Thank You, Thank you, Thank You

Wow - Guess what! I won an award! Thanks Tinika

So the rules for this award go like this:

1. You place the logo on your blog.
2. Nominate other blogs for the award
3. Link the nominees within your post.
4. Leave them a comment about it.
5. Link back to the person who gave you the award

And the nominees are:
Casey - Averys mommy A real special one for me!
Nikki - Jonahs mommy
Jami - All babies photographer
Carrie - Sweet blogger and mommy of three
Jodi - Olivias mommy I love reading about this little preemies progress!
and last but not least:
Patrice - (Another Jonahs mommy) Now I am sure Patrice doesn't really have time at the moment to be playing these "blogging games". Her little sweetie is in constant need of her love and attention. But maybe this will get more people to know about his story and I am positive the extra prayers will be welcomed.

Guess What I Got

Ok - See what came in the mail yesterday----I was a little nervous at first, since I am such an amateur. But like my husband, I READ the instructions. I got it switched out and away I went..

Here are a few random shots I took with it today.



And I love this shot. He is just as sweet as he looks!
Darned ole RSV - if it werent for that there would be Avery shots here. I pray she will be well VERY SOON and then I will try out my new lens on her sweet face. Sorry this post was so boring I just wanted to post a few pics from my new lens! Fun Fun Fun

Wordless Wednesday

If I were using words I would mention that I always say "why in the world did I have to end up in Louisiana with the completely flat lands." I much prefer mountains and beaches... But I must admit this is a pretty site. I would say that if I were using words but I am not because this is titled "Wordless Wednesday".

Weekend Wonders

We had a nice weekend. We loved watching Avery taking a few steps here and there. The most we saw was 4 or 5. She generally took 2 and then made it from the couch to a chair, or took 2 or 3 and then went down to a crawl. She played and clapped and even danced a little to music now and then. Oh and of course pulled all the cookbooks from the Bakers Rack, one of the most fun things to do at Nonnas house. She is the one who found the recipe that I made for lunch today. Thanks Avery it was delicious. Good job.
When Casey and Charlie got here there was a strong smell of gasoline coming from their car. After Papaw (also known as Pap) and Todd checked it out - to the shop it went. Turns out it is going to need repairs. So they took our old faithful Mini Van back to Monroe until Casey can find out about their warranty. Hopefully it will get fixed quickly. My plan was to take Avery to the Riverwalk this weekend while it was so pretty and her parents were shopping out of town for a new laptop, but since they didn't want to drive their car to Baton Rouge and blow up in it, they took my car. So I had to stay at the house. (I don't want to blow up either.) Avery and I along with Pap and Gran Gran played in the yard instead. Avery didn't know the difference between the Riverwalk and our yard and loved crawling and strolling around the yard and driveway. Maybe we will catch the Riverwalk next visit.
We also got to take our first walk with Avery while she was here. The weather was beautiful so we walked to Penny's house down the street to see the newest member of their family, little Leon. So small and precious. Avery however, wasn't that impressed. I think she thinks it's all about her for some reason. I can't imagine why she would ever get that impression.All of this made Nonna very happy. (Well of course aside from the car thing). OK Seriously that last picture was really just because my sister wanted to see my new hair cut. I dont know why I had my reading glasses on. I wasnt reading. Oh well. Until next time!

Surprise

What a surprise I found when I checked my friend Jami's blog today. Yesterday I was pleased to see that she had posted Avery's most recent pictures. I enjoyed looking at them. Some of them are so beautiful. Avery was not very cooperative that day. Some of those pictures captured that. LOL But mostly she just was unsure of where she was and being the home body that she is was not giving out many smiles at all. She sure made Jami work hard. Anyway so today when I checked her blog, I certainly did not expect to see THIS. Go check that out if you havent seen it yet. I was tickled. She did a good job telling the short version of their story. :) THANKS SO MUCH Jami. Thankfully we are getting a visit this weekend from the little family. Cant wait to see all three of them. Maybe I will get some good pictures somewhere out in the sunshine this weekend. That's it for now.

Wordless Wednesday

Not Me Monday Again

Wasnt planning on doing a Not Me post until these things popped in my head. So here I am again on a Monday.Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
I do not dread work tomorrow because we will be giving out the Seniors Supplies. I know that it will all go smoothly because almost all of them have already paid their balances. (Whatever) I know it wont be chaotic in the morning while I am doing all my normal early duties and taking those late payments and getting things ready for the seniors, and comparing my balances paid with Balfours balances paid... Not dreading it at all. No problem.
I do not dislike cats. I know thats random. But back in the day when our cat was a tiny fluffy kitten, I knew they were adorable. But now (by the way that would be 13 years later! Who knew cats lived this long. [Dont sent hate mail] I am just sayin') Anyway I dont mind at all that our cat, who is no longer tiny and fluffy, sits/sleeps on my new car leaving muddy catprints, catspray, and other unmentionables on the hood of my fabulous car shown below!
I seriously do not think Todd's chili, which he has made all of 2 times now, (That being the only meal he has cooked of course) , is better than my own. That just couldnt be since I have been making chili for some 25 years now. What is up with that. He says its because he measures. Maybe so.
Oh and I did not have someone who called my work just to hang up on me several times, and I mean more than 10 - several times today. I do not know who it is and I am not tired of it at all. Because I am not trying to work nor am I very busy. No, I have plenty of time to play games while I am working and others- well arent.
OK That's enough of that!

