A (slightly) traumatic Christmas Eve

            This Christmas Eve will forever go down as the one in which Drew tried to set my parent's living room on fire.  Within about a minute of opening a sweatshirt from my parents, the sweatshirt was a blaze as he had set it on a candle.  Yikes!  Definitely sounds more like something I would've done than Drew, who, like Mary Poppins, is practically perfect in every way.  He's very observant and rarely careless.  Saturday I lost my keys for two hours and they were discovered on top of my mom's car that she had been driving ALL OVER TOWN!  That, for example, is not something Drew would ever do.  In fairness to him, he was trying to hold on to a 19  month old who was singing the Wonder Pets theme at the top of his lungs while playing with his new Wonder Pets steering wheel, fending off the big sister who kept snatching it away, and also opening a present.  I, for one, can certainly understand how you might become distracted while dealing with two young, wiggly, loud children.  Happens to me daily.  Besides, Drew would like me to point out, that this is the first time he can ever recall my mom lighting candles and placing them on that table.  Probably will be the last year she ever does, too.  :)  I was busy videotaping (though, sadly, set the camera down shortly before discovering the fire).  Drew feels really bad about burning the shirt, but it could've been worse.  He could've burned the crocs that he really likes, one of the kids' toys, his own shirt, a cat, etc.  The fire was put out quickly, but still will remain A Christmas Story moment for us. 
             Speaking of A Christmas Story, Evangeline caught about a thirty second glimpse of it tonight and it just happened to be the scene where the little boy gets his tongue stuck to a pole.  I walked in the living room as she was jumping up and down and screaming to my dad, "Scary! Scary!  No! No!  Turn it off!"  Of course, dad couldn't get the remote to work immediately, so she continued to scream.  When he finally did get the channel changed it was to wrestling.  Probably not much better.  She was effectively traumatized by the whole event and kept periodically crying throughout the rest of the night, worrying that her tongue, or Trey's tongue, might get stuck on something.  We are trying to use the experience as a hygiene lesson: "This is why you don't lick things, honey."  I feel confident that she will be keeping her tongue to herself for a while! 
                Now our babies are snuggled up in their beds, waiting for Santa to stop by.  We read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Matthew tonight and it made me really, really thankful for Luke.  Can you imagine what our Christmas traditions would be like with only Matthew?  Mark and John have nothing to work with as it is.  Would we even know how they got to Bethlehem, and why? 
                 Thankful for the opportunity to celebrate Christ's birth with my family today and tomorrow, and praying that the weather won't be that terrible!

Funny Times at Christmas

                  Evangeline's Christmas list is growing.  For the longest time she has only asked for three things from Santa: a baby doll, diaper for her baby, and a candy cane.  We splurged and bought her a box of candy canes.  This past week she added a purple sweater.  I guess she really liked the purple sweater Audrey was wearing a few weeks ago.  She's also added strawberry drink, purple gum, and tonight, vegetables.  Huh?  Drew asked her what kind of vegetables she wanted.  Broccoli?  No, that's not a vegetable.  I don't like that.  Carrots?  No, don't like those.  Squash?  Not a vegetable.  Okay then, what kind of vegetables do you want?  Vegetables like turkey.  Alrighty.  We explained to her that, first of all, turkey was not a vegetable, and second she only told Santa about three other things so that's all he knows to bring her.  She seemed satisfied with that response.
                    Trey's three things are an LOL Elmo, a talking Chuck the Truck, and another box of candy canes (Diego ones!).  He'd be perfectly satisfied with a toothbrush, I'm pretty sure.  Trey loves to brush his teeth, but hates putting the toothbrush back down.  So, I just let him tote it around until he forgets about it.  Well, that strategy caused us to lose his Diego brush the other day, so he's been using an extra one that Evangeline hadn' t used yet.  This morning he was wondering around with that brush and then suddenly had both brushes.  Don't know where the Diego one had been hiding.  A few minutes later, he came to me very distressed and said, "Mama I stuck!!!"  I asked him how was he stuck and to show me.  Next thing I knew he joined me in the kitchen holding the floor vent cover from our bedroom in which both his toothbrushes were now stuck.  "Stuck!"  Yep, they were stuck!  I unstuck them and, for the record, we didn't brush his teeth tonight because both his toothbrushes are in desperate need of sanitization. 
                     Evangeline informed me tonight that HER toothbrush needed batteries.  Apparently hers doesn't "work," like her cousin Avonlea's works. 
                     We enjoyed a very nice Christmas Eve Eve looking at Christmas lights and then picking up take-out and bringing it home for a relaxing meal.  I loved listening to the kids sing Christmas songs.  Trey's favorite is "Bingle Bells" and tonight he sang "Bingle Bell Bock" for us.  Super cute.  He also sang the second verse of Away in a Manger for Drew at bedtime.  I am amazed at how much he speaks and sings! 
                       Looking forward to more wonderful, and funny, Christmas memories the next few days!

Christmas Letter 2012

Counting Our Blessings in 2012

AnnabelleWe are thrilled to be expecting baby #3 (Annabelle Margaret) around the end of January. Evangeline can’t wait until her baby sister is here, and talks to her every night through Mommy’s belly button. Trey is pretty much clueless that he’s going to be a big brother soon; what a surprise he has in store! He has enjoyed being the baby!
Trey- Three words to describe one-and-a-half year old Trey are Daredevil, Entertainer, and Mama’s Boy. He can and will climb anything and loves being swung around in the air upside down by his Daddy. He makes us laugh all the time by trying to balance various objects on his head. He’s funny and he knows it! Trey has an advanced vocabulary for his age, and is even putting together several sentences, most of which involve food, such as, “I need ketchup,” and, “I want candy.” Trey is never too far from his monkey blanket and pacifier, “papi,” and is completely obsessed with fruit snacks. Emily is enjoying the opportunity to be home with him every day.
Evangeline- Almost three year old Evangeline has quite a personality! She is super outgoing, very good with names, and will hug a complete stranger if allