Living Simply

2010-01-02T21:23:00.002-06:00

BOO!
Shocking, I know. I'm back. There is light at the end of the tunnel and I feel life coming back to me so I thought maybe I could attempt to revive the ole blog. I was looking for a new blog template and I couldn't resist putting this one up. Mitch and I always joke that if anything happened to him I would be that lady with 80 cats. I LOVE cats! When I saw this template I just couldn't resist. Of course I will change it soon, but will leave it up for now. Maybe shock value will retain my 2 readers from 2009. I look on 2010 with some hope. Hobby Lobby no longer makes me sad because we are finally moving into a house, our house! Happy New Year to all.

2009-07-30T08:51:00.003-05:00

Some Vision For My Valley

I read this yesterday while soaking my sorrows away in the bath. I have desperately needed some perspective while trudging through this valley and this helped nudge me to get up and keep walking:
From The Valley Of Vision: God the All

"I rejoice to think that all things are at thy disposal,
and it delights me to leave them there.
Then prayer turns wholly into praise,
and all I can do is to adore and bless thee."

Today I will choose to praise Him. God knows my heart. He knows my desires. Today I will find rest in that. God is good.

2009-07-29T12:24:00.002-05:00

Hobby Lobby Made Me Sad

I know, Becky. Shocking right? For the craft lovers, it the happiest place on earth! Well, today the kiddos and I embarked on a journey at Hobby Lobby to find some fun surprises to play with to help the rainy day pass more quickly. After parusing through the isles at the back of the store, we headed towards the checkout with chalk, erasers, and pipe cleaners - $4 worth of fun that is working wonders even as I write. On the way to the front of the store we passed all the the halloween stuff which kinda got me excited. For those who know me well, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fall and all the things that come with it -the warm clothes, the baking, the leaves, football. Then we passed the isle with the Christmas wrapping and my excitement was quickly replaced with a sudden pit in my stomach. Well, maybe it's best described as heartbroken. I am heartbroken for home. Oh how I miss home. MY home. I want to decorate my home, celebrate the Advent season in my home, make chili in my home with my crockpot. I know some of this may seem silly to you, but a year with all of our belongings in storage and living in transition is really wearing on my heart today. We are approaching the 1 year mark of when we moved back to Birmingham last year. The year has gone by somewhat quickly, but it really has been a hard year filled with transition, longing and disappointments. I was in tears on the way home from Hobby Lobby, begging God to change our circumstance soon and allow us to be in our home, with our belongings, with just our family. Some days I feel like a broken record as we have asked the Lord for this many many times. Even still, we wake up each morning and by His grace we have the faith to continue walking, trusting and believing that His plans and His timing are perfect. Friends, would you pray with us that God would change our circumstances soon? That Mitch would find a suitable job to support our family and that we would finally be able to make a home for our family?

Psalm 143:5-8
"I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
I stretch out my hands to you;
my sould thirsts for you like a parched land."
"Answer me quickly, O Lord!
My spirit fails!
hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul."

2009-06-29T08:25:00.002-05:00

EATING SIMPLY
For most of my teenage and adult years I have been somewhat obsessed with food. Some of those years I was obsessed about not eating it. At other times and seasons food became a close friend which was not healthy either. Over the past several years I have enjoyed learning more and more about the health benefits of different foods and teaching others what I have learned. That brings me to what I want to share with you today.

About 4 months ago Mitch and I decided to make a major change in our diet. We have always eaten pretty healthy, but with all the transition that had gone on over the past year we had gotten off track a little bit. One of our friends, Forest, told us about a diet called the Paleo Diet. It's a little out there in some ways because it talks alot about evolution, but the principles it taught were things I knew were right - having a diet based on what is naturally provided to us through nature. This meant having diet that consisted of only fruits, veggies, lean meats, and a few nuts. A few weeks ago I came across a book that I have had for years, "What The Bible Says About Healthy Living." As I have revisited the pages of this book, it has verified from a Biblical perspective they way Mitch and I have desired to honor our bodies with what we eat. The author points out 3 basic principles:

1) Eat only substances God created for food. Aviod what is not designed for food.
2) As much as possible, eat foods as they were created - before they are changed or converted into something that humans think might be better
3) Don't let any food or drink become your God

As Mitch and I have been trying to eat at leat 80-90% of our meals this way, we really have experienced such freedom. Freedom from not worrying about what we are eating. Freedom to enjoy exercise instead of being burdened by trying to burn of something we shouldn't have eaten. And for me, freedom in my schedule because menu planning and grocery shopping is so easy and simple. In the past month, we have added some grains back into our diet, like brown rice, Big Sky's whole wheat bread, and I have started making homemade granola which has a base ingredient of rolled oats. We do still splurge on the weekends and eat out, enjoy a DQ blizzard :), and I get my baking tank filled by trying to find healthier alternatives to not so healthy treats. Interestingly, though, we have found that the less we eat junk the less we want it.

I wanted to share all of this because I really do feel like God designed our bodies to eat food that He created. Good clean food. When we eat this way, we lower our risk significantly for disease. When we eat this way, we allow ourselves some freedom from the bondage that our love for food can have over us. I hope that you can find some encouragement to make some changes in your eating habits and make choices that will greatly benefit you and your family.

2009-06-10T07:08:00.003-05:00

2 quotes that have changed my perspective on how I live:

"There are 2 ways to have enough:
1) keep buying more things or 2) desire less"
-Richard Foster, Freedom of Simplicity

"The less I want, the less I need."

2009-05-26T13:25:00.002-05:00

Surprise! I have decided to change the name of my blog. Since the start of my blog, it's purpose has been to keep family and friends informed while we lived in Tennessee. Now that we have been home for a while I felt like it was time for a change...A change to something that was more reflective of me and my family. Those who know us know that we truly enjoy living life simple. What does that look like? For us it means making choices for our family that don't complicate life- that involves how we eat, where we choose to live, what we choose to commit to, how we use our money, etc. Mitch and I have found so much joy in living this way. I know that this lifestyle isn't for everyone and, as we have discovered, living simply looks different for some than it does for others. Regardless, I hope that this blog may encourage you to find a little simplicity in your life.

2009-05-18T08:12:00.003-05:00

Livin' The Vida Loca
Okay, so not really. Our life right now is anything but that, just wishful thinking I suppose. Why would I want my life to be crazy you ask? Well, when life gets crazy again for us that will most likely mean that Mitch has a new job and we are excitingly looking for a new place to live. It has been 2 months and 3 weeks since we moved in with my parents (who's counting?) and we are praying that the remainder of our stay here won't be quite that long.
So, what will we be doing for the weeks ahead now that school is out?
-Play outside as much as we can before the heat wave hits
-Visit with our friends at the Homewood pool and maybe even take swim lessons :)
-Enjoy the amenities at Mt. Laurel which is only 3 miles from my parents house. We love to take evening walks over there and have recently discovered Spoonwood Lake which has a fun little beach area that the kids love. The Lake is for residents, but we happened upon it while exploring some of the wooded trails out there. Shhh...dont tell!
-Teaching Neily to read. She loves putting letters together and is always asking me to spell things out for her. I am so excited for her to get to read books during her rest time. It will open a whole new world for her. Once we learn to read, she has already requested that she wants 11 books on coyotes and 3 books about deer. Hmmm, I think she has been watching too many animal shows with daddy!
-Summertime also means no TV for us. Every year we try not to start any new shows once the regular season is over (I will say that every summer I am tempted to get hooked on "So You Think You Can Dance"). We like to use the summer evenings to read and play games. I would love to know some of the books you are reading and some of your favorite games to play.
-And last but certainly not least I will continue to enjoy the women's Friday Bible Study at church. Great study, great women. I will be so sad when it's over!

Until next time...

2009-04-10T17:21:00.002-05:00

Oh How I Love These Faces...

We dyed Easter eggs today and had so much fun. Most of the eggs turned out a brownish color because they kept wanting to put each egg in all of the colors!
On behalf of the Stephens, I wish you all a Happy Easter.

2009-03-25T12:45:00.003-05:00

One Day At A Time, Sweet Jesus

For some reason that song has been in my head lately. At least I think it's a song. Is it? Regardless, it is certainly my theme of life! I have been wanting to blog for a few weeks now, but considering that we moved in with my parents one month ago this weekend and are now sharing 1 computer between 4 people (and the computer is in my parents bedroom), there hasn't been many times where the blogging urge and computer availability have been in synch. Mitch and I talk most everyday about what God is up to in our lives and we encourage one another to take like day by day. We really are excited to see what God is going to do with our family, but waiting for it to unfold can be so hard sometimes.
As most of you heard, Mitch passed his LEED AP exam (woohoo!) and so the next step is obviously finding a job. After lots and lots of networking, Mitch was actually offered a job last Friday. It's a job he was certain that he wouldn't get b/c it's not really in his area of experitse. But, the folks at Green Building Focus obvioulsy thought he was good enough because they offered him a sales position with their company. What's super great about this job is that all parties involved know that Mitch really wants to work in urban redevelopment so they have given him the freedom to continue to pursue other options if he would like. It totally leaves the door wide open for Mitch to take a different position if something comes open, but all the while he can have a job in the "green" industry and who knows...maybe he will be a fabulous salesman. To be honest, we are just thankful that this job doesn't involve the words "May I take your order?" because we seriously thought we were headed that way! And another bonus of the job is that Mitch can wear flip flops and shorts to work! If you know him, that's a HUGE plus:) The only downside of this job is that it is (in our minds) somewhat temporary so we will be staying with my parents a little longer. Mitch is dreading the long commute to downtown everyday, so we are asking God for wisdom in that area.

So, that's the lastest with us. Mitch should be starting the new job sometime next week so I will let you all know how it goes. I hope that I haven't lost all of my blog readers since it has been a month today since my last post! I promise to write again sooner than later:)

2009-02-25T14:02:00.002-06:00

POTTY UPDATE

Thanks for praying everyone. We started training on Saturday morning and I have to say it was shockingly painless. Jake has been slower than neily on so many things so we were settling in for the long haul with the potty training. However, our little guy surprised the heck out of us and did great. He had 3 big accidents Saturday morning (all before 9:30am) and that was it. No more accidents and he is even going poopy in the potty with no complaints. He wore the same pair of undies ALL DAY on Sunday. What's even more shocking is that we put him in pull-ups for naptime and bedtime and even those have been dry! We are so grateful and think that God is being gracious to us because he knows we really can't afford diapers right now :o) We are so proud of Jake and just wanted to share that he is officially a Big Kid now!

