Soakin it Up

Last weekend Averys mom and dad went to see LSU play ball at Tiger Stadium. They had a really good time but I am pretty sure they didnt have as much fun as we did. Avery got to spend time with Nonna

and Poppa
and Paps and Mic Mic

and Gigi. She fell asleep on Gigi while waiting for Sebastian to come. Then of course she moved to her favorite napping place- Poppas chest and there she slept for almost 2 hours! Thats the only way she naps at our house. I have yet to hear Poppa complaining about it. :)

Sebastian finally made it, of course Avery was napping the whole time he was here.But he had a pretty good time.

The weather was nice but a little cool so Avery got to wear her new hats.

We picked flowers and grass

and played chase and giggled. Man I LOVE those giggles.

When I think about all the fun we had this weekend and I think about when my kids were this small and how quickly that has gone by. It makes me wonder how quickly this will go by with her too. So I just want to soak up every second I can. What a blessing.

A Daughter

June 4, 1983 I married my sweetheart. We waited until then because Daddy said we couldn't get married before I graduated from high school; so I graduated on a Friday night in May and the next Saturday, June 4th we were married. We decided to wait at least 2 years to start our family. Well turns out that 7 short months later (not two years) I was pregnant. We were so happy about our news. My mom worked at Delta Bank in the drive through. I thought it would be neat to go straight from the doctors office and go through the drive through to share our secret with her. We drove up to her window and put the brochures that we had gotten from the doctors office that morning in the drawer. She pulled them towards her and figured out our surprise. That was a happy day. Shortly thereafter, I wasnt so sure how much I liked being pregnant. Morning sickness was more like all day sickness for me for the next 4 months. Then on October 28, 1984 I began having contractions. We went to my moms house and played cards and killed time. That was most of the day. Then around 7 or 8 that night I went back home, took a shower, fixed my hair, put on makeup, and at 10:00 that night, when pains were 3 or 4 minutes apart we went to the hospital. There I layed in a bed, messed up my hair, sweated off all my makeup and finally on October 29, 1984 at 9:00 that morning, exhausted I gave birth to a 6 pound 5 ounce precious baby girl named Casey Danielle. We got to see her for a bit and then off to the nursery she went. I remember her daddy buzzing the nurses station over and over again asking for them to bring her to our room. Late that evening she finally came in. We pulled back her white blanket with pink and blue stripes on the ends and counted her tiny toes and held her and breathed in all her loveliness. We were parents and we were most definately in love. That day we absolutely found out what was meant by the words used to describe her- "bundle of joy". Casey was such a smart beautiful little girl. I remember how she learned her alphabet so early and that people would stop me in public and tell me I should put her in pageants. When she started to talk we didnt think she would ever stop. :) She loved to tell stories and just to talk to us. She had lots to say and sometimes her words wouldnt work as fast as her thoughts, so she would stumble on her words. We would try to help her by giving her the word she was looking for. MISTAKE! We learned quickly not to do that as she then would be frustrated with us for helping and start all over from the beginning. EVERY TIME WE INTERRUPTED. So we learned patience and good listening skills. Weren't we the ones who were suppose to be teaching her? She has taught me even more since then, especially in the last several years. I am so proud of my daughter. She is the best mommy and so strong. Her faith is great and I am blessed to be called her mom. So now we have come to the end of her "Birthday Month" as October has been known for many years now. Today is the day to say Happy Birthday to my sweet, compassionate, loving, strong, faithful, beautiful, amazing daughter. Happy Birthday Casey. I love you more and more each year. Mom

Smiles :)

So I was thinking recently about doing a post about things that make me smile.

I am sitting here alone in the quiet living room. So nice and peaceful. Just thought I would mention that. I guess that is one thing that makes me smile.

Here is another.There are two things in these pictures that make me smile. Flowers and Avery.
Of course I couldn't do a post about this without putting him in it.
And he deserves more than one picture just like Avery.
This particular picture makes me smile too, because this is really her expression a lot of the time. It seems as if she is wondering about things. I love that little girl.Sunsets make me smile too. God uses sunsets to soothe me sometimes. I took this one last weekend. Way too dark but a beautiful sunset all the same.I just figured out that I have not nearly enough pictures for all the things that make me smile.

Some with out pictures:

• The fact that Todd talks to me in every room of the house while he is in them and I am in a different room.
  
• All my kids
• My mom
• Taking picutres
• Of course, the beach, you have already seen those pictures. :)
• Mountains
• Seeing God move
• The funny things kids say - Like this week in Sunday school one little one was playing with the toy grocery cart and bringing me things to pretend to eat, all of the sudden he picked up a pink bottle and he said "OH No, we cant have this, RED-40" LOL
• Good food
• My guitar
• Cooking something delicious
• Trips with my sweetheart
  I could go on and on but I wont. What makes you smile?
  

Focus Focus Focus

I was looking at some of these pictures that I recently took of Avery. It made me think about the fact that she is soooo busy. She goes and goes and goes. She hardly slows down. Thus all these blurry photos. :) {She didn't slow down long enough for me to focus!}


I know that some days at work I literally go and go and go and never slow down. My heart rate gets up so high and it takes over and hour to get it back to normal once I get home and try to stop and rest.

I guess we start out as small as Avery is right now - running, hurrying, and thrashing about in life. Where does that come from? The need to put everything in high gear? I am not sure where it comes from but I know this. It isn't always good. Sometimes we can let the "comings and goings" and the "rush" and "busy, busy, busy" fill up our lives. That even makes sense. It does fill up our days. But when that happens, where does it leave God? Is He in the blurry part of that picture? Is He even in the picture at all some days? Is our relationship with Him so quick and moving that we leave ourselves in a blur?

