Traditions and Toys

We love when our family gets to come visit, and last weekend we were excited to spend time with Gran, Papa, Uncle Brandon, Uncle J, Aunt K, Zoey and G-Pa the Great!

It's become a tradition now that when they're here, we eat dinner at Miller's Grocery in Christiana. It's an old train depot-turned-grocery-turned-restaurant that features old-fashioned, Southern food (fried catfish, meatloaf, corn nuggets, frog legs and Mississippi Mud), and live bluegrass music on Friday and Saturday nights.

Sheer. Happiness.

Zoey and Dawson were a little too excited about the music to eat.
Zoey was very ladylike and clapped along...
...while her alter-ego insisted upon becoming a table dancer. His mom was thrilled. Our waitresses comment was, "He's just so expressive!!" Uh-huh. That's the word.

Two of my favorite men...
We all had a good time. I hope we can do it again soon, seeing as how The Zohan is D-Word's favorite toy.

Until she comes back, he'll have to make do with the super-duper, handy-dandy, steal-of-a-deal $3 good-as-new portable snack stand that his daddy got him from the flea market.

No, I don't usually support the buying of toys at the flea market.

Seeing as how the word flea is involved.

But it was a hit. Especially after it was cleaned, Lysoled and disinfected.
You can pretend to grind ice to make slushies, fix snacks like pretzels and candy, and run a wee business with the built-in cash register!
"May I take your order?"
"I'll get that for you in just a second...I like to have a clean work space."
"Let me just grind the ice for you...did you say blueberry or cherry?"
"We take Visa, cash, debit or Goldfish."

"Thank you, Daddy...I love it!"

A little entrepreneur after his own heart.

It Only Took 26 Years For Me to Learn This

I wish I had something funny to say or tell you about, but right now, the best I can tell you is to have some tissue handy.

I am blessed enough to be a part of a womens' Bible study group that meets once a month. There are about 15 women in this group, all of which are Christians, moms and beautiful.

We're also a pretty honest group.

We've cracked up, shared stories, cried and learned with each other - even though, in reality, we don't know each other that well. Most of us go to different churches and work at different places, so God, our faith and our kids are what makes us similar.

We do a different study each semester, and right now we're doing Power of a Praying Parent.

If you are a parent, or want to be, or ever have been, you need to read this book.

It will make you think of your children differently, and of yourself as a parent differently.

And - most importantly - it will make you think of God differently.

Ever since Dawson was born, I have been overwhelmed at the amount of love I have for him. Even when he empties my wallet and hides my bank card in the bathroom cabinet, or when he shakes his juice cup so hard it sprays white grape stickiness all over my dress, I love that little boy more than myself.

Which is how God feels about me.

And you.

If I would have never had Dawson, I would have never fully understood that. But I did and now - finally - I do.

Which brings me to the Kleenex part.

There are parents who are losing children. Have lost them. Know they're going to lose them very soon. And they need your prayers.

Parents like The Maxeys. I can't even begin to tell you about their story or their faith because it's unbelievable. So please read it if you can, and pray for them as you do.


Parents like my aunt and uncle, who lost their baby daughter. It's hard for me to even wrap my mind around.

So when I'm at Bible study next time, thinking of asking the ladies to pray for me that I would have patience, I'll be asking them to pray for the parents that wish they had a child to test it.

And - no matter what you're doing today - do it knowing that there is an amazing Heavenly Father who loves you more than you can ever comprehend.

And still would even if you hid His bank card.

Fall-Out-Yo'-Chair Friday

This explains why evolution is wrong...



...right?



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I Was in Labor 13 Hours for This?

It's about to get real honest up in here.

My son - my precious, wonderful, happy, laid-back 19-month-old son - is turning into a hellian.

Help. Me.

Over the past, oh, I don't know - two weeks or so - some little monster comes and kidnaps my son, hides him in a closet somewhere, and tries to pass himself off as the sweet little munchkin I delivered.

Exhibit A:

And B:

It was dry-erase marker. And no, I did not give him the marker like a moron. To this day I cannot figure out how he got it.

However? In my house? What he destroys - he repairs.



I am told the next 8 to 12 months of my life are going to continue to get even more, um, interesting.

That's if I live that long.

Fall-Out-Yo'-Chair Friday

"Free at last, free at last! Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last!"

The Most Beautiful Little Girl I Have Ever Seen

Stop. Traffic.

This One's For the Girls

July has proven to be a very busy month for us!

Between days spent at the pool, trips to Chattanooga, selling our rental property (yay!), and celebrating birthdays and weddings, summer has flown by.

Most of all, I'm excited because the month has provided opportunities to spend time with some of my favorite girls.

Meagan and Megan helped me celebrate my birthday by taking me out to lunch and to get pedicures. I chose to eat at a place I'd never been - Jeff's. They serve homecooked, old-fashioned Southern food...my favorite. The sign outside their door says "Now serving chicken and waffles" if that tells you anything. :)
This is us and Jeff himself. I made a new friend...he even gave me free peach cobbler as my birthday present!

July also found me reuniting with old friends. Kendra, my suitemate from college, found myself and Meag on Facebook. We all lived together during our freshman year at MTSU. Kendra is HILARIOUS. She never fails to make me laugh. Kendra and I shared a bathroom (yes, she lived to tell about it), and would make us pancakes on Sunday mornings. She was also my fashion/makeup critique when I would anchor the newscast on MTSU's news channel. She would tell me if I looked fat, or if I needed to part my hair differently. Did I mention I love her?
We ate breakfast at City Cafe, a traditional spot in the 'Boro. I'm really proud of Kendra because she's going to law school soon.

Another girl I love dearly...my aunt Trisha. She celebrated her 50th birthday, and we drove down to Chattanooga for her party. We swam, had a cookout, cake and ice cream.


Upon our return from 'Nooga, I met up once again with The Galz at The Pottery Place. You paint your own pottery...from vases to plates to Christmas ornaments to miniature sand castles, you can create a work of art with all of their paints, stencils, tiles and stones. They fire it for you, and you pick it up a week later.

This is by far one of the funnest things we've done together...and it's also very relaxing. Lily was very intense as she painted her sand castle...

...and I got to teach her what a "turret" was. Yes, Meagan and Megan made fun of me for telling a 5-year-old to put polka-dots on her turrets, but it's never too early to help a child become a genius, is it?