2009-02-17T16:12:00.003-06:00

IT'S POTTY TIME!!

Well, the time to potty train is upon us again. Mitch and I are planning a long weekend at home this weekend to potty train Jake. We are going to try the Potty Train in Three Days method that we used with Neily. I know that every child trains differently, but we are hoping he will respond to it well. I just wanted to get any tips from you moms of little boys. Is there anything you would suggest or anything you can warn me about? We are starting Saturday morning and would appreciate any prayers, especially for patience!!

2009-02-13T12:59:00.005-06:00

Four

My sweet little girl is 4. I can't get over what a big girl she is. She can write her own name and most of her letters, she loves exploring new things and it's so fun to watch her come into her own. We had a small family party and here are some pics. She wanted a princess party and picked out all her decorations, her outfit and the cake. At the last minute Jake decided he wanted to dress up, so all we had was his halloween costume that was in the trunk of our car (one of the "perks" of living in transition!). That explains the pumpkin in the pictures:)

2009-01-24T20:40:00.002-06:00

I feel a little overwhelmed lately when I think about blogging. So much is going on in my head and I still can't seem to get it all out. I have been wanting to blog, but every time I sit down I don't know where to even start. So, this post will be somewhat simple. This is the best I can do for now.
-I just finished "Same Kind of Different As Me." It helped me to see the poor differently and challenged me to not be so quick to judge those who are different from me. It's an easy read and I would certainly recommend it.
-I've just stared reading "Blue Like Jazz" and have loved it so far. Thanks for the loan, Jess.
-Mitch losing his job has certainly had it's perks. Although we feel like it has taken our faith to a whole new level (which is what i'm mulling over to blog about at some point), we are enjoying the time that God has given us that we otherwise wouldn't have. When it's nice outside Mitch can take the afternoon off and we can enjoy the day together. On Friday after dropping Neily off at MDO I actually got to have a "mother's day out" while Mitch stayed home with Jake. I got to go run at one of my favorite places, Jemison trail in Mountain Brook. I have logged so many miles on that trail since college, but hadn't been back to run there in over 3 years. It was such a delightful morning.
-My little girl just turned 4 and I am still getting over the fact that I have a 4 year old. I'm sure I will say this again as each birthday rolls around. Man, it goes by fast.
-One thing I struggle with right now is feeling displaced. I feel like I belong, yet I don't. This is one of the hard parts about our circumstance. We are trying to dive in and be a part (of church, of a community), but at some point our circumstances bleed into that and it makes it seem more difficult and frustrating than we ever expected. Oh that we may have a permanent address one day!
-Okay, so Mitch is watching some vampire movie while I am writing this post and I have totally lost my train of thought. Seriously...does anyone else's husband watch this stuff? Monsters, vampires..I just don't get it.

Nighty night.

2009-01-11T15:55:00.003-06:00

A New Chapter
Let me first apologize for leaving the lovely 5th grade picture up for 3 weeks. I was quite the blogging slacker over the holidays!

As many on you know by now, a chapter of our life has thankfully been closed and we are eagerly anticipating what the next will bring. As of Friday, Mitch was laid off from his job. Some gasp when they hear the news, yet we are truly relieved. We have known for sometime now that our family was not a good fit for his company and vice versa. We knew that we wanted to stay in Birmingham and really felt like God was leading us to do so. For us, Mitch losing his job is wonderful confirmation of our desires to remain here. The road we have travelled with his company has not been a fun one for us and we are certainly glad it is over.

So what next? We have outlined a "what if" plan for the next several months (what if being "what if it takes Mitch several more months to find a new job") but in general we will take things week by week. His company did give Mitch a severance package which will allow us to not sweat the financial side of things until the end of April. So, when you think of the Stephens, please continue to pray for a job for Mitch. He has made several great contacts over the past 3 months and thankfully he has a list of people to call tomorrow. He will also finish up studying the next 2 weeks so he can take his LEED accreditation exam (for green building) at the end of the month. That will be a big deal and something that will look fabulous on his resume. Pray that he will pass because we hear that it's a pretty tough test.

God is good and is loving our family so uniquely. We are excited and hopeful to see what he has in store for us!

2008-12-17T17:10:00.006-06:00

Way-back Wednesday...on Friday

So, here's yet another laugh for you at my expense. This is me in 5th grade. To think that my only worry that day was the zit at the corner of my mouth...

Seriously, could my glasses be any bigger?

2008-12-10T14:09:00.010-06:00

16 Random Things
I was tagged a few weeks ago to do this, but haven't made the time to sit down and think of sixteen random things to tell you..until now. Why today? Well, it's 2:11pm, i'm still in my pj's and i'm tired of cleaning.

1. My favorite meal of all time is homemade chili and cornbread. A close second is Thanksgiving - dressing and sweet potato casserole.

2. I love the Little House on the Prairie Christmas episode "Christmas at Plum Creek." It makes me cry every time I see it.

3. I love, love, love animals. We have 2 cats and I have befriended 3 stray cats at our apartment in the past 2 months. I joke with Mitch and call myself the "Kitty Whisperer." I can eventually get all cats to love me back (except my sister's cat Mowgli)!
I can't wait until we can get a dog and another cat.

4. My most embarrassing moment happened at my surprise birthday party in the 7th grade. I can't believe i'm about to tell you this. My sister and her friend Judith took me out to dinner to keep me away as the guests arrived. To buy time, they ordered dessert to top off my already full belly. It was french silk pie. It was yummy, but it really put me over the top. I remember the ride home seemed to take forever as my stomach grumbled almost non stop. By the time we pulled up to my house I was feeling quite miserable and couldn't wait to get inside. Still very unsuspecting, I ran inside the house with one thing on my mind...the bathroom. Instead I was shocked to find a living room full of friends, including my current crush Drew Murchison. As they all shouted "SURPRISE!" I was greeted by a surprise in my pants. That's right. Diarrhea. Horribly gross, I know, but it happened. I ran upstairs in horror. Thankfully no one knew (they all thought I ran upstairs and threw up - which is still embarrassing when you are in the 7th grade), I changed into another pair of jeans and the night went on as planned. Isn't that a great story?

5. I do not like the Thyme.

6. The one thing I do that get's on Mitch's nerves the most is finish his sentences. He has started to call me "The Finisher" because I do it so often.

7. I love to save money. It's like a game to me. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind spending. But saving is my favorite.

8. I probably think about food and weight way more than I should.

9. I've lived in 6 different dwellings since 2003...getting ready to make that 7 in a month or so.

10. I have "faulty" tear ducts so when I cry I rarely have a lot of tears.

11. I had to retake my drivers license test in 2001 and I failed the written part 2 times before I finally passed. Because I failed the written, I had to take the road test as well. It was me and about 20 16 year-olds in the line. I felt like such a dork. Thankfully I passed that part just fine:)

12. My favorite thing to do is anything that involves my hubby. He's my best friend.

13. The past 3 years have turned me into a "glass is half empty" person. I am working hard to change that.

14. I haven't seen a movie in the theater in 2 years. I think an evening show was only $7.50 then. I hear it's up to $9.25. Crazy!

15. A perfect date for me would be a Matinee, a nice dinner (i.e. not Moe's or Chick-fil-A), and then sipping coffee while looking at magazines at Barnes and Noble.

16. It has been so hard for me to come up with 16 things. It's taken me 2 days...

I tag Kari (so you'll have something to blog about!), Jessica P. (cause I'm enjoying getting to know you better), and Becky (because you're so cool!)

2008-11-26T14:44:00.004-06:00

Oh, How I love these kiddos!

This was taken today as they were celebrating the purchase of their new pj's. Oh, the small joys in life.
I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-20T17:36:00.002-06:00

Does Anyone Know This Girl?

I found this picture in my camera and thought you, my trusty readers, could help me. hee hee.

2008-11-13T15:28:00.011-06:00

The Latest and the Greatest
Well, not really the greatest, but here's the latest scoop with us. We have been in Birmingham now for 7 weeks and are still thoroughly enjoying our time back home. We have enjoyed being close to family, the much needed fellowship of old and new friends, and being reacquainted with out favorite places in town. The only downer of the experience is that the newness of the apartment has worn off and we are all getting a little stir crazy. Neily asks every day when we will have a yard to play in and wonders where her other toys are (most of our stuff is in storage). She even asked the other day if one of her friends in Franklin was in storage, too, because she wanted to play with her. I laughed because it was so cute and she was so serious. I, too, am ready to have our stuff again. I admit that this time of year the longing deepens for our home to decorate, our home to build memories in. (That's a whole other post for another day!) Moving on, my goal this week has been to turn that frown upside down and not let it get the best of me. I was motivated by my friend becky to get off my hiney and start doing more organized crafts with my kids. I was motivated because she wrote a blog entry about the other girls in the blogosphere who inspired her creativity and I knew I was no where in the realm of making that list. so, I decided to commit to doing some fun craft with the kids 3 days out of the week. This week we have made Thankful Trees where we (i.e "I") write on each leaf what we are thankful for and glue the leaves on the tree. Tomorrow we are going to make leaf people. Next week we have Peanut Butter Playdough on the agenda. I will keep you posted on all of our crafty adventures! And we also decided to make Friday night movie night here at the Stephens. The kids are SO excited about this and so are we. Tomorrow night will be the debut of Polar Express. Neither of our kids have ever sat through a whole movie before, so well see how it goes! Nonetheless, I will enjoy snuggling if not for just a little while.
Happy Thursday everybody!

2008-11-01T13:43:00.016-05:00

The Tale of Two Trick-Or-Treaters

Once upon a time Tinkerbell and her Pumpkin were on a search find the yummiest candy in the land.

They set out on the long journey with hopes of all that they would find.