Footsteps

Today my sweet husband resigned his position as Pastor of our church. Our situation is different from most Pastors' resignations in that we are not leaving the church. We are staying on at the church and continuing with our church family. My husband though, will no longer be the Pastor. It was not an easy thing for him to do, as he loves preaching and the other things that go along with being a Pastor. However, we believe this is the time for this change. We are expecting to see God move through it.

I find it very interesting that on the very day that he takes the steps to resign,
Avery Grace takes her FIRST STEPS!

Footsteps

One ending something

One beginning something

Both with many more steps to come

Avery has it all before her and she can take steps in so many directions. Who knows where the Lord will lead her. We are so thankful for God's plans to prosper her. Todd and I too, have much before us. We too can take steps towards God's plans for us each day. We are thankful as well that God also has plans to prosper us. (Jeremiah 29:11)

So step by step we will follow Him!

P.S. I can't wait to see (with my own eyes) Avery taking those steps! Already pushing for Friday and it's not even Monday yet! That could make for another long week. LOL

Listen

"She has a beautiful voice. "

Usually when you hear that said, it is being said about someone who is singing. In this case however, I am just talking about a voice. I am talking about this girl who gave her testimony during our Youth Revival. This same girl who participated in skits during the same revival. Now if you checked the link above you know by now how unusual that is. You can certainly read about her there. But here, I am going to talk about her voice. Since she doesn't (didn't) talk to me for all this time, I was excited to hear her this week. As we watched the skits that she and the other kids did a great job in, I listened particularly to her parts. I turned my head slightly so as to hear every syllable of what she said. I paid attention to how she made different sounds. How she said her R's and the accents she put on her words. Later I thought about how that should be how we listen to our Heavenly Father. Turn our heads to just the right spot so as to not miss a thing. Listening expectantly and in wonder as we hear what is said. Processing every syllable and loving the sound of it. Being blessed to tears by what we hear. It is amazing how that miracle encouraged me to listen to the voice of God. He has so many things to tell us that will bless us abundantly above all that we could ask or think. We just need to listen expectantly waiting to hear to sound of His voice. What is it that He has to say to us? What is it that we dont want to miss? Listen intently to Him and see what He will bless you with today. Thanks for that lesson for us Shelbi!

Wordless Wednesday

Enjoying and Looking Forward

Tonight I am catching up on my blogging.

I had Avery all weekend and it certainly did not leave me a second to blog. But man was it worth it. She is so precious.

I enjoyed her little visit. I enjoyed her cuddles, and smiles, and giggles. I enjoyed rocking her to sleep and hearing her say bye bye bye, and ma ma ma.

I cant wait to hear her say Nonna, and Poppa, and watch her walk. I cant wait to play games with her and have conversations with her. I cant wait to take her shopping and let her pick something out that she wants and get it for her.

What a blessing she is!

So before I go a few pictures from the weekend!

In this one she is clapping for her new Bunny Nonna got her. It hops and sings. She LOVES it!

She was thrilled to find this bottle nipple and loved chewing down on it and then popping it out of her mouth.
Look at those blue eyes.
And this is what we both felt like after a full day of play with little to no naps! (For some reason she will not nap at my house. But sleeps all night so I think thats a good trade.)
Thanks for reading. Have a great day!

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time all babies were born happy and healthy. At least that is how it felt in my world. My 3 babies were all born full term and completely healthy. All my friends babies were great. Then our kids grew up and their kids started having babies. All of them fabulously healthy, Praise the Lord. Then we lost our first grandchild. Then came Avery - terrifyingly tiny. That really opened my eyes as I began research on what was going on with Casey's pregnancies. I guess I wanted an answer to that ever present question of why. In my research I found so many many stories of preemies. Many of those stories were encouraging. Some of them were even scarier than our own. Throughout this God has certainly given me such a heart for those who are experiencing the less than perfect birth experience. Babies born too early always interest me now. Before I never really knew anything at all about them. I had heard of March of Dimes. I had even volunteered sending those donation letters out to my neighbors. But I knew nothing about what preemies go through and everything involved. Now I am so much more aware of the fact that not every baby is born chubby and hungry and strong. There are so many stories out there of babies that are so fragile. My heart goes out to them. I dont believe God wants us to stay in our little world. He doesnt want us to think about what is important to me and mine alone. What do I want? What do I like? What can I get? I know for sure our experience has made me more aware of what some others are going through. It has certainly made me know how important to us other peoples prayers have been and are.
Therefore also, how important my prayers are for others. So I will do what I can, what I am asked of, or what God shows me to do for others who are experiencing some of the things we experienced, or so much more. I dont want my life to be all about me, for me, even though it is most of the time. There are so many people out there who have needs. Maybe I can help. Maybe we can. So just in case you dont know of anyone who needs your prayers tonight. I can hook you up:

Wordless Wednesday

If I were using words I would explain that this is Avery STARING at Josh, which she does constantly when they are in the same room together. She is infatuated with watching him.

NOT ME!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Here goes "Nothing"

I never gripe at Todd because he blows out my candles that I light to make the house smell wonderful.

I did not light my new Pier One candle last weekend, and then go to bed, and then wake up and go to work, and then get off work, and then walk into the living room and notice that the candle looked somewhat burned down only to discover it was STILL LIT! A full 24 hours! :O Heck no I didnt do that because that would be a FIRE HAZARD!

Todd was not standing there when I discovered it so he will definitely not continue to blow out my candles whenever he so chooses!

I did not have one of those days at work and I am up for anything and I'm making a three course meal as we speak, um as I type. Yep.