Tanzania

I just a really fun update from my dear, dear friend from college, Jen. Jen is an amazing person!! She is loving, compassionate, wise, fun, I could go on...We were the best of friends in college. We lived in the same dorm for two years, lead a small group together, were discipled together. We saw each other through broken hearts, random kisses and choosing husbands. She is one of those friends.

After college we headed down different paths. I got married, took a job as a nurse and settled down in Winston. She headed to NYC to persue medical school. She married her high school sweetheart. Their relationship has had some interesting twists of living and working in different places. While I felt like I was living a very generic life hers was so exciting!!

That trend continues. I am having my second child and heading back to Winston. I am mostly a stay-at-home mom. Very typical life! This is what she is up to....still living in NYC in a fellowship for infectious disease. She has an amazing heart to work with the poor, espcially the HIV population. Her husband is living in California (he has his PhD and is a professor at Fuller). Last summer, for vacation they went backpacking in South America. They have both done extensive work overseas. To top it off, they are spending 6 months together next fall in Tanzania!!! I don't even know where Tanzania is!!

Despite these many differences and the distance she is still one of my dearest friends. I would love to spend hours with her over coffee. Chat, chat, chat, make a groovy song mix (we have made a couple on TAPE, we need to get with the times and put it on the iPOD) and chat some more. I admire her so much! I am so proud of her!!

I was getting ready for church this morning, feeling rather large. I looked at Kim and said, "I definitely have a basketball now." He replied with, "A beachball!" Nice, nice. I gave him the bird.

Let's Go Racin'

I have a confession to make....I like NASCAR. It started out innocently. My brothers really got into it about five or so years ago and I would try to pay attention to it, see who won, so that I could have something to chat with them about. Well, I got more and more interested. Last year several friends and I had a fantasy NASCAR league and that sealed the deal. It's official. I like NASCAR.

The good news is when my mom asked me who my favorite driver was I couldn't answer the question so I guess I am not too far gone. My mom, dad and brothers went to the Daytona 500 yesterday and I was so jealous. Mom called and told me about some NASCAR onesies that she saw, I put the smack-down on that too.

I do still have some issues with the "sport", like isn't there a better use of our natural resources, exhaust fumes, etc. But, it is entertaining and still something that my brothers and I can bond over. John likes Jimmie. Dave likes Dale, Jr. (I find it strange that they both picked drivers that they sort-of look like....)

I feel better. I do need a driver...

Oh, and, way to go Deacs. Something else I never thought that I would say. Ratface looked pissed!! I love it!!

Voting

Today was Virginia's primary. Natalie and I headed to the polls. There is something very emotional, for me, about voting with her with me. This is the second time that I have done it and have been moved to tears both times. I can't really explain it. I don't know if it is the thought for voting for the future of our country or the thought of how lucky we are to live where we do but it gets to me.

While I was voting she asked me, "Mommie, can I vote too?" Sure sweetie in about 15 years (that is frightening). Actually I said, "Someday sweetie. Voting is a priviledge of being an adult."

I was disturbed by the small number of people who were there taking part in this priviledge. I can get on my high horse pretty quickly about this, so I won't. The only thing I will say is that I don't get people who don't go vote....

On a lighter note, as we were leaving there was a car running and you could see the exhaust coming from the tailpipe (it was very cold and rainy). Natalie said to me, "Mommie, is that car going potty?"

Oh, if you notice a lot of glaring spelling errors it is because I can't get the spell check to work and I am a terrible speller, sorry,

Ranting

This is getting really old, really fast.

When we moved up here we did not buy a house. We are renting. The housing market in this area was way too crazy for us to think about getting into. This remains to be a decision that we are glad that we made. I am so glad that we are not trying to sell a house right now.

Having said that, our landlord is trying to sell our house. She broke the news to us with about 24 hours notice in October. Because the housing market here is suffering there have not been a ton of showings but enough for it to be really getting on my nerves!!

The thing that bugs me the most is that agents will call and say, "I am in the neighborhood, can I come see the house?"

Me: When?
Them: In 10 minutes!

Are you freakin' kidding me?!? Often my response is, my child is taking a nap. I cannot leave but if you must come by you can.

This, of course, is better than what happened last weekend when the agent and her clients just showed up with no notice at all!! Thankfully Kim was home and told them that they would need to come back at a later time.

