Question #4

What is the most sensible thing you’ve ever heard someone say?
Honestly, this was said to me over and over and OVER again throughout my life, but just in the past 3 years has it came to me as “sensible.”  It is the famous words of my mother.
“You don’t understand now, but when you grow up and have kids…”
I loathed that statement growing up. I thought it was so ridiculous because when I was 13 I knew EVERYTHING! What did she know?
Oh how the tables turn and come right back around and bite you in the butt.
Not only was she 110% correct, I will be saying them to my child.  Frequently. 
Everything she said and did, I am saying and doing. It’s crazy! She really did know what she was talking about! Smart woman :)
What was the most sensible thing someone has ever said to you?

A crazy few days

Whew! It’s been a crazy busy fun few days! 

Thursday after bible study, Mia and I went to the zoo with friends because it was absolutely beautiful outside!

Eli, Mia, Nadia and Brinlee

We ended up staying a lot longer than usual because Dana ended up coming with Addilyn and Ashley with Taylor, so I let Mia enjoy the weather for an extra half hour. Needless to say, she took a two hour nap once we got home!

Friday, I worked until 3 and then Meme and B came over to hang out with us. We went to eat dinner at Jason’s Deli and then made a trip to Lifeway Christian bookstore.  I bought the movie “Letters to God” not expecting to watch it end up crying my eyes out. It is a very inspiring movie, but if you watch it, be prepared to have the UGLY cry, complete with snot running down your face and frequent hyperventilating! HA!

Saturday Dave finally went and finished up his tattoo that he had been saving for since Christmas and Mia and I made a trip to the mall. Me and my favorite girl, at the mall? What better way to spend a Saturday! I bought Mia’s Easter dress at the Children’s Place, 40% off and then had a coupon for an additional 15% off.  SCORE!

Her new $2.50 shades from the Children's Place!  Miss Hollywood!

 

After Dave got finished with his tattoo, we had sushi dinner his parents and aunt Terri and Uncle Charlie for his mom’s birthday.  Mia ate all of her salad, so she was able to have a small piece of birthday cake!  The girl was in heaven :)

Sunday Mia went to spend some time with her Nana and Papaw while Dave and I met some of our favorite old friends for lunch and the Louisville basketball game!  It was so much fun and we pulled out the “W!”

 

After the game we picked up the little lady and went to Moe’s for dinner with some couples in our ABF (Sunday school class) group.  We had a great time getting to know them outside of church!

Today, Mia had school, so Dave and I went grocery shopping and to the mall to get mama some “anti-aging” products.  I told Dave I was not going to age gracefully!  I am my mother’s daughter!  HA!!  My mom has been applying Oil of Olay for YEARS and I am following right in her footsteps!

Once we got home, I cleaned the house while Dave made some chili and then I went to pick M up from school.  The weather was so nice that we did a little bike riding and sliding outside.  Now we are watching Veggie Tales and hanging out!

Today and one year ago.  How did I get a little girl? Although I don’t have a baby anymore, I am so excited for each stage we come too.  This stage is hard but oh so much fun!  Some of the stuff she says and does absolutely cracks me up!

 

Whew!  Told you it’s been busy around here! I wouldn’t trade a single second!

Question #3

Would you rather your child be less attractive and extremely intelligent, or extremely attractive and less intelligent?
Well, I like to think my child is extremely attractive AND extremely intelligent.  But, I’m probably a tiny bit biased :) HA!
However, if I had to choose, I would choose for my child to be extremely intelligent and less attractive.
1. Because real beauty is deep down, in her heart, to her core.  Who she is and what she stands for. God says He is enthralled with her beauty.  He made her perfect.
2. Because when you are intelligent, you are most likely somewhat wealthy, therefore can buy yourself some surgery! HAHA, just kidding!


She is beautiful inside AND out!
What would you choose for your child, and why?

Is Salvation easy??