They met a lot of nice people along the way who shared goodies from their homes.

Tinkerbell and Pumpkin learned quickly that the magic phrase "Trick-or-treat!" brought them good fortune. (In Pumkin's case, it was more like "Wicka-Ta-Weet!")

As the night grew cold, they returned home. They were overjoyed that, indeed, they had found the yummiest candy in the land.

After a long day, Tinkerbell and Pumpkin snuggled up with the King for a Halloween bedtime story.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

2008-10-20T09:13:00.007-05:00

It has been a while since I have blogged. In the move I lost my cord that allows me to put pictures up, so I have been a little lost as to what to write about. I could write and tell you the joys of living in an apartment--rude neighbors, getting your car scratched up in the parking lot, dog poo everywhere . I could tell you about yesterday when I sat down at the computer and, before I realized it, had eaten about 20 Hershey's kisses. I could tell you how I am sometimes eager, sometimes anxious to see what God is going to do in the days and weeks ahead. I could tell you that I am pretty excited about watching Eli Stone tonight. That has become one of our favorite shows. I could tell you about my anniversary that is coming up. 8 years. My hubby is truly my bff and I wouldn't want to take this journey with anyone else. I could tell you that when I was unpacking neily's backpack today, I found a "feminine product" in her lunch box. My mistake. I was in a hurry and meant to put it in my purse. I'm sure the teacher loved that. And lastly, I could tell you how my children make me laugh. In preps for the Thanksgiving/Christmas season we sang "O Come Let Us Adore Him" last night before bed. Sweet Neily kept asking "who get's to go through the door?" After trying to explain the difference between "adore" and "a door" we simply answered "Jesus." That's always a good answer, right?

2008-10-08T19:50:00.004-05:00

Have You Heard About Lala?
We have been in Birmingham for a week now. I think we are close to a point where we finally feel rested again. The transition to a "new" city has been easier than I thought and we are happy to be here. However, adjusting to an apartment has been a bit harder than I expected. The complex is somewhat small and on the side of a hill, so there's no room to "stroll" with the stroller and I can't really run around the complex for fear of being run over. Thankfully there is an exercise room...

As I strolled up to the exercise room at the apartment complex yesterday evening, I was thrilled to find only 1 guy there. "Sweet!" I thought to myself. It's 5pm on a weekday which is typically one of the busiest times in a gym. I walk inside and hopped on one of the 6 treadmills they have lined up in a row. It doesn't work. Okay, so I get on the next one. Doesn't work. You see where I am going with this. No wonder no one is there. None of the machines work! I came back to the apartment pretty bummed out. All dressed up and no place to sweat. But, then I remembered reading my super cool friend Brooke's blog where she shared about LaLa. Lala is similar to iTunes, only you can listen to an entire song (for free) before you buy it and the songs are cheaper than itunes. SO, last night the kids and I boogied down to some songs on Lala and I definitely got my cardio in. We danced around to some of my old favorites like "Bust A Move" by Young MC and "Hey Ya" by OutKast. And I shamelessly admit we even danced to the Electric Slide! After the kids went to bed, I mellowed out to some Avett Brothers and Sandra McCracken. In times when the economy is like it is, we are all about free stuff at the Stephen's house. So, head on over to Lala and enjoy your favorite tunes!

2008-10-03T19:20:00.003-05:00

My friend BEcky tagged me for one of these little things. I'm tagging Amanda Skinner, Kari, Holly Welch, and Amanda Underwood!

1. Five names you go by:
Allison
Al
Ali
Saunders
Ali-cat

2. Three things you are wearing right now:
Glasses
Pajama Bottoms
A sweatshirt that's 12 years old

3. Three things you want very badly at the moment:
The stock market to rebound
To stay in Birmingham permanently
To be settled in our apartment

4. Two people who will probably fill this out
Amanda- when she returns from seattle
Kari -when she gets done painting

5. Three things you did last night:
Read
Watched an episode of King of Queens
Ate dinner at Zoe's (thanks Cheryl!)

6. Three things you ate today.
Granola
Chic-fil-A (thanks mom!)
Fiesta Pie (thanks Mindy!)

7. Three people you talk on the phone with?
My mom
My sister
Kari

8. Three things you are going to do tomorrow?
Watch football and eating chili
Going for a run
Hang out with my family

9. Two longest car rides:
Georgia to Colorado Springs
Georgia to D.C.

10. Three of your favorite beverages
Coffee
Water
Diet Dr. Pepper

2008-09-19T12:58:00.001-05:00

Can you tell this little boy LOVES his trucks? This is what I find every morning when they watch Dora.

2008-09-10T08:39:00.003-05:00

SWEET HOME ALABAMA...At least for a little while!

Well, the Stephens are headed back to Alabama! Mitch's project here in Tennessee finishes in a few days and we will soon begin packing up to set up temporary camp in Birmingham. So, get your pencils out as I will be sending out our new address sometime soon. Looks like we will be moving around Sept 30th or Oct. 1st...yikes! That's just 3 weeks away! We are sad to leave Franklin as there is so much here that we have grown to love. However, we have known that this time was coming and we do feel like it's our time to go. There is a lot that we are looking forward to in Birmingham and that helps the parting not be so sorrowful. I kinda get queasy at the thought of change (even good change), so pray that all of this transition will go smoothly. We will be bunking up in a 2 Bedroom apartment while we are in Birmingham, so I REALLY hope the kids adjust well to sharing a room. I always find comfort in Little House on the Prairie...if they can all be happy in that tiny house with up to 5 kids, we should be fine with just our 2!
So, to all of our friends in Franklin, we will certainly miss you! To all of our friends in Birmingham, we sure can't wait to see you!

2008-08-27T16:54:00.005-05:00

I Couldn't Resist...

You're feeling: a little overwhelmed, a little anxious
To your left: a fly-tying table
On my mind: sadly, chocolate (due to question 1)
Last meal included: leftover lasagna
You sometimes find it hard to: say what I really mean.
The weather: sunny and humid
Something you have a collection of: i echo amanda in her collection sentiments...although I do enjoy my Spode Christmas china. Is that considered a collection?
A smell that cheers you up: pumpkin bread and chili. Can you tell I'm ready for fall?
A smell that can ruin your mood: dog poo
How long since you last shaved: one day
The current state of your hair: pony tail...the usual
Largest item on workspace (not computer): Neily's latest art work
Your skill with chopsticks: none
Which section you head for first in a bookstore: magazines
Something you are craving: a relaxing day with my hubby watching SEC football
Your general thoughts on the presidential race: i'm kinda ready for it all to be over
How many times have you been hospitalized in the past year? none
Favorite place to go for a quiet moment? the bath tub
You've always secretly thought you'd be a good: pianist. I just never gave it enough time.
Something that freaks you out a little: Not knowing where we will be living next month
Something you've eaten too much of lately: empty calories
You have never been: to Disneyland. And to be honest, I really have no desire to go.
You never want to: rent again. oh, this time has been dreadful!

2008-08-24T14:36:00.003-05:00

Our Little Ballerina

Neily went to her first ballet class on Saturday. We had not planned on signing her up for anything since our time here was limited, but this opportunity came up last Thursday and I couldn't pass it up. A neighbor who has a little girl Neily's age told me about a new ballet class that was opening up for girls ages 3-5 at a local studio. We jumped on the opportunity b/c it was pretty inexpensive and we could just pay each month (so if we move in a few weeks there wouldn't be any money lost). Neily was a bit apprehensive at first, but once we bought her leotard and ballet slippers she was fired up. Here are a few pictures from her first class. There were only 2 of them in the first class which was really nice so Neily could get to know Miss Heather. Unfortunately, my camera wasn't working well and most of the pics I took were dark. These are the best of the bunch.

Trying on her new outfit. don't you love the panties showing?

Learning how to walk like a ballerina - Jake joined in for a minute. He was dying to get out there and dance, too!

Stretching with Miss Heather before class started

Neily and her neighborhood friend, Ella

2008-08-05T11:38:00.005-05:00

ARRINGTON VINEYARDS

We decided to do something different this weekend for our night out. We usually eat out once on the weekend an were just tired of all our ususal places. So, we decided to take the kids, grab Subway and head over to Arrington Vineyards for the evening. Our friends the Russell's joined us with their two little ones and we had a great time. Although it was a bit warm, there was a nice breeze and some good live music that made you forget it was a hot summer evening. We will certainly visit again before our time in Franklin comes to an end. I'm just sad we didn't discover it sooner!

2008-08-01T18:40:00.002-05:00

WELCOME TO HOLLAND
by
Emily Perl Kingsley.

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have notshared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this……

When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”

“Holland?!?” you say. “What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.”

But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around…. and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills….and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy… and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away… because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But… if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things … about Holland.

Thanks, Samuel, for putting this up on yourblog. I have a couple of friends whose little ones have disabilities and this was so helpful for me to read and gain a little more understanding of their daily battles. I hope you all gain something from it, too.

2008-07-31T14:38:00.003-05:00

This is our cat Bailey. There really are no words for this picture. This is how she sleeps when she's on the porch. It cracks me up every time.

2008-07-30T14:32:00.004-05:00

Dress Up -

While Mitch and I were working in our bedroom this weekend the kids were entertaining themselves in our closet. They were giggling and babbling on. They came out looking like this. I still can't believe the both managed to walk all the way down the hall wearing Mitch's size 14 shoes!

2008-07-28T07:45:00.003-05:00

Sharing at it's Finest

2008-07-21T13:03:00.005-05:00

For some reason I have never made cobbler. Mitch has asked me to for years, but I just never have...
Until this weekend. I made this recipe and my hubby was a very happy man! It was so fabulous and so easy. We made it for company on Saturday evening and it was so good that I made more last night for Mitch to take with him to work. Instead of blackberries I chose to make it with blueberries. I think it will try it again soon with peaches or apples.
I wanted to post this great picture of the cobbler in a cute little cup donned with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but Mitch ate it all before I could take the picture! So, instead of showing you a picture of an empty cup, here is one of what was left after we "tried" the cobbler again last night. As you can tell, we sure tried it a lot!