None of this makes sense to me, I guess I am just used to the way it worked for us when we bought/sold our home in NC. We made appointments to see houses. We talked with our realtor before we went out looking and she made appointments for us, hours, sometimes days in advance. It is not like this house just went on the market, it has been on for months!!

The up-side, it has made me be better about keeping the house clean.

I am ready for this to be over!! I want to be done and be living in my house that is waiting for me. Although, if someone does but this place then we have a whole other set of problems. Where the heck would we live for the rest of our time here??

What community means...

to a 3 year-old.

Natalie and I went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner tonight. Of course the question came, "When I am done can I play on the park (the indoor germ infested park)?"

Me: You can try if you want to but I cannot help you climb up. My belly is getting too big. (Gross-motor skills have never been her strong point and she struggles getting herself up to the top).
Her: OK, I can do it
Me: If you get up to the top, you have to come down by yourself. Mommie cannot climb up to get you (I have done this on more than one occasion)
Her: OK, I can do it
Me: You have to be brave and come down all by yourself.
Her: I will find a friend who can help me!!

Sure enough, she did. She found a sweet little girl to help get her up to the top, who helped her when she got scared, and made sure she made it down the slide.

I love that my girl trusted that there would be "a friend" there to help her.

(I am also really thankful because me climbing in that thing would not have been pretty!!!)

Today in Natalie's world

Natalie is June
I am Annie
Kim is Quincy
Jingle is Leo
and, of course, our car is Rocket

Prayers for my friend

Today, my one of my roommates will have to endure my worst nightmare. Today she will have to labor and deliver her sweet baby boy and he will not be living. Her situation is tragic. No one should ever have to endure this. While I worked as a labor and delivery nurse I cared for many families in similar situations but it was never this personal. It never hurt this bad.

My friend is amazing. She is strong. She is full of the grace of God. Please pray for her and her family during this time and in the weeks and months to come. She has told me that she knows that God has sustained her in this past week and is so thankful for all the people praying for her.

Happy Birthday, Natalie!!

How can it be that in three short years she has changed from this....

to this....

It is so hard for me to believe that she is three. My little girl is growing up. I am so thankful for the person that she is growing into. She is kind, compassionate, and empathetic beyond her years. She is sweet, she is loving!! She is smart. She loves to be tickled. She loves to be read to. She loves to sing. Everyone is her friend. She is outgoing. She loves people. I am so proud of her.

One of her most favorite things to do lately is for her to be Mommy and I am Big Natalie. She makes lunch for Big Natalie, tucks her into bed, gives her kisses, she "carries" me around the house (she holds onto my knee while I walk). When I am Big Natalie, Kim is Big Natalie's Daddy. She has it all down. Often I am greeted in the morning with "Good morning, Big Natalie!" Funny, funny, funny.

I love you, sweet girl! Happy Birthday!!

Welcome Home, Wes!!

In the midst of a week that has been tragically sad for several of my friends it is so nice to have some good news to share and to celebrate.

Our dear friend, Wes, is home from war. He had been away from his wife and two sweet little boys for over a year, far too long!!

Wes's wife was my roommate in college and one of my dearest friends. I have been so proud of her this year!! She has shown amazing strength and dedication to her family. She has shown me first hand how much sacrifice all military families make. I am so thankful to the Hite family and all the families who sacrifice so much for us.

Welcome home, Wes!! We can't wait to see you guys!! "Melting Pot" here we come!!

MIckey Mouse Birthday

Natalie's birthday is not until Thursday but we had her party today. I can't believe my baby is almost 3!

Cake made Mommie.

Getting ready for the party.

Everyone needs ears!

I wonder what her wish was.....

Our house!

Kim, Natalie and I went to Winston-Salem at the beginning of the week to start looking for a house. Well, we started and ended. Everything worked out so well. We found a home that we love, in our price range, in the area that we wanted and we found a seller that was glad to wait to close until May. Perfect! The seller even threw in the pool table to sweeten the deal, everyone is invited for a party!!!

Grocery Store Alone

For those of you, mainly my two wonderful roomies from college, who have to go through months of single-parenting please disregard the whining.

I got to go to the grocery store today by myself! It was great! Kim was home this afternoon and Natalie wanted to stay with him. Who am I to stop that daddy-daughter time?

I hopped out of the car, all by myself, so much easier. Picked out one of the small carts to push instead of the cart/spaceship and started my stroll through the store.