Tonight while on my way home from work, the radio station I was listening to brought up a very interesting, controversial topic.  And it just happened to fit perfectly with the book of James study that I am doing right now!
They were discussing Whitney Houston.  Did she go to heaven? Before her death and throughout her life she had professed Jesus as her Lord and Savior.  However, she was in the midst of an addiction. 
DID SHE GO TO HEAVEN???
There were multiple stances taken on the subject. 
Some believed that Salvation was easy.  Meaning, once you accept Jesus into your heart, you WILL go to heaven.  You are saved.  PERIOD.
The others believed that you can actually LOSE your salvation.  By your lifestyle.  By your sin.
One person actually called in and said we had to be PERFECT, you know, WITHOUT sin, to go to heaven.  She then sited the famous Philippians 4:13 verse.  (I don’t care who you are, if you believe that, NOBODY is going to heaven!  Scary.)
So, this topic got my wheels spinning.  Here’s what I believe: 
First of all, we ARE NOT saved by our works, but by the grace of God alone.  With that being said, “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17  In our James study with Beth Moore, she basically explains it as “real faith is demonstrative.”  The power in the Holy Spirit “convicts and compels” you.  When you have a relationship with Christ, you WANT to do good deeds.  You WANT to bear fruit.  You WANT the love of the Lord to come out through you onto others.  “Our faith is pumped into our actions…”  I mean, even the devil “believes” in God!
“You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was perfected.”  James 2:22
Secondly, addiction is a sickness. Coming from a nurses viewpoint, people who struggle with addiction, whether it be drugs or alcohol, are SICK.  People tend to think that, like mental health disorders, because it is “in your brain,” you can overcome it.  This is simply NOT the truth.  It’s like trying to talk yourself out of having diabetes, or not getting chemo for your cancer and just “thinking” yourself to beating it. People with addictions need help.  They need people to love them and help them. They are desperate for Gods mercy.  Can people who struggle with addiction or mental health illness be saved or have a relationship with the King?  I like to think so.
“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits-who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases…” Psalm 103:2-3
Lastly, are we supposed to judge others?  Are we the ultimate judge?  Matthew 1:7 says that if we judge others, we will be judged with the same measure that we judged! OUCH!  I am the first one to admit being judgmental.  Some people judge addicts, I have judged/judge other moms.  It is truly pitiful.  Where in the world do we think that our “ways” are better than any others?  “God bases His judgment on truth."  We are commanded to “love our neighbors as ourselves!” James 2:8
“There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” James 4:12
So did Whitney Houston go to heaven? 
Honestly, I don’t know. I would like to think so, but only God knows. 
When it comes to salvation, I can see both sides.
I would love to hear some other perspectives, so please, leave a comment!
What do you think?  Is salvation EASY?

Kazoing

I just realized that I didn’t post our Valentine’s Day!  I woke up to find a new pair of Toms and some Reese hearts and Mia had a couple of gifts from her daddy :)


Daddy had to end up going to work, so Mia and I went out and had V-day dinner with Meme, Poppy and Uncle B at Bonefish.  It was AH-mazing!

Mia and her Meme!

Mia ate so good at the restaurant.  She had mommy’s “chicken” aka salmon, asparagus, salad and bread!  She did so well that I let her have some dessert-Chocolate crème Brule!  YUM!
After dinner we went to B’s fave spot: Barnes and Noble book store and just looked around.  Now a days, I’m just as obsessed with books! It was a fun night!

Me and my little Valentine!

So Friday, Mia and I had a date with Tiffani and Jase at Kazoing!  I had heard of it, but never been there, so we decided to check it out!

Ready to play :)

Mia and Jase climbing up the slide.  Mia did surprisingly well going up to the top, but then I had to go up to slide down with her.  She’s still a little chicken :)

At the top and ready to slide!
After the kiddos played, we went to Chick-fil-A for lunch and let the kids play some more! We had a great day and Mia took a good nap after all the busyness!

Yesterday?  We did nothing.  And I loved it.  We are always running running running everywhere so it was nice to have a day to just chill in our jams as a family.
This morning we went to church and grabbed a bite o eat before coming home because we have absolutely NOTHING to eat in this house right now. We had to bring little missy straight home after that because she was a total grumposaurus!

Don’t let that face fool you.  She was in a foul mood!
Unfortunately, because of her mood, I missed one of my FAVE friends graduation party :(  My lovey Joelle graduated from Nursing school AND passed her boards!  YAY!  Joelle is such a sweet, kind, loving person and friend and I don’t know what I would do without her.  God truly blessed me when he put her in my life.  I thank God for her everyday!  Congratulations sweet friend!  I am so proud of you and I love you to pieces :)

Question #2

Would you ever give up your life to save someone else?
Absolutely.  Obviously, depending on who it is, and the given situation.


Who wouldn’t????

Our weekend in iPhone photos

Mia’s cousin Jazzlyn came to spend the weekend with us!  As usual, they play hard and just have a great girly giggly time!

Friday night we went to one of the local sushi places and the girls split the teriyaki chicken hibachi dinner!

Jazz trying out the chopsticks!

 

We came home and they played until they dropped!  Woke up Saturday, played lots more, took baths and then we headed out for dinner and a target run!

 

Pretty girls!

 

Hugs!

