Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Today is my Mom’s birthday, and I wanted to do something special for her. I got this great post idea from a friend’s blog (thanks Bethany). So, Mom, this post is totally and completely for you! And anyone else who reads it will know without a doubt what a wonderful Mom you are to me! I have made a random list (typed exactly as they came to my mind) of memories and qualities that I love about you. I hope you enjoy it!
1. You are a prayer warrior, and everyone in the family looks to you to take prayers to the Father on their behalf.
2. You write the best poems – wedding poems, birthday poems, school poems, the list goes on...
3. Working on my “All the world’s a stage” speech for graduation.
4. Helping me with my clever college entrance essays.
5. You LOVE my scrapbooks more than anyone – I can’t wait to show them to you.
6. Seeing you when you’re with my children – an AWESOME Grandmommy.
7. The way you’ve cried every time I had a child – like I knew it was special for you to see your baby have babies (and you always thanked me for my sacrifice when most people are just focused on the new baby).
8. All of your help after Avery (you know what I mean!) Not many people could’ve handled that.
9. Your generous nature.
10. Watching you take care of Pops as he aged. You were a great daughter to him!
11. Going to Burger King with Mrs. Smothers while @ TSA, and the fact that you still do it!
12. Meeting you at BK now with your sisters and Pops before he died.
13. Singing @ Pops’ funeral – for him, but for YOU too.
14. You’ve never missed an event – not a ball game, talent show, parents’ weekend, Christmas program. You’ve always supported me in everything.
15. Planning a wedding with you – the sweetest wedding ever!
16. Getting pulled over on the way to ATL when we went to get fitted for my wedding dress.
17. You are my BEST girlfriend.
18. The way we shop so well together – being able to walk in/walk out quickly and not waste time.
19. When you taught my women’s Bible Study group and they all loved you too.
20. The way you handled your cancer and how it gave the rest of us peace (and how God healed you!)
21. When you wanted to hear me sing “Trust His Heart” immediately after coming out of your surgery, and I was holding your hand.
22. Dinners at El Sombrero with you, Papa, and the kids.
23. Playing mafia at family gatherings and crying because I hated lying to you all!
24. The time when you rode on the back of my Big Wheel down the big hill on Pierce Dr. N and got scared b/c we were going too fast. You tried to get off and massacred your leg!
25. Our pet cat, Whiskers, and how he would attack us from under the kitchen table.
26. Going camping back in the day.
27. Being in your English class.
28. Growing up with your working at my school was always great – because you were always there and I never resented that.
29. What would I do with 3 kids and you not being in town to “relieve” me sometimes - whether it’s just dropping in for a change of scenery, meeting me at Chick-fil-a or letting me go get coffee.
30. You’re always there to talk to when I need a listening ear.
31. You are one of my top “advisors” in life.
32. Wanting to go with you & Papa on your honeymoon when I was little.
33. Being SOOOOO excited when you got engaged to Papa.
34. Going with the family to Disney World last March.
35. Wonderful memories of Hilton Head over the years.
36. I love that we talk on the phone at least once a day (often more).
37. You allowed me to be a “BABY WISE NAZI” with Avery and supported me even though I was utterly ridiculous.
38. We both were there for each other during our times of discontentment over our living situation (houses). God worked it out for good for each of us.
39. How proud I was to be your daughter when they gave you the standing O at Tattnall’s moving up ceremony Logan’s senior year.
40. When I came inside from playing with Denise as a child because I knew MY Mom would tell me what the F word meant. And then going back outside and saying, “I told you she would tell me!”
41. I’m just glad that we can talk about ANYTHING.
42. You are a model wife, daughter, sister, and mother, and I pray I can be half the person you are!
43. Going out on my 21st Birthday and y’all buying me a glass of wine – WEIRD!
44. Being able to relate to you as an adult and friend now!
45. Always asking you how can I make my girls love me the way I love you and turn out to be Godly women.
46. You coming in @ Aunt Nettie’s when Grandmommy died. I only remember that you were bawling, and it is etched in my memory.
47. I love that you share your testimony with your seniors – TSA is so blessed to have you as a part of their family.
48. You have parades and dance with my kids, and they love it!
49. You are full of Godly wisdom and can always point me to Scripture for answers.
50. Taking the trip to Hawaii with you and Papa.
51. Spending the night with you guys when Bryan goes out of town.
52. Eating pizza and watching movies that we rented, the 2 of us on opposite ends of the sofa just vegging out and Papa in his lazy boy.
53. All the nights you scratched my back growing up.
54. The first time I had to use a certain feminine product when we were at the beach and I was freaking out!
55. Lots, lots, lots of laughter through the years.
56. Telling you that I was pregnant with my first child, and seeing you cry because you were so happy and surprised.
57. Telling you I was pregnant with baby #2 after coming home from SSI. We told Avery to give Mommy and kiss, Daddy a kiss, and the baby a kiss. You cried again!
58. Announcing that “It’s a boy” at the girls’ birthday party and you being so excited, but upset because Papa wasn’t in the room…then you had to comfort me while I cried over it!
59. You celebrate with me over the things that I FINALLY get – like my van, my house, my children – things that I have to WAIT for patiently – that you know I REALLY want.
60. You are the most amazing mom in the world!
As you can see, there are 60 reasons, and there is no mistake about why. I was actually surprised by how LITTLE time it took me to think of them. I spent no more time than it took to type them, and I have billions more in my head. I could go on and on about you forever, which is just proof that I love you more than you’ll ever know! Happy 60th Mom! I love you. Julie