2008-07-21T08:09:00.001-05:00

My Little Sleeping Beauty

Oh, how precious they are when they sleep!

2008-07-16T13:40:00.003-05:00

Oh the woes of being two...
Jake is getting his 2 year molars and i must say that we are ALL ready for this short season to pass. We have had lots of long days with a very whiny little boy. Oh, it can be so hard sometimes. Short naps. Long afternoons. But then I look at this picture and it truly takes the frustration away. Hmmm, maybe I should tape this picture to his forehead for the rest of the day?

2008-07-13T19:51:00.003-05:00

Sunflowers

I tell you what. These sunflowers are so tall! I just can't get over how much they have grown. Here is a picture of Neily on Mitch's shoulders. It's hard to tell from the angle, but the tallest sunflower is still at least a foot taller than the two of them together.
I love the other picture of the orange color sunflower. I have never seen one like that and I think it's so beautiful. I hope more grow so I can cut them and put them in my kitchen.

2008-07-11T13:11:00.005-05:00

Some of my favorite things:

-We discovered this yummy seasoning while shopping a Publix last month. A lady who was also shopping in the spice isle told my friend Kathleen that this was the best seasoning she has ever had. So, my next trip to publix I bought some. We have had it on Grilled Chicken tried it Tuesday on some veggies. best chicken and veggies we've had in a long, long time. And there's no bad stuff in it which makes it that much better. So next time you're at Publix (they don't have it at Walmart or Kroger), pick up a bottle!

-Some girls from my church are reading this together this summer. It has been a great book for me and has really moved me to deal with heart issues that affect my communication. "From the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."

-No TV during the week. I thought this was going to be really hard, but after the first week I didn't miss it at all! Mitch and I have enjoyed our evenings talking, reading, and going to bed early. Wednesday night we actually got in bed before the sun went down! Just call us Mamaw and Papaw:)

-This little guy. Although he is cutting his 2 year molars and sometimes gets a spanking every 10 minutes, he sure can be sweet. On the days I put him down at night, he has started asking me to dance. So I sing a little song and hold him and we dance around the room before I put him in the crib. He's so funny because I can't just sing anything. He will keep saying "No" to whatever I sing until I start singing Norah Jones. His favorite? "Come Away With Me." My boy's got good taste!

2008-07-08T11:43:00.002-05:00

About a month ago the kids and I got a sunflower kit from the $1 bin at Target. I don't know why, but for some reason I didn't thing that they would grow to be like real sunflowers. The picture above is what the sunflowers look like today. They are taller than Mitch and we are so proud of how much they have grown. I can't wait until they all bloom!

2008-07-08T11:26:00.003-05:00

The Fourth.

We had an enjoyable fourth this year. My parents came to visit and we enjoyed some yummy BBQ, a trip to downtown Franklin for their 4th of July celebration, and some good napping. When we went downtown, they had a few games like what you would see at a fair. One that Neily was most interested in was where you pick up a floating duck and you get a prize that matches the number on the bottom of the duck. Number 10 was THE one to win because you got to pick out a stuffed animal. After a few tries of picking up ducks that got her a plastic star and a plastic frog, Neily finally got #10 (well, with a little help from mommy who watched the little boy next to us pick up a number 10 and then followed the duck around after he put it back down. I then told Neily which one to pick. i know...horrible!). On Saturday, Gigi and Granddaddy took Neily and Jake on a treasure hunt - pirate hats, eye patches, treasure map and all. The kids had a blast and were thrilled to find their treasures - bubbles and pennies for the piggy bank.
It was a nice weekend for everyone. here are some pictures.

2008-06-30T07:39:00.003-05:00

Our Favorite Summertime Treat

And, as they do with everything else, here are the kids doing "cheers!" with their watermelon slices

2008-06-24T15:30:00.009-05:00

A visit with friends

We had a great visit with some good friends form Birmingham. Kenneth, Kathleen, and little jay came to Franklin this weekend to hang with the Stephens. We had great conversation, drank a few too many margaritas, and enjoyed a fun game of Phase 10. Over the course of the weekend I only took 3 pictures...wish I had taken more! Kenneth took more than me, so maybe he will send me some so I came post them (hint hint!)

Also, I made another tasty dessert from Picky Palate. They were so yummy! I used milk chocolate morsels for the top insead of semi-sweet 'cause we are definitely milk chocolate people around here. To see the Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars go here. Amanda, I thought of you since you share the love of peanut butter and chocolate:)

2008-06-18T12:56:00.002-05:00

Below is an e-mail I would ask all of you to read. Stephanie and Samuel Rainey are good friends of ours and Samuel's sister, Rebecca, gave birth to a little girl named Molly Ann earlier this week. Molly was born with brain and heart issues and, as you can imagine, these past few days have been extremely difficult. Please pray for Rebecca, her husband Jacob, and their sweet little girl (who is their first child). The e-mail was written yesterday by Rebecca's father, Dennis Rainey:

Molly’s condition remains the same, critical. Multiple meetings with neonatologists, pediatric cardiologists (from here to Little Rock, to Indiana to Mayo Clinic), neurologists, and interventional radiologists, have confirmed:
Much of her blood is going to the brain.
Because of the abnormal vein and aneurism, the blood that’s going there is ineffective, since it’s not going to her lungs, and the rest of her body…as a result 60-80% of her blood is going to her brain, normally it should be 10-15%. And because of this she is in congestive heart failure.
Damage is substantial to both halves of the brain and permanent.
As a result they have two options:
Brain surgery, very dangerous and at best a questionable procedure, since she’ll never function normally without a miracle. If the surgery is successful, the congestive heart failure could be slowed and with a couple more surgeries, perhaps eliminated. Leaving Molly with a damaged brain and many more dangerous surgeries.
Second option is to withdraw life support and enjoy what hours or days God may give Rebecca and Jake with her. It is likely she’ll only live a few hours.
I have to tell you that listening and watching Rebecca and Jake (with Molly in Jake’s arms) grapple over what God wants them to do in terms of treatment of their daughter has been THE most difficult thing I’ve ever watched. It’s been holy. Worshipful. Heart rending. It is beyond imagination and words. I know that some of you have been through this, but oh how tough to watch two people you love enter into this deep valley. I marvel at how honest and real they’ve continued to be. Their faith and trust in God is remarkable.
They have decided not to operate. And in the coming days, Rebecca and Jake have decided to remove the life support.
What has been unimaginatively tough has just become a lot tougher. Please pray for Jake and Rebecca’s broken hearts. Scriptures tell us our days are numbered. Molly’s little life may be comprised of less than 7 days.
I am grateful for your prayers and sustaining love.
God is God. We are surrendering to Him and His ways. Blessed be the Name of our God. There is NO hope in any other.

Dennis

2008-06-18T07:15:00.007-05:00

One of my new favorite blogs to visit is picky palate. she always posts great ideas of fun things to cook and bake. On Sunday, I needed something quick and easy that the kids and I could bake for Daddy on Father's Day and I remembered seeing this on her blog. The kids had fun helping with the cookie dough and we all had fun eating the finished product!

2008-06-16T13:41:00.002-05:00

simplicity

several of you have heard me mention lately that Mitch and I are in the process of simplifying our life. Simplifying our home (i.e. getting rid of the clutter), simplifying our time/schedule (little tv watching, being very mindful of what we commit to - big or small) simplify our spending...we are just pretty much evaluating and simplifying our lifestyle. Why you ask? Well, I am delighted to share that answer with you.
It all started back in early April when we went to hear John Eldridge speak at a local church. He shared his experiences of being quiet and listening to God, of being still and hearing the Lord speak to him. Mitch and I both walked away that night longing for that type of intimacy, both wanting to cultivate that quiet spirit that waits to hear His voice. A week or so after that, Mitch picked up a small book from our bookshelf titled "Intimacy with the Almighty" by Charles Swindoll. It's a very small book that has had a huge impact. It only affirmed what our hearts desired after walking away from John's message. I will not be able to do the book justice in my few comments, but I strongly suggest to add it to your reading list. In general, he shares how to cultivate an intimate relationship with the Lord. He shares 4 decision and 4 disciples that can move us in that direction. I will just share about the first decision which is "to reorder one's private world." The accompanying discipline to this is simplicity.

"To reorder one's private world, the need to simplify is imperitive. Otherwise, we will find ourselved unable to rest
within, unable to enter the deep, silent recesses of our hearts, where God's best messages are communicated.
And if we live very long in that condition, our hearts grow cold towards Christ and we become objects of
seduction in a wayward world."

"To get rid of clutter, simplicity isn't just nice - it's essential. But neither is automatic; it will call forth intense
determination."

In the past 2 months we have really sought after simplicity. For us, it has brought so much freedom. We feel a passion for knowing God that we haven't felt in a long time. We are still not done in terms of simplifying our home, but with each room and each closet our load gets a little lighter. And just in case you were wondering, the next decisions/disciplines are:
To be still/silence
to cultivate serenity/solitude
to trust the Lord completely/surrender

Good stuff, i tell ya. Good stuff.

In the next few days I will share some thoughts on 1Timothy 6 and how living simply is closely tied to living green. I would love to write more now, but I don't want to bore you!

2008-06-09T07:36:00.003-05:00

Testing...

Due to some much needed computer software upgrades, I am finally able to blog again! We were having an issue where I was able to write an entry, but unable to post it. So, this is my test post. Here is a recent picture of my precious little girl.

2008-05-20T14:16:00.002-05:00

A Whole Bunch of Nothing

You would think that I was so busy because I haven't blogged in 10 days. But, I am happy to say that I have not been too busy. A lot has been going on in this ole head of mine, but we have been laying low this month. It's been quite refreshing. Here's what we have been up to:
-We had a quick visit to Birmingham over Mother's Day weekend. We were abe to see all the mom's in the family and got to have Sunday dinner with our friends, the Merwins. They are some of our favorite people.
-Hubby was off last week, so we enjoyed lots of family time with no agenda. The only thing that was on our agenda was to toss the old computer because we got a new one! Well, it's not brand new, but it's certainly new to us. The Merwin's were so generous to give us their iMac that they bought a few years ago. It has been such a blessing to us and I am absolutely thrilled to have a computer that has sound, all if it's keys, and can hold pics of the kids. Thanks, Stephen and Kellie!
-We got to visit with my friend Allison who I haven't seen since 2003. She has been in Afganistan for the past 2 years and is now back and living in Louisville, KY. She came down for a few days to hang with the family. We had great conversations and enjoyed hearing about life in Afganistan.
-Allergies. Allergies have attacked our family this season. Neily had them last year, but we all have been troubled with the pesky runny nose/itchy throat thing. SO not fun and I empathize with those of you who have battled allergies for years.
-In return for feeding her cat, a friend gave us a new cuisinart food processor. I have never had one and I am so excited. I can't wait to make homemade basil and salsa. Thanks, meredith, for the generous gift!