 

 

Today we went to church and then went to visit Noona, Kyle, Charlie and Brody!  The girls have played so hard this weekend that they fell asleep on the way home and they are still passed out!  I guess some would consider that a great weekend :)

Question #1

So another blogger that I follow over at Raising Miss Mommy is doing this “Questions to ask yourself” series.  She answers a question every day, for 365 days.  I think this is a great idea, although I can’t commit to doing one each day but I can do one each week.
My main purpose for doing this is for Mia to look back on.  I have this irrational fear that if something happened to me, Mia would not remember me.  I want her to know me.  I want her to see what we did, when we did it, etc. 
So here goes:
Would you rather be a worried genius, or a joyful simpleton?
EASY!  A joyful simpleton.  I definitely wouldn’t call myself a genius, but I pretty much have the worry thing perfected.
I have spent the vast majority of my life worrying. Over little things and big things.  I feel like if I don’t have something to worry about, I’m doing something wrong, or I’m missing something.  This is definitely a struggle for me.
And guess what worried people do? They go to NURSING SCHOOL! They go to school to learn about all of the things that CAN go wrong and the deadly illnesses you CAN get.
Seriously?  Seriously.
The whole time (I do mean the WHOLE time) I was pregnant with Mia, I worried about her having the strangest, most rare disorders.  Then when she was born, you know the story, I started fearing the worst.
I honestly remember once we brought her home, I noticed her little fuzzy forehead and the first thought that went through my mind was “Oh my gosh, she has that Wolfman syndrome!”  (I don’t even know if that’s what it is called) I am absolutely out of my mind y’all!
Despite what it may look like, I do have faith in God and my faith, thankfully, is getting stronger every day.  I’m not quite as crazy as I used to be :)
So, the answer is simple. 
I would much rather be a JOYFUL SIMPLETON!
I would love for you to join in on this fun with me…
What would you rather be?

It hurts

It hurts.  It hurts bad.

It’s something that only you yourself can understand.  No one else quite knows of the impact this pain solicits.  It’s the kind of pain no amounts of Motrin or anti-depressants can take care of.

I realize that I, and my life, are part of God’s perfect plan.  I am so fortunate for this plan, but I’m still human, and IT HURTS.


It is the kind of pain that is rooted deeply below the smiling face and kind words.  The kind of pain that consumes your mind.  Every.Waking.Minute.  Whenever you have pain-free moment you realize how blessed you are.  However, that moment is only short lived.

I mean, I talk to The Man with the plan, very VERY frequently, I read my bible, I talk the talk and TRY to walk the walk.  Unfortunately, in the end, underneath all of the optimistic and happy layers, the person inside is writhing in pain.

The person deep DEEP down inside is struggling with jealousy, anger, resentment, sadness and grief.  THIS IS PAINFUL. And believe me, this is not something that I hide from God.  He has heard my two cents worth.  I’m not proud of these feelings.  I am human and I am a sinner.  I fight every single waking second of every single day to combat these feelings.  I try to smother them with happy thoughts, rebuke them with faith and even argue with my own mind about the immaturity of my faith on this pain.  Literally, one second my mind with think “I WILL be pain free!” and the next second “I’m NEVER going to be pain free!”

My mind is in anguish. 

Beth Moore describes anguish as the “mind in labor.”  She uses the example of the woman who is in labor, and once the baby is born, she soon forgets the pain that labor caused.  Well, anguish is, the mind in labor. I just wish whatever it is, the end result of this pain,  would be born already!  I need an epidural!

This pain is only temporary, right?

Mia and Jazzlyn

Jazzlyn, Mia’s cousin, came over to spend the night and play this weekend. The girls always have so much fun together.  However, Mia wasn’t quite in the sharing mood.  Everything was “MINE!”  I corrected her and put her in timeout more times than I can count on two hands.  What is this about?  She used to NEVER be this way!  Please someone tell me it’s just her age and that she is an only child? I’m reading books after books and trying to teach her all about Jesus, but I feel like such a failure. I’m always comparing her to other kids.  Some days I feel like this is God’s joke on me! HA!
But seriously? That girl of mine?  I love her to the ends of the earth!  NOT ONE person in this world has her personality.  NOT ONE person in this world can make me laugh so hard, love so much or amaze me more than she does.  She makes my heart swell with ooey gooey mushy love!




Who knew you could have so much fun Krogering?!

Chicken Salad

This past Sunday I made my moms famous chicken salad.  It is super easy and totally delicious!
I just added some baby spinach for the health benefits and a whole wheat pita!



Here’s what you need:
4- 12 oz. cans chicken, drained
1-Cup chopped celery
5 oz. of sweetened, dried cranberries
1- large onion (optional, but not to me because I love me some onion!)
Dressing:
2-Cups Mayo
4-Tablespoons sugar
2.5-Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1-Tablespoon celery seed

Mix all of the dressing ingredients together and pour over “salad” ingredients.  Mix well and chill before serving!
Yummy to eat by itself or in a whole wheat pita with baby spinach!
Enjoy!