I Thought BOYS Loved Their MOMMA's!!

That's what everyone told me when I found out that I was having a son!! "Oh, boys just LOVE their Momma's!" Well, what's wrong with mine? I say that with a smile on my face because while I wish Asa would just want to crawl up in my arms and love on me all the time, it melts my heart to see who my "replacement" is -- Bryan. Boy, does Asa just adore his Daddy! In the mornings, when I go to get him up, he can hardly wait to get out of my arms and run to his Daddy. Bryan will pick him up, and he will put his head on his Daddy's shoulder and stay there for as long as Bryan will hold him. It really is a sweet relationship. Who knows, maybe my day will come, as it did with the girls (all of our kids preferred Daddy as babies), but until then I'll just enjoy watching my man and his little boy!

Avery's First Trip to the Dentist

Last week at school, Avery's class learned about Dental Health, and she came home every day talking about the dentist and how to take care of her teeth. I decided I should take advantage of her positive outlook and schedule her first appointment with Uncle Shawn! So, this morning, we went to the dentist. Avery was so excited, and she did fantastic. Mrs. Belinda was her hygienist, and she was great with her! She cried only once, when she had to bite down on that X-Ray thing, but who DOES like that part? Other than that, she loved watching the Backyardigans on the TV, going for a ride on the magic chair, having her teeth brushed by Mr. Ticklebrush, and spitting into Mr. Slurpy Straw! Uncle Shawn gave her the high five for no cavities, and she got her great bag full of treats! She was very proud to walk into school afterwards and show Mrs. Laurie and her friends the pictures that they printed of her getting her teeth cleaned and her X-Rays. It was a great first experience, and in her words, "the bestest day EVER!"

This is NOT Funny!!!

Last Monday, when we were at my in-laws, Brynn went missing. When I found her, she was in the bathroom looking over the potty after flushing SOMETHING down. I saw Shirley's toothbrush in there and fished it out, and then noticed that the entire toilet paper roll had apparently been dunked as well. I wasn't sure exactly what all she flushed, but I knew in my gut that this was NOT good. The potty wouldn't flush right, so I had to get the plunger to unclog it. I told Shirley to be on the lookout in case it overflowed. This is the email I got from her today...
She wrote, "Guess what! The commode finally overflowed this morning. Al is calling the plumber today. I was trying to get dressed for work when I flushed it -- only had my coffee cup to try to stop the overflow by dipping water! Most water I think went downstairs. My toothpaste tube is missing so it probably is the main trouble. This may be a "blip" to record in your memory book of Brynn. It will be a good laugh!"
Only I am NOT laughing!!