So, that's about all that's new with us. I will hopefully have some more exciting posts now that I have a really cool computer!

2008-05-04T15:09:00.002-05:00

My little artist

2008-05-04T15:02:00.004-05:00

Rainy Days

We love the rain. We love to jump in puddles. We love to play in the mud. And we love to wear our sister's coat and shoes. At least he's pushing a truck though, right?

2008-05-04T14:25:00.010-05:00

TWO.
I can't believe my little guy is two. Like I have heard others say, the days have been long but the years short.

My family came in town to celebrate Jake's birthday as well as Uncle Chris' birthday (which is the day before Jake's). We had a great time and enjoyed cake, taking walks, and the Main Street Festival in downtown Franklin.

Here is Jake with his new baby cousin, Anne Thomas:

The Birthday Boys:

Here's Jake who is thrilled that we are all singing to him:

Gigi and Grandaddy with the kiddos:

The cutest cousins:

Lastly, here is Jake at 2 months (doesn't he look like a little old man?):

And my big boy at 2 years (with his aunt Jen):

2008-04-30T12:52:00.014-05:00

MY LIST
I was tagged by my friend, Ginny. So, here's some stuff about me:

What was I doing 10 years ago?
In 1998 I was working for a college ministry called Campus Outreach. Sometime that year (I don't remember exactly when), I visited Brazil for a week because I was planning on moving there to do ministry. After visiting, I felt the Lord was leading me to stay in Birmingham and work. A week later I met Mitch... and the rest is history.
5 Things on my to do list:
1) Laundry
2) Vacuum (surprise, surprise!)
3) Read/Quiet time
4) exercise
5) Work on simplifying our home
5 snacks I enjoy:
1) Cliff Bars
2) Stoneyfield Farms lowfat vanilla yogurt (yummy!)
3) Peanuts
4) Apple slices and peanut butter
5) A bowl of Kashi's Blueberry cereal
5 Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1)Give, give, give. "TO whom much is given, much is required." I think I would give most of it away. Sometimes the thought of having that much money scares me!
2)Buy a Prius and a house
3)Buy cars for some friends, help pay off mortgages of friends and family
4)Save for retirement, college, and set up trusts for the kids
5) By a big 'ole piece of land somewhere where we could have a lot of animals, go camping, fishing, etc.
5 bad habits:
1) worry and anxiousness
2) biting my nails
3) seeing the glass as half empty
4) waiting too long to eat and then getting crabby
5) did I mention worry?
5 Places I have lived:
1) Rome, Ga
2) Birmingham, AL
3) Panama City Beach, FL
4) Franklin, TN
5) Belo Horizonte, Brazil
5 Jobs i've had or have:
1) Kennel cleaner at a vet
2) Lifeguard
3) McDonald's
4) Campus Ministry Administrative Staff
5) Personal Trainer (by far my favorite of them all)
I want to know more about (a nice way of saying "you're tagged"):
1) Holly Welch
2) Annie Haralson
3) Amanda Skinner (in all your pre-baby free time!)

2008-04-29T07:40:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday the fam was taking a stroll to downtown Franklin. We were just taking it slow and enjoying the day. As we rounded the corner by Starbucks, I glanced in the window and saw a guy sitting there and thought to myself, "Hmmm...I know him from somewhere." I turned to see who he was sitting with and suddenly found myself trying not to freak out and look stupid. Sitting there, just 2 feet away, were Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman! We kept strolling by, trying to act cool like it was no big deal. Once I passed the window, I immediately called my friend Kari who shares my excitement for seeing famous people around town. After that, I think I "strolled" by the window 2 more times just because I am a dork like that:) I was the unassuming girl in the bright red Alabama t-shirt that was obviously not unassuming. But I really didn't care. I mean, how often do you see a major celebrity at the local coffee shop? Pretty cool if you ask me!

2008-04-22T14:27:00.002-05:00

Earth Day 2008: A Tribute to All Things Green
I couldn't let Earth Day pass without doing a little blogging about being greener. We are always striving to learn ways of implementing "green" into our everyday life. Here are a few tips from me on being green:

-Check out www.freecycle.org. It's a great way to get rid of things without having to throw them away. Who knows, you may even find something that you are looking for!
-Buy local - Now that warmer weather is here and summer is approaching, it's time to head over to your local farmer's market. Here you can find a great varitey of fruits, veggies, and organic meats that are great for your family to enjoy. Buying organic from the farmer's market is often cheaper (and much fresher) than buying organic from the grocery store. So grab your mesh shopping bags, load the kids in the stroller and support your local farmers!
-Check the air in your tires. You get maximum gas mileage when your tires are filled to their suggested level. And who doesn't need better gas mileage when gas is up to $3.45/gallon! Fill your tires up and save money and the environment!
-Go to www.pluggreen.com and find out what businesses in your area (from dry cleaners to restaurants) are making efforts to be green.
-Go here to find coupons for Seventh Generation and Greenworks cleaning products. I use both and I am a big fan. I especially love the dish soap in Lavender Mint from Seventh Generation. You will also find LOTS of other coupons to help save you some green :)
-And last, but certainly not least, I encourage you all to evaluate your pantry. Beind green is also being healthy. It's about eating more whole foods and not a lot of processed foods. Look for snacks for your kids (and you) where ingredients don't include the words enriched, hydrogenated, and corn syrup. Three months ago we decided to make very effort to give our pantry a makeover. It has taken 3 months, but we are finally to a point where everything in our cabinet and fridge are either organic or, if not organic, not processed. Now, I will tell you that our pantry is not full. Buying organic for us means buying less b/c organic is more expensive. But, we do have enough and that's really all that matters. Check out www.organicvalley.com, www.stoneyfieldfarms.com, and www.laurasleanbeef.com for some coupons on organic stuff. Thankfully walmart carries brands like Back to nature, Kashi, Newman's and Annie's so we don't have to pay a fortune for them elsewhere!

Happy Earth Day, everybody. Go Green!

2008-04-15T15:04:00.003-05:00

Attention music lovers: I need your help!!

Sunday night, Hubs and I got an opportunity to go and hear John Eldridge speak. It was an encouraging evening as we listened to him speak about growing in intimacy with God. One thing he dicussed was getting quiet before the Lord. All of us are unique as to what draws us in to that quiet place. For some it's worship. For some it's reading scripture or a book. For some it's getting out into nature. I personally struggle often with being quiet. It's very hard for me to get to a place of rest before the Lord because my mind is racing, the phone is ringing, the dryer is buzzing and letting me know that there are lots of clothes that need to be folded. Hearing John talk about finding "your thing" that draws you close was great for me. I remembered that worship is my thing. Oh, how music speaks to my soul! I find myself often listening to the kids music and rarely listening to the music that truly lifts my soul. Which leads to the reason why I write. I would like to know what your favorite's are. Artists or songs, what worship music is out there that i'm missing out on? I seriously can't tell you the last time I uploaded (or downloaded?which is it?) a song on itunes or put any new song on my iPod. I know many of you are in tune with what's new and what are just great classics, so I would love to hear your music suggestions. Bring 'em on!

2008-04-14T14:46:00.006-05:00

In honor of Spring Fashion Fiesta
...I post today about the dream I have for my closet. Boo Mama had this going on a few days ago, but today is the first day I have gotten around to it. So, here goes... the dream I have for my closet.

I will start off my saying that I have lived most of my life in the "the more I have in my closet the better" mindset. So, I filled my closet with some things that I really liked, but mostly with things that I found that were on sale and looked pretty decent. This really wasn't the way to go because that left me being really excited about what I was wearing only 2 days of the week (if that!).

One of the best things for me in having 2 babies so close together was, by the time I lost weight from baby #2, mostly everything in my closet was out of style or too dressy for me to wear as a SAHM. So, at the end of last summer I literally gave away practically everything in my closet... And started completely over. A bit scary for this girl who really doesn't like to shop, but a bit refreshing too. I managed to get some great stuff for winter, but now that summer is approaching I am staring at an empty closet. So, this is what my dream looks like for my spring/summer clothes:
-skirts - I love wearing skirts during the spring and summer. They are cooler than shorts and I think they are more comfortable. I have found a skirt online that hits just at the knee and is a soft, flowy cotton. If it's cute I will definitely get 2 of them (1 black and 1 white b/c those colors never go out of style) If I like them, I will let you know so you can get one, too!
-tank tops - I love sleeveless shirts and tanks. I am broader in the shoulders, so wearing these is more flattering to my figure than regular tee's. However, I will still gather a few tee's (at least one white) to have around.
-flips - I just got these a few weeks ago and they are my new best friend. Mitch and I have talked for 2 years about getting some and both finally got a pair. We love our flips in the summertime!
***This is a must for me these days: Anything I buy, shirt or skirts, must go with at least 2 other items in my closet. This way I have more options and I really get my money's worth of wear.

Ultimately, my dream closet consists of clothes that I am excited to wear. I would much rather have a few nicer items that I love to wear than a closet full of things that are just okay. To me, less is definitely more when it comes to clothes! What about you?