No time to pray, so I will pray on the go, while I am driving, or doing something else.
No time for praising Him, but I will go to church Sunday morning.
That's on my list of things to do.

I read something in a book recently that really has me thinking about my relationship with God. One thing that book talks about is whether we are making God a part of our lives. We seem to think that's a good thing. Let's make Him a part of our busy, crazy, demanding, hectic, filled up lives.
God shouldn't be a minuscule part.
He is ALL! We should make sure our vision of Him is clear. He is our all in all, not some rushed through part, that we can check off our list after completing, and rush right on to something else equally as important.

I think we should slow down and think on the things of God while we sip a cup of hot coffee on a cool fall morning, enjoying the sunshine, looking out into the mountains. (Oh wait, I was wandering in fantasy land for a moment.) But seriously we should take time for Him. He took time to knit us together perfectly and wonderfully as the Psalm says. We should stop our busy lives from time to time on a regular basis and get perfectly focused on God, who is all. That will give our lives focus, clear up some of the blurry spots, and maybe even help some of those busy days make a little more sense.

Uncles R Fun

"Uncle Mark, I will give you this twenty bucks if you let me borrow your iPhone."

"Really, anything for twenty bucks!"

"Thanks"

"DaDa, guess what Uncle Mark traded me."

Absolutely Not Me's

So this idea started here at McMama's blog and some weeks things will happen that could fill up one of these kinds of posts, like this one.

What a week:

• Once into the parking lot I did not click my keychain to help locate my car. No mam, I always remember where I park. I mean, who would forget such a thing. And this did not happen after that: I did not walk behind what I thought was my car, and click the keychain. The lights on the car did not at that exact moment, light up. I then didn't stop behind the car and click the open trunk button. When the trunk didnt open I did not then realize the lights that were on, were backup lights. I did not then look up and realize that there was someone in that beautiful silver Toyota Camry! Mine was across the isle with the trunk open and waiting. It's a good thing that kind lady looked in her rear view window before backing up!! :)
• One day out of this very stressful week (this makes over 2 weeks of very stressful days at work! Whats up with that?!) Ok back to the story. After my audit was finished, the auditor called informing me of things I needed to know and pass on to my boss. My financial report was in a bit of a mess because of the check I mentioned in my last Not Me post. The bank charged my account for the stop payment which was suppose to be waived on that check. That caused more problems with my accounting program and financial program. The phones were ringing, the consultants were observing, the students were coming and going. I was trying to reach a company for information on some invoices. I kept being put on hold, and switched aound, and on hold and switched and finally sent to a voice mail. So in all the confusion I left a detailed voice message. BUT at the end of the voice mail I DID NOT, instead of saying 'thank you bye', say "In Jesu-" (as in -"In Jesus Name") Because the prayers that had been in my head all morning could not be so close that I would go there. No, there is no proof of it on that ladies voice mail. She doesnt know that I was going to say In Jesus Name. She may have thought that I was going to say "IN Jeans on Friday" or "IN Jackson MS.", or something... else...??? It could happen.
• Another thing I did not do at work this week was make a mess when I changed the toner in our OLD copier. We have the kind that you have to SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE, before you turn over, slide in, pull the tab, and TAP, TAP, TAP. Well I SHOOK, SHOOK, SHOOK, and I turned it over and TAPPED, TAPPED, TAPPED. I removed the top to allow the air to help move the toner into the machine. What I did not do was turn it sideways after removing it when it still felt heavy. I did not spill a LARGE amount of VERY BLACK toner onto the carpet and billowing up into the room like an atom bomb. AND under no circumstances did I realize that I forgot to pull the tab allowing the toner to escape the bottle and go into the copier. Of course I wouldnt forget a step like that especially when the instructions are right there in front of me. That must have been some much less capable secretary and certainly NOT ME! (I knew I didnt want to change that toner right then. I should have listened to my instincts.)
  

WORDLESS WAY BACK WEDNESDAY

Not Me Monday

I decided I needed a new post but couldnt think of what to do and then I remembered its MONDAY, so why not?




I DID NOT wait 6 full weeks after cutting a check to finally make a stop payment on it as they never received it. That was last week. TODAY I DID NOT receive that check in the mail from the business I cut it to 7 weeks ago, saying they had received double payment for it listing the 2nd check I cut to them and returning the first check I cut them. I DID NOT want to scream when opening that envelope because sorting all that out was NOT a headache and DOES NOT wreak havoc on my book keeping.

I did not just now bend my toe a full 16 or more years after it was broken and feel the pain as it felt for some time after breaking it. I am not now afraid to bend my toes for fear of feeling that again.

I did not get up early to go walking today and get almost half way around the block when it started raining. I then did not end up jogging in the rain all the way back home because I am my mothers daughter and I check the weather! lol

I was not playing my guitar in church last week and I did not notice that every time I played a D Chord something sounded funny. Toward the end of the song I did not finally look down at my guitar and notice that the pick up, that I have inside my guitar so that it can be heard through the sound system, was pulled partly out and touching two of the strings. (Thus the strange sound when playing "D") :) NOT ME!

I do not wonder why my fish tank population keeps dwindling slowly but surely.

AND last but not least I AM NOT glad my auditors finished up with me today and I dont have that stress to think about. Because I LOVE auditors and being audited and it doesnt make me nervous at all. I never wonder what they are going to pick apart in my audit or make me change or add. Not Me - Phew!!!