Taking a Plunge

Bryan was keeping the kids this afternoon, and look what a mess Brynn got into this time!! Apparently, she started by using the plunger and splashing the toilet water all over the bathroom. At that point, Avery came and told on her. Before Bryan could get himself in there, Brynn had already stripped down naked. I guess she didn't want to get potty water on her outfit? No, it seems that a plunger on your tummy is quite HILARIOUS to a 2 year old. Instead of telling her to stop IMMEDIATELY, in typical fashion for us, Bryan went and got the camera. Next, Brynn thought it might be fun to plunge HERSELF inside the potty, so in she went! The camera battery died before Daddy fully captured that shot. Then to top it all off, she tried to dry off with her bed comforter! I swear she doesn't get this from me!!

First Kiss

Avery: Mommy, guess what I played at school today with the boys?
Mama: What?
Avery: Kissy Face!
Mama: And how do you play Kissy Face? ( I think I already know this one because I used to play something similar, but I wanted to get her story.)
Avery: The girls chaseted the boys and when we catchted them, we said, "Kissy Face!" And then you know what?
Mama: What... (please don't tell me this...)
Avery: I kissed a BOY!
Mama: Really? Who did you kiss?
Avery: Jake
Mama: Girl, you're only 4 - you shouldn't be kissing boys!! (Had to get that in!)

So, Jake Prather was the first boy Avery ever kissed. I had to write the story down for posterity.

The Faith of a Child

Avery was QUITE upset one night last weekend because she lost her new bedroom slippers that Grandma Shirley and PaPa gave her for Christmas. She came to me crying hysterically over it. I was trying to dry her hair, and the drama was starting to get to me! You know how it is. Here's a glimpse of our conversation...

Mama: Avery, do you really think that all this crying and fussing is going to actually help you find your bedroom slippers? What can you DO that will actually HELP this situation? (the answer I was looking for was to actually LOOK for them!)
Avery: I can PRAY about it! (and she did, VERY sweetly, I might add.)

At this point she was convinced that they were going to immediately show up, and I had to explain that God might HELP us find them, but we might not find them tonight, this week or ever. Maybe God wanted to teach her to take better care of her things or to put things up where they belong? We looked EVERYWHERE I could think of, but no slippers. So…she prayed again about it! I am beginning to think that I have GOT to find them because this is breaking my heart. I called the grandparents, and she hadn’t left them at any of their houses, which left me with the option of explaining that sometimes God tells us to wait, and she’d have to wait for His answer.

About 15 minutes later, Avery comes into my room and asks,
Avery: Mama, how do you spell bedroom?
Mama: Why?
Avery: I’m writing a letter to God to ask Him to help me find my bedroom slippers. (Now that's what I call persistence! It was so cute! I helped her spell the words, and this is the letter she wrote….(in case you wonder, it says, "Dear God, please help me find my bedroom slippers." She put it in an envelope and wrote "To U God" on the outside."
Avery: Now, how do we send it to Him, Mama?
Mama: (not out loud) – Great question, how DO you send a letter to God? (out loud) Let’s put it in the pages of your Bible and see if He comes to get it. (So that's what we did, and of course God eventually did remove the letter from the Bible, much to her delight.)

Now, the original slippers still have not turned up, but a certain grandmother felt the need to intervene. I guess you can say that God provided a NEW pair of bedroom slippers. I gave them to her on Monday.

Mama: Avery, look what I found!
Avery: (SOOOOO excited) God got me some new bedroom slippers! I like these better than the other ones! (Guess God knows that she likes princesses.) She tries them on and they are a tad snug.
Avery: I think they are too small!
Mama: Oh well, I guess we’ll have to go buy a bigger pair.
Avery: No, Mama, I’ll wear them. I don’t want to hurt God’s feelings!