2008-04-06T21:25:00.002-05:00

OPRAH

I'm sure many of you have seen this, but thought I would post it here in case you haven't. It's about 6 minutes long, but really seems to show Oprah's thoughts on God and Christianity. It breaks my heart that so many women look to her for wisdom and understanding. Oh, how they are being misguided! I would love to hear your thoughts after you watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW4LLwkgmqA

2008-04-03T14:41:00.006-05:00

It's funny how kids change things in ways you wouldn't expect. I used to love the smell of fresh cut grass. Now, instead of running outside to take in the smell, when I hear someone cutting the grass I totally stress out because i'm afraid it's going to wake someone up from a nap. I used to love a good thunderstorm. The sounds of the heavy rain and thunder were relaxing to me. Now, instead of snuggling up in bed to rest and enjoy the sounds, when a thunderstorm arrives I snuggle up in bed next to my 3 year old (and her 8 stuffed animals) and focus on comforting her so she can rest. And, as most of you know, I love love love a nice hot bath. Now, instead of relaxing with a good book while soaking in the suds, I am usually dodging little hands and legos while I try to do a decent job shaving my legs. But, in light of all that, I wouldn't trade the way things are. I love that I get to watch my daughter fall asleep with a smile on her face because she feels loved and safe. I love that I get to watch my son push his little lawn mower around the yard and smile with pride because he thinks he's helping out daddy. I love...well, I love my bath and I am still looking for the silver lining for that one!

2008-03-23T21:59:00.006-05:00

Easter -

We woke up Easter morning and enjoyed family time reading "A Sad Day and A Happy Day" (for those of you who aren't familiar with the Read Aloud Bible Stories, go here. We have really enjoyed them) and talking about what Jesus did for us. Later, we hunted some eggs and then kids enjoyed their chocolate bunny. Can I just tell you the Neily ate her bunny in 3 minutes! This girl loves her chocolate!

Here are the kiddos before they hunted their eggs:

And this is them saying "Cheers!" as they toasted their bunnies. They do "cheers" with everything from milk to legos. It is really quite humerous.

I tried to get a picture of them hugging and this was the best I got:

2008-03-22T11:49:00.007-05:00

A Trip to Radnor

Just 20 minutes from our house is this great place, Radnor Lake. It is a beautiful lake as well as a wildlife preserve. They have a trail around the lake as well as trails through the surrounding wooded areas. It has become one of our favorite places to visit because we see so many neat things when we go. When we went yesterday Mitch and I were a bit overzealous and took the kids on a hike around the entire lake. It ended up taking us over 2 hours and by the end we had the kids on our shoulders hoping that the end was just around the next turn. We were all pooped, but it was worth it. We saw lots of turtles, 3 snakes, a woodpecker, and a few other animals. He are some pics of our adventure:

Neily hears a Who!

We saw this owl just as we began our walk. Neily was really excited to see an owl (and so was I):

All the turtles in a row.

Can you tell this is a woodpecker? This is one of those times when I really wish I had a better camera!

Neily running to catch up with me. She has the sweetest face.

Jake on the bridge. One of his favorite things to do is throw rocks and sticks into the water.

Dad and the kiddos resting with a snack. This was towards the end of the hike, so no one was really in the mood to say "Cheese!"

2008-03-22T11:32:00.006-05:00

Last week we were in Birmingham and had a pre-Easter egg hunt with cousin Elizabeth. The kids enjoyed seeing each other and had a ball hunting eggs and eating candy.

Just before heading out to hunt eggs:

Hunting Eggs

I couldn't resist putting up this picture. It cracks me up! (no pun intended:))

All Done! Poor Jake smashed in the middle. With 2 girl cousins and a sister, I have a feeling he better get used to it!

2008-03-19T08:06:00.002-05:00

A New Plan -
Thanks to her, I realized that I can have comment moderation set up on my blog. This is where I get to see all comments before they are posted and I can approve or disapprove of them. I thought I would try this first before going the "you have to log in before you read my blog" route. Hopefully this will do the trick.

On a lighter note, how wonderful has the weather been lately? It seems like within a week we went from "it's so cold and windy that it make my face hurt" to "it's so pleasant outside that I could stay here for hours." And that's just what we have done. We live about 1/2 mile from a great park and have been there several days this past week. We have literally played outside for hours, taken lots of walks, picked countless daffodils and made lots of mud pies. These are the days when I am so grateful that I stay home and I don't have to miss out on enjoying creation with my kids. What a blessing!

2008-03-11T09:21:00.003-05:00

Will you still come and visit me?
So, I keep getting unwelcomed comments on my blog. I am considering setting it up where only people I choose can view my blog, which means you would have to log in to view my blog. Is that something you all would do? It frustrates me to no end that people keep doing this. One reason why I think I should have a blog log-in is because I don't want my blog to lead these people to your blog. Let me know if you will still stop by and I will add your name to the e-mail/permission list to view my blog. Thanks, friends!

2008-03-08T13:58:00.006-06:00

SNOW DAY!!

This morning we woke up to more snow than we have seen since we moved to Nashville. It started last night and snowed off and on through the night. We ended up with around 3-4" this morning and the kids both had a blast playing in it. Sadly, the snow started to melt around noon and is now almost gone... but it sure was fun while it lasted!

2008-03-06T14:29:00.003-06:00

Bloggers Beware...
On Tuesday, someone by the name "Mer" left a comment on my blog. Being that I have several friends name Meredith, I clicked on the name to see the profile. When I did that, it automatically put a virus on the computer and a few hours later caused it to crash. Unfortunately I was in Birmingham at the time and all this happened on my parents computer. (Too bad it wasn't mine b/c it's such a piece anyway!) They are in the process of getting their computer up and running, so hopefully this scenario will have a happy ending. I wanted to mention this to all of you so you can be on guard. Make sure you know exactly who someone is before checking their profile. Take it from me who learned this the hard way!

2008-03-03T18:28:00.003-06:00

And for those of you who would like to see a picture of Jen's new baby girl, Anne Thomas, here she is. I think she's got Elizabeth's nose and Jen's eyes.

2008-03-03T18:18:00.003-06:00

The kids and I visited Botanical Gardens in Birmingham today. The weather was great and we enjoyed a picnic lunch and a stroll around the gardens. Here are some pics from the day.

2008-02-26T09:13:00.008-06:00

When I started this blog, I told myself that I wasn't going to be one to not blog often. I was going to blog every other day at least. Well, that obviously hasn't happened. I would love to blog more, but either time or computer issues prevent me from doing so. For whatever reason I feel like I need to put pictures up to keep my blog interesting. Since I can't do that from my computer, I just don't blog. My goal is to overcome that and blog regardless!

So, today I don't have too much to share. Just that I think I am obsessed with vacuuming. I vacuum most every day. Sometimes 2 times a day. I know, i know. Stop the madness! Blame it on having 2 cats. Blame it on having a child with allergies/asthma. Blame it on having this fabulous vacuum (thanks to a gift from a friend and a coupon). I honestly enjoy it.

Hello, my name is Allison and i'm a vacuumaholic...

2008-02-19T07:39:00.005-06:00

I'm sitting here this morning with a cup of coffee watching the snowflakes float to the ground. One of my favorite things about living here in Franklin is getting to see it snow more often. Rarely is it enough snow to bring things to a hault for a few days, but my favorite part is just watching it fall. It's so peaceful, so beautiful.
I don't have much to write about today. I'm just grateful that my family is well and things are back to normal. Since I don't have much to write, head over to http://www.conorbootheandgirls.blogspot.com/. Boothe is a mere acquaintance of mine here in Franklin, but I enjoy reading her blog. She lost a baby at the end of last year to trisomy 18 and often writes to share her struggles of figuring out what life looks like after such a painful loss. I love her honesty and vulnerability. She is a very talented writer. Check her out if you get a chance.

2008-02-09T10:41:00.001-06:00

8 Days and 7 nights...
sounds like a description of some fabulous vacation getaway, doesn't it? Well, not quite. That's how long we were battling the stomach bug here at the Stephens. Mitch had it for just one day, but the kids had it for a week. Thankfully mommy was spared:) It has been quite a long week for us, but we are so grateful that it's behind us. And in light of all that sickness, the whole no sweets thing has been really easy!

I was reading a friend's blog the other day and read this quote which was very helpful for me:

Don't judge God's love by your circumstances, but judge your circumstances by God's love.

Just hours after I read that my car didn't start and, long story short, we had to pay a lot to get it fixed. I struggled all day because they money we used to pay for my car was the money we were going to use to buy our new computer at the end of the month. I was really trying to be grateful that we had the money to pay for the car, but inwardly mourning because I so wanted that new computer. Really bad. Really really bad. I had a choice here: to believe that God didn't love me enough to let me get that computer OR to beleive God loved me enough to provide money for our car without us having to go into debt to fix it. I chose to dwell on the latter perspective. To be honest here I must share that money is one of the main trust issues I have with the Lord. There's a song that opens with the line, "I have faith in the bank, and money in my heart." I wish that weren't true of me, but sometimes it is. The "faith in the bank" part is what I struggle with most. If we have enough money in savings, it'll be okay. If we have enough money for a nice down payment, then we will be able to get a pretty good house. Sometimes my mentality totally takes God out of the picture, but at the end of the day I realize how lonely that place is and I am brought to my knees asking for forgiveness and for the faith to trust in Him alone, not in a figure I read on our monthly statement. I am so grateful that this life isn't as good as it gets. So grateful. Oh, how hard (and depressing) life would be without the promise of eternity with Him. "Better is one day in his courts than a thousand elsewhere."

2008-02-05T09:03:00.001-06:00

Welcome to the world, little girl!

My sister Jen and her husband Chris welcomed their new baby girl on Friday, Feb. 1. Anne Thomas Simon was born by c-section Friday afternoon and weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs. 9oz and she was 22" long. Anne is Jen's middle name and Thomas is my mom's maiden name. Jen was suprised by having a c-section, but the baby had turned and the doctors were unable to get her in the proper position for delivery. Both baby and mom are home now and are doing well. I will post some pictures this weekend.