Friends

I must first start by saying that I LOVE BETH MOORE!! Bible study was soo awesome this morning!  It was a great way to start the day!

We had plans to meet some friends and their kiddos for lunch today.

Toni and Grant; Tina and Eli

 

Momma and Mia; Barbie and Trace.  Look at those blue eyes on those two!

Mia was surrounded by lots of handsome boys today :)

After lunch, we decided to take advantage of this beautiful day and make an impromptu trip to the park!

I was so proud of Mia because she actually went up on the playground by herself and went down the slide with me and then said “Do it again!”  She is moving leaps and bounds with her heights fear!  She did manage to get in trouble while on the playground for throwing the mulch.  I don’t know why she loves to do this.  I made her take a “time-out” and sweet Eli thought that sounded fun and came to sit with her :)

That looks like a rough time-out, huh?!

 

We played on the swings and took turns hitting some baseballs from the tee.  Eli LOVES baseball and is a dag on champ!  He hits the ball like he came straight out of the womb doing it!  I see a baseball career in his future :)  Mia, on the other hand, made contact and hit the ball, just with the bat upside down! HA!  She is a girly girl, what can I say?

 

Grant man about to fall asleep in the swing!

My girl playing in the grass…

 

All of the kiddos…

So thankful for this awesome weather, especially in February!!  Mia came home and took a 2.5 hour nap, (momma took a small one too!) I’d say our day was a success!

Because I’m not random. AT.ALL.

Here’s the story.  It was not my best weekend to date, but we did manage to do some fun things. 

Saturday:

Went to Dick’s with Nana and Papaw to get stuff for Daddy’s birthday.  My little Hercules likes to lift weights like her daddy :)

 

Sunday:

Went to church and bible study, then to a friends house and played games and hung out.

My munchkin having fun on the trampoline with all the other little girls!

 

Monday:

Mia had school during the day, so Dave and I went grocery shopping (I know, I know, so romantic!).  You mean you don’t spend your kid free time alone grocery shopping?!  After the grocery I had to go to work for a few hours and Mia got to go spend time with her favorite boys, Charlie and Brody :)  After work we came home and I did this…

Organized the fridge, and cut up lots of fruits and veggies and put them all in bags so there is no excuse to not pack them for lunch.  Which by the way, I feel the need to mention that my child is a Pepper Snob. And by that I mean, she will no longer eat the green peppers now that she has had the red ones.  She specifically says “Momma, more wed peppahs!”

 

Tuesday:

I had 2 appointments.  One for my physical being and the other for my emotional being.  Therefore, I was going to have a kid-free day.  I started at the Surgeons office where he proceeded to tell me that my gallbladder was only functioning at 11% and therefore needed to come out. OBVIOUSLY. So long gallbladder, you’re no good for me any longer!

Next, I had lunch.  With myself.

Sweet tea and Cool Deli Angus wrap from Arby’s!  To make it even more thrilling:  I ate in.my.car. 

 

After lunch with myself, I took myself on over to…

wait for it…

STAPLES!

I’m not even gonna try and lie and say that I didn’t LOVE it.  Because I did.  It brought out creative and organizing bones that I didn’t even know I had!  This is what I got…

Oh yes, Turbo Tax!  Some lined index cards for writing my go-to bible verses, had my James book bound (thanks to my friend Barbie for suggesting that amazing idea!), some new highlighters and a pen, clips and tabs. 

WOW! 

I’m a dag on rebel without a cause these days! HA

Once my last appointment was done, I got my baby girl and headed to Lifeway to pick up a couple of books.

The second picture is just the description on the back of the first book. This describes my daughter to a T. The second book came highly recommended from several people, so I’m so ready to dive in.  I’ve become an avid reader in my older years :)

AND Today:

I worked until 3, met up with Dave to pick up Mia and then Mia and I went to Target.  Mia has woke up the past couple of days with nose bleeds and I haven't had her humidifier on, just because of my own laziness of not getting her a new filter for it.  So today was the day.  I got a new Air purifier for the whole house, new filter for the humidifier for Mia’s room and some new socks.  RANDOM?  Yep, that’s me!

Snack for our shopping trip.

 

Mia was SO strangely well behaved at Target today that I wanted to reward her with a treat.  Her diet is SO.CLEAN. that I wanted to give her a little cupcake.  From Gigi's!!

A pretty pink princess cupcake for my little princess

She took a couple of bites and then gave it to me and said “all done.”  I can honestly say I think it was too sweet for her liking.  She isn’t used to that kind of thing.  I was pretty proud of her :)

 

We came home and got a special visit from Meme and Uncle B…

Smart Uncle B helping Mia trace her numbers.  I hope she gets his smarts, his drive, his motivation and his sheer discipline from him!

 

There you have it.  I speed read through the past few days!