I love conversations like this! When I thought back on the whole ordeal, it made me realize that Avery taught me alot about God and prayer! She reminded me that the Lord wants us to come to him with childlike faith - realizing that He cares about the little things in our life, that He truly does hear our prayers, the He has the POWER to act, that He appreciates our persistence, that He will answer in His time, and that He wants us to be grateful to Him in the end. I'm just glad she didn't ask me why God didn't already know her shoe size!

No More Diapers for Brynn!!

HOORAY!!! I am no longer diapering 2 bottoms at the same time! Brynn decided that she was ready for big girl panties! (Yes, I've learned to let my children decide when they're ready, as opposed to frustrating the heck out of myself doing the "potty training" thing.) I tried to potty train Avery in a day, and I quit the same day! Then, a few months later, Avery told me "I'm ready to wear my panties, " and that was it! I decided to take the same approach with Brynn. She has been going to the potty every so often up until now, but in the last few days, it's become a regular thing. It's been interesting this go round with Avery being so involved in the process. She's Brynn's #1 cheerleader, standing right there peering into the toilet to see if Brynn was successful. Such a funny sight to see. Whatever happened to PRIVACY?

So, time to celebrate!!! We had a "No More Diapers for Brynn" party with a cake and candles and sang No More Diapers For You...to the tune of Happy Birthday! Brynn felt very important and special...like a BIG GIRL!!

I'm SICK of This!!

Well, since I last posted on our anniversary, we've had our share of sick kids! Avery's stomach virus turned out to be fine after about 12 hours. My parents kept all 3 kids for us to go out on New Year's Eve, and shortly after they brought them home, I was with Asa in the kitchen when he started throwing up. He threw up all over me while I tried to get him to the bathtub. I thought he was done, but he puked on me one MORE time before we both had to hop into the shower. Don't know how it is that I'm like some kind of puke magnet. I'm always holding them when it happens. Asa's bug only lasted about 12 hours too, but I had to take him to Dr. Vernon the next day for his ears. He's on his 4th round of antibiotics, and if these don't work, we'll be visiting the ENT center. Amazingly, no one else got sick until this past Wednesday when Avery started complaining again. The virus hit her for round 2 and then Asa started up again yesterday!! The second round, they both only threw up once, and luckily it wasn't on me this time. Avery did completely drench our sofa cushions though. At least my new sofa is scheduled to arrive NEXT week! She thinks we are getting a new sofa "because I throwded up on the old one!" (love that verb usage, don't you, Mom?) As of now, that's all from OUR house that have gotten sick, but I'm sorry to say that Grandpapa, Grandma Shirley and PaPa have each had it too in the last 2 days, compliments of my kids! Gotta hate that!!

Happy 12th Anniversary!

Our 12th anniversary was Sunday, and Mom and Papa kept the kids for us to have a nice relaxing weekend at home ALONE! It was wonderful to be able to sleep in, go out to dinner AND lunch, and just listen to peace and quiet for a change. On Saturday, Papa called and said Avery was complaining of a headache, and she wanted to come home. We figured she was just homesick, and she ended up feeling better that day. But she woke up in the middle of the night on Saturday night crying. By Sunday morning, she had a low fever, so they brought her home. As soon as she saw me, she started crying about her head. I held her for maybe 5 minutes, and she started saying her tummy hurt. Then she got this look on her face and I knew what was coming! She starting puking all over me. I was holding her while she threw up 4 times on me from the living room to the bathroom. Poor baby; it was so awful! We both hopped in the shower, while my WONDERFUL husband completely sanitized the bathroom and my parents cleaned up the mess in the living room. So, I spent my 12th anniversay taking care of a kid with the stomach virus. That night, instead of a romantic evening with my husband, it was Bryan, me and Avery in the bed. I told Bryan that night, this kindof typifies our life stage right now, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Happy Anniversay, baby! You're still the greatest husband in the world, and it is a joy sharing life with you!