2008-01-30T16:53:00.001-06:00

No Chocolate for How Long???
I am putting this out there for all to know so I will have lots of accountability wherever I go! My sister and I did this last year and I felt great, slept great, and it was nice to get back in tune with my body and what I really needed to eat as opposed to what I wanted to eat (losing 6 lbs. was pretty nice, too!). So, I am doing it again starting tomorrow - no sweets until Easter. That's 53 days to be exact. No Hershey bars, no snagging a bite of whatever treat the kids are eating, no mocha's from Starbucks. There will be coffee, though. Yes. There will be coffee.
Anyway, Jen can't do it with me this time as she will be a bit occupied with baby #2 who will be arriving any day now. I thought I would see if there was anyone out there interested in doing this with me. What Jen and I did last year was we had a consequence for cheating - you had to pay the other $10 if you "fell off the wagon." If I cheated, she got $10 every time and vise versa. Money is always a good motivator for me, so I didn't cheat once and neither did she!

So, tomorrow is the big day. I will update you as the days pass. If I remember, the first few days were really hard and after that it was no big deal. Maybe it will be that easy this time, too!

2008-01-24T11:10:00.000-06:00

Looking for a good read...
Mitch has been studying for his LEED Accreditation (for Green building) and will be studying a lot more in the evenings as he gets closer to the test date. I am looking for something to read while he studies - something entertaining that isn't illustrated and has more than 10 words on a page:) I was thinking about reading The Kite Runner, but wanted to see if anyone had any other suggestions to offer. I would greatly appreciate any input. Thanks!

2008-01-19T20:29:00.000-06:00

Will I ever learn that it's not the best idea to let a 1 1/2 year old eat chili all by himself?

2008-01-13T18:27:00.001-06:00

She's Three.

Yesterday my baby girl turned three. What joy she brings to our family with her sweet little laugh, her cute comments, and her tender heart. She is so proud to be three. I am proud, too, but it's bittersweet. I love watching her grow up, but sad that she is growing so fast. Here are some pictures of our little princess as she has grown:

Three Months:

5 Months

1 year

18 Months

Two

2 1/2

THREE!!!

2008-01-12T14:40:00.001-06:00

LOVE.
8 years ago today you told me you loved me for the first time. I never dreamed of how much that love would grow and how wonderful it would be to love you and be loved by you. You are an incredible father, husband, and best friend. I wouldn't want to take this journey with anyone other than you. I love you, babe.

2008-01-12T14:08:00.000-06:00

Early Birthday Celebration -

My parents came in town last weekend for and early birthday celebration for Neily who will be 3 next week. My sister is due with her 2nd child right around Neily's birthday, so we celebrated early with GiGi and Granddaddy to make sure we could get in a little party before the newest addition arrives. We went to Build-A-Bear where Neily picked out a fuzzy rabbit that she named Babbit. We came home to have some yummy cookie cake (per her request) and ate until our tummy's hurt. She felt special and is enjoying the fact that we get to have another celebration on Friday. "More cake for me!" she says. Hmmm, a girl after my own heart!

Pondering her choices with Granddaddy:

Watching Babbit get puffed up:

The yummy cookie cake, which one little brother is eager to get to:

Enjoying the Happy Birthday song:

Getting a little help with the candles:

Alas, the cake...

2008-01-01T19:39:00.000-06:00

Things I'm looking forward to in 2008 :
(Thanks for the idea Amanda!)

Getting a new computer - As I have stated many of times, my computer is the hooptiest of the hoopty. This year will be the year of the Mac and I absolutely cannot wait! Thanks to our 2 adorable tax deductions, hopefully we will get one sooner than later.

Being Greener - We are always looking for ways to alter our lifestyle to be greener in our everyday life. We bought the mesh grocery bags and are using them for all of or grocery trips. I get lots of looks at Walmart b/c I think I'm the only one who totes in 13 bags to load my groceries in. Hopefully by the end of the 2008 what I am doing will be the norm. As a plug for these great bags (only $1/each), they are so much easier to carry than the regular plastic bags!Next we will be buying these for our produce instead of the clear baggies available in the produce section. You can wash and reuse them over and over. Did you know that it takes up to 1,000 years for plastic bags to biodegrade in a landfill? I will also start transitioning all of our cleaning/laundry supplies to environmentally safe products. I will let you know what we find that works best. Just curious, what's your family doing to go green in 2008?

The Summer Olympics - We love the Olympics around here. Probably the only thing we find worthy of our time on TV in the summertime.

Getting Better at Yoga - Mitch and I have been doing the yoga thing 3 times/week for 3 weeks now and really enjoy it. I look forward to getting better at it. I think we are finally over the laughing at each other stage and are really getting a good workout.

Becoming a Better Cook - I have always been pretty good in the baking arena, but cooking creative, healthy meals (as Mitch will attest to) is not my forte'. So, this year I am setting out to find some healthy, affordable, tasty meals that will hopefully be pleasing to the taste buds.

2008-01-01T19:23:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

We were greeted with a little snow on the evening of New Year's Day. It snowed for about an hour and was enough to cover the ground. We only stayed out for a few minutes because it was so cold and windy, but were out long enough to get a few pictures.

2008-01-01T19:07:00.000-06:00

Bathtime.

2008-01-01T18:45:00.001-06:00

Christmas 2007

We were in Birmingham for the Holiday and visited with both sides of the family. It was a fun, yet tiring visit. The kids enjoyed Christmas morning, although Neily declared after opening 2 presents that she didn't want to open anymore. The rest of her gifts travelled back with us to Nashville where she finally opened them. Who would have thought??! It was a great year for us to evaluate our traditions and think about what we would like to do different next year. The kids were still a bit clueless this year, so we feel like we still have somewhat of a clean slate to work with. I would love to hear any of your favorite traditions you have started with your family.

Here are some pictures from our Christmas!

The tricycle was a big hit!

Me and my little guy on Christmas Eve

Here is a pic of the kids with granddaddy. Not a good moment. I love the look on my dad's face...

Leaving out milk and cookies for Santa...

Celebrating the birth of baby Jesus with some yummy cupcakes

Playing with Daddy and my new basketball goal

A good time was had by all...

2007-12-28T08:24:00.000-06:00

Change.

I will admit that I am one who does not enjoy change. Even good change can be difficult for me. I realized after responding to a friend about our current address that we have lived in a different house/apartment every year since the Christmas of 2002. 6 years, 6 different dwellings. For someone who doesn't like change, that sure is a lot! Hmmm...I wonder where we will be next Christmas??

2007-12-16T15:55:00.000-06:00

Feliz Nabiblah...

That's how Neily sings it. Isn't it funny what kids come up with? Actually, not just kids...After M and I married we were singing some Christmas songs and he busted out with, "and pretend that he is possum brown." Possum Brown? Are you kidding me? I laughed so hard at him I almost wet my pants! Anyway, we are really enjoying this Christmas season. Here are some picture from the last week.

One of the MANY attempts to get a cute Christmas card photo...

Decorating the tree with bubble wrap

Hanging out in Downtown Franklin where they had "Dickens Village" last weekend. There were people dreesed up like the Dickens characters, horse and buggy rides, and some tasty treats. It was a fun was to enjoy the holiday season.

On Friday we had a visit from Uncle Chris, Aunt Jen, and Elizabeth. We only saw them for a few hours, but we had a lot of fun.

2007-12-16T15:54:00.000-06:00

Who can resist a little girl in her daddy's hat?

2007-12-11T12:23:00.001-06:00

For someone who used to make a career out of working out, I have managed to not step foot in a gym in almost 2 years! Who would have thought??...

It basically came down to choosing between spending time with my husband at night or going to the gym. I of course chose the first option and that has been so much better for my soul than buff biceps. I have done what I can with the kids like running with the double stroller or doing lunges and push-ups while we play in the yard. Not going to the gym has turned out to be a really good thing because I have figured out how to incorporate exercise here and there throughout the day and I don't feel so obligated to "work out". Mitch and I have just started doing a workout video together a few times a week and that has been the best of both worlds...time with my hubby and exercise. This brings me to the point of this entry: our workout video. We have started doing yoga and we found this great video with 3 different workouts at 3 different levels. We are on level one and probably will there for a while. If you can get past the instructor's hair and jean shorts, it's really a great workout. So, if you are looking for something challenging to do in the comfort of you own home (maybe you can even get your hubby to join you!), try this workout by Bryan Kest.

2007-12-03T08:57:00.000-06:00

HO HO HO..or maybe I should say HA HA HA!

This weekend was going to be the magical weekend that we went and picked out the tree, baked and decorated some yummy shortbread cookies, and decorated the tree. I foolishly idealized the weekend, but I was quickly reminded that with 2 kids under 3 your expectations have to be low.
It started Friday night when we went to pick out the tree. The plan was to eat dinner, run by walmart, go to Lowe's to pick out the tree and be home sometime around 7pm. Well, things took a bit longer than expected and so by the time we got to Lowe's for the tree it was already 7:45. Jake had wet through his diaper and it was 1/2 hour past his typical bedtime. As I said in an earlier post, we planned on Neily picking out the tree. Basically we walked on the lot and went to the $19.99 section, Neily pointed at the first tree she saw and said, "oooh mommy, look at that tree!" That is the one we got. We were in and out in a matter of minutes. Thankfully the tree we got looks pretty good considering we didn't even check it out while on the lot. We finally made it home around 8:30 and got the kids to bed.

Saturday was the day for cookie baking and tree decorating. The fun started with the cookie baking and I somehow managed to drop all of the cookies back into the oven when I was pulling them out. We salvaged most of them, although some were marked with black charred lines. In the decorating process Neily managed to get chocolate all over her new Christmas pj's (so much for the cute pictures I was planning on taking!). When we finally got to the decorating of the tree, the kids were mainly interested in figuring out how to hang bubble wrap from the tree. At least they were participating in trying to hang something!

At the end of the evening we turned all of the lights off in the house and sat on the sofa in front of the tree listening to Christmas music. All was well. We laughed about the day and enjoyed the few moments (and I mean FEW) we had as a family snuggling together enjoying our tree. Not quite the day I had expected, but we still made some fun memories.

2007-11-26T10:42:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays!

We are feeling quite festive here at the Stephens' house today. A little decorating, a little christmas music in the background, maybe even a little baking. So, I thought that I would change the mood of the blog to a more festive one. Because of my antique computer I can only do so much, but the color change at least shows my Christmas spirit.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. We enjoyed the day with Mitch's family and I was quite thrilled to be succesful at making the dressing this year. Thanks to Lauren for passing on the recipe a few years ago.

