

She is spirited and silly.

She has a laugh that when she really laughs you can't help but join her.

She is more like me than I have ever been willing to admit.

Five years ago, God blessed me with one of the sweetest gifts I have ever known. And one that I have grown to love more than I could have ever imagined.

Happy birthday, Gracie. Mommy loves you.