I quickly decided that it is probably better that I usually have Natalie with me to keep me distracted. With my mind to myself it wanders way too much...

• Oh, that watermelon looks really yummy, but will we eat it before we go out of town, probably not, it will just go bad, maybe next time, look, pineapple!!
• That mom looks really tired!!
• (While watching the obviously new mom with her baby and mother in tow struggling through the store saying sternly to her mother, "You need to keep moving!!" Baby cries! "Did we get enough? We can come back tomorrow!") She needs a hug, Honey, you will make it, I promise!
• Why are there whoopie cushions in the grocery store?
• Jeans and heels in the grocery store? Is that really necessary? You are just trying to make the rest of us look bad.
• Ben and Jerry's is a lot easier to pass up when you are not pregnant!
• If I wasn't still buying wipes for my almost 3 year old then I would use that money on Ben and Jerry's.

My mind is a scary place and that is just a sampling.

Spring??

Natalie and I have spent hours outside the past couple if days. It has been great! Lots of running and jumping and playing. Too bad it will be gone tomorrow....

Weird weather like this always freaks me out...

Me and my gal

After a long week of travel and celebration (which I promise to write more about later, we had a great time!) Natalie and I had a pajama day today. We stayed in our jammies all day!! It was wonderful. There was a lot that had to be done around the house to get "normal" life going again and I spent a lot of the day doing that stuff. Natalie had a great time playing with her new toys and games. We also got to spend a lot of time together playing which was very fun and something that often gets lost on days when we are running from here to there.

Pajama days are good for my soul! Not so much the being in jammies all day but the not going anywhere. The spending good time with my girl, caring for my house and family. I really love taking the time to do those things. the question I am asking myself now is, should I have a weekly or biweekly pajama day scheduled for us? That would probably lose the whole point.

Merry Christmas to all!

We leave tomorrow to go to my parents house for Christmas! I am so excited. I hope that I can sleep tonight. We have to wait until the morning to leave because Kim is working tonight. He gets off at 6:00 in the morning and we will leave as soon after that as we can!

Did I mention that I am so excited? My brothers and their SOs are already at mom and dad's house. This will be the first Christmas morning that I will be at my parent's home in the mountains. The house that I grew-up in. The house that I live in for 22 years. How is this my first Christmas at that house? Well, because all of my extended family lived in New Jersey we spent every Christmas there. I loved my NJ Christmases but am glad for the chance to celebrate at mom and dads home. I love anytime that my whole family is together. So special.

I am also getting really excited about seeing Natalie on Christmas morning!! I think she will be thrilled and over-come with excitement. She didn't really get it last year but she is totally into the season this year. She is excited about celebrating Jesus' birthday. She is excited about Santa coming. She is excited about seeing her Mimi and Papa and uncles. I am excited for her. I am a child again through her. So fun!!

Merry Christmas! Rejoice! Rejoice!!

Go Heels!

The victory two nights ago was not that great. Our defense was, well, bad. The crowd was, well, bad. But it was a victory and we are still undefeated. Which makes the loss last night wonderful! Man, I hate Dook. And I really don't like coach k. I like to watch them loose! So, I honor of that let's bring this back out.

I have no doubt that when we play Dook this year that the result could be less than pleasing to me. They are good, really good. Man, it pains me to say that. But we are also good, with the potential to be great. I just hope that I don't put myself into labor watching it!!

If you are looking for feel-good Carolina story, you have to click here. Just grab the tissues before you go. Consider yourself warned.

Christmas Music

So, the most recent Christmas music album that I have found and love is by "Third Day". It has a good mix of traditional stuff and newer stuff. I really like Mac Powell's voice so he could sing most anything and I would listen. This is certainly not a new album, it was released in 2006 but I am not the most hip music person ever. If you a looking for a good listen I recommend "Christmas Offerings".

Temptation

OK, so I'm just going to put this out there.

When you live in a small house with limited hiding places it is very difficult not to go peak at your gifts!! And when, with just the click of the mouse you can find out where the gifts came from, well. It is taking every bit of self-restraint that I have not to cheat!! Really, I guess that I would only be cheating myself but still. The information is right there, waiting to be had!!

With only a week left to wait, I guess that I will make it....

I agree

I saw this license plate on the way to MOPS today...

AH-2BNNC

I couldn't agree more! The holiday season is making me a bit home-sick.