I will post pictures again soon as we will be heading out to get the good ole tree in a few days. We are giving Neily the honor of picking it out this year, so it ought to be interesting. Seasons Greetings!!

2007-11-17T20:32:00.000-06:00

BAD HAIR DAY

In my efforts to save a buck, I took the kids to Great Clips to get their hair cut. In hindsight, that wasn't the best decision considering they are having pictures taken next week. But like I said, when their regular "salon" went up in prices, a $9 cut at Great Clips seemed like a no-brainer. Typically they get their hair cut one at a time, but 2 stylists were available so they both got their haircut at the same time. I went back and forth to each of their chairs making sure that the kids were okay and keeping them entertained. I obviously spent too much time at Neily's chair because when I returned to check on Jake, I found him half bald with his bangs cut at the hairline. I couldn't help but laugh because he looked just like Howdy Doody (or Pee Wee Herman...you be the judge.) Here is a picture of Jake's lovely locks just days ago:

And this is Jake today...

I've tried my best to comb some hair forward to get some hair on his forehead. Thankfully it will all grow back! Regardless, he's still a cutie in my book.

2007-11-17T20:26:00.000-06:00

A FIRST

Today was a first for Neily. She saw a rainbow. It's so fun to watch as your children experience and enjoy the beauty of nature. This picture doesn't show her face, but she is wearing a huge smile.

2007-11-10T17:12:00.000-06:00

Catching Up -

It seems like a month since my last post. After the drama with Neily, i think I was pretty worn out! We have since enjoyed a fun night of trick-or-treating and a wonderful trip to Asheville. Thanks to all of you who gave us tips on where to eat. Early Girl Eatery was our favorite. We were happy to see the kids again after being away from them for 5 days. After we all got back home, we celebrated Daddy's birthday by baking him a cake. Below are some pics of the past few weeks.

This year the kids were pumpkins. Neily wore this outfit last year and rediscovered it when we moved in July. She was excited to wear it again (and i was thrilled to not have to buy a new one!)

Every time we went up to a house Neily would say, "We don't have to go in, do we Mommy?" and Jake would inevitably walk in the door whenever the neighbors answered. He didn't care too much for the candy, he just wanted to go inside the houses.

And here are the kids enjoying their first taste of Peeps which, in my opinion, are the worst tasting candy ever. After Halloween night, the kids never once asked for their candy. Daddy was pretty excited to have it all to himself!

Lastly, here are some pics of Neily and I making Daddy a cake and Jake enjoying tasting the batter. The last picture I took a couple of hours ago. The kids were having a blast wearing Daddy's toboggans.

2007-10-31T08:01:00.000-05:00

Unexpected

Monday morning we got some unexpected news. Neily has been having some GI issues and we had been in contact with her doctor over the weeked to make sure we were taking care of her in the appropriate manner. Monday morning the doctor called us at home and expressed his concern that Neily may have Cystic Fibrosis. I don't know a lot about CF, but I knew it must be a big deal because they have major events to increase awareness and support like they do for cancer and diabetes. I held my composure okay when I was talking with the doctor, but had a bit of a breakdown once we hung up. It was just another normal day until he had called. Now everything looked different.

The doctor was able to get her in at Children's hospital for testing on Tuesday (yesterday) which was a big deal since you typically have to wait at least a week to get an appointment. So, Neily and I went to Vanderbilt yesterday afternoon to get her tests run. Mitch and I had decided on Monday that we wouldn't get on the internet to read everything about CF because we didn't want to freak ourselves out over something that may not be. The Bible tells us to "think on that which is true" and so what was true was that Neily may have CF, but it wasn't a "done deal" until the test proved otherwise. She had the test at 1pm and we expected to get the results in 24 hours. But as we were leaving, the doctor who ran the test said that he would have the results to my doctor by 4pm that same afternoon. We were so grateful that we wouldn't have to wait another day before knowing. I called my doctor at 4pm and was overjoyed to hear the news that Neily tested negative for Cyctic Fibrosis!!!! I am more aware now than ever before at the blessing of having a healthy child.

The next step for us is to visit the GI at the end of November when Neily will have to get scoped. Her doctor seems to think, now that we know it's not CF, that her GI issues may be able to be solved fairly easily. We will definitely keep you all posted. Thank to you to the few of you who knew about all of this and prayed for our family. We greatly appreciate your friendships.

2007-10-22T19:28:00.000-05:00

Singin' in the Rain

We had a LOT of rain today, so after being cooped up inside all day we couldn't help but to get out and play in it.

2007-10-18T11:56:00.000-05:00

YOU KNOW IT'S A BAD WEEK WHEN...

You know it's a bad week when 80% of the meals you serve your kids all require ketchup.

2007-10-14T19:24:00.000-05:00

PICTURES!!

Here are a couple of photos from the past few days. On Saturday we enjoyed visiting a local farm where the have hayrides, a pumpkin patch, and lots of other fun things for the kids to do.

And here are the kids enjoying lunch together. They love the veggie corndogs by Morningstar Farms.

And a big thanks to all of you who gave us advice on Mac vs. PC. We visited the local Apple store on Saturday evening and I think we are sold on a Mac!!

2007-10-11T07:55:00.000-05:00

X
Xoconochco - A little place in downtown Franklin that makes the yummiest chocolate. I have no idea how to pronounce it, but man is the chocolate wonderful! Eventually you will be able to order it online - http://www.xoconochco.com

Y
Yesterday - Yesterday Neily came down with a fever. No other symptoms, just a fever. This morning she woke up with no fever. Our conversation this morning went like this:
Me: Good Morning, Neily. How do you feel?
Her: I am SO sick mommy. Please take care of me.
Me: Sweetie, I think you are fine, but I will take good care of you.
Her: Mommy, I am SO sick. I really think i need a cookie for breakfast.

This little girl will try anything for a cookie!

Z
Zippity doo dah zippety ay - I have officially finished the alphabet!! Now back to my regular postings. Hopefully, with our eyes set on a new computer soon, I will be able to post pictures again!

2007-10-09T07:50:00.000-05:00

W
What to do - So, hubby and I are in the market for a new computer. We are hoping that my computer will last another month or so, but want to have a plan just in case. I wanted to get all of your opinions - Mac vs. PC. I hear that Windows Vista is terrible and that makes us lean towards Mac. BUT, Mac's are expensive and that makes us lean towards a PC. Any suggestions??

2007-09-30T15:35:00.001-05:00

U
Unrealistic excpectations - okay, so I didn't finish the alphabet of me by the end of the week. So, I shall try again to finish it this week. I only have 5 letters to go!!

V
Very thankful - When my parents were choosing a name for me, their top name other than Allison was Claudette. I am very thankful they chose Allison.
Vacation - 4 weeks from today hubby and I will be packing up and heading to Asheville for a little R&R and I can't wait. We haven't had a true "getaway" since the kids were born, so we are thrilled to have some extended time with no agenda.

2007-09-28T08:12:00.000-05:00

T
Two years ago - Two years ago today our family packed up and moved to Nashville. Can you believe it's been 2 years? It seems like a lifetime ago that we were living in Birmingham. It really has been a long 2 years, but good in the fact that we have learned so much about ourselves and our Lord. We have definitely had our share of trials, but also our share of grace and gaining wisdom. This is not the path we would have chosen for ourselves, but God has been with us through the tears and the joys. We do hope to return to Birmingham sooner than later, but until then we are grateful to be where the Lord has us - Nashville in the fall is so delightful!

2007-09-25T15:22:00.000-05:00

R
Revenge - We've all done something on our lifetime to get revenge, right? When I was little I often sought revenge on my sister. Once I peed on her brand new bike because she wouldn't let me ride it. I definitely had an evil streak in me back then! What about you? Anyone have any proud moments of revenge to share?

S
Shenanigan's - The name of the dance club in Rome, Ga that we went to every Monday night during the summer when I was in high school. It is also the location of my first (and last) "girl fight." Yep, that's right. Along with a few other friends, we got in a brawl with some of the big haired girls from across the tracks. Hair pulling, scratching, hitting and, my personal favorite, the pulling up or down of skirts. That night I had on a cute little dress. Hiding underneath, though, was a lovely pair of granny panties. "Who's going to see these anyway?," I thought to myself as I put them on. Only a few hours later, there I stood in the parking lot with my cute little dress pulled up over my head. The white granny panties were quite the site for all who were looking on. Not my finest moment. The entire night was so out of character for me. When I got home and told my family they all laughed and called me Rocky.

2007-09-24T12:36:00.000-05:00

P

Priceless -

A new Tennessee License - $12.50
A new Tennesee Tag - $49.50
2 kids at the DMV for 2 hours - Priceless

2007-09-24T12:06:00.000-05:00

O
Over - I confess that I am ready for the alphabet of me to be over. I never dreamed it would take me this long!! I am making a vow to myself to finish by the end of the week so that I can move on.
Oh the joys of raising a 2 year old - we have had some sleep issues this past week with little miss neily. she has started crying at bedtime for up to an hour before going to sleep. For the first few nights we would go in and spank. That only made things worse. Then we started going in every 10 minutes or so to reassure (just like we did when she was a little baby). That helped some. Lastly, we have tried motivation by the way of food. She is like her mommy and can often be swayed by a tasty little treat. After minimal crying for her nap yesterday she got a cookie and 2 stickers on her Happy Sleep Chart. Last night there was no crying for the first time in over a week!! Now she has her eyes set on an ice cream cone which she will get tomorrow if she does well tonight. This has definitely been a learning experience for us and has tested our patience with our little girl. Funny how a week of something like this can feel like a month!

2007-09-15T13:01:00.001-05:00

Neily -

My sweet little girl whom we affectionately call "Peepie" and "Pickle." You love to talk and you love to sing. You love to snuggle and an hour doesn't pass when you aren't asking, "Mommy, what you doin'?" You have the most fun when we are playing outside or when you are playing chase with Jakey. You could swing for hours and never pass up going on a walk. Cookies are your favorite treat. You are growing up fast and what a privilege it is to love you through it all. I love you to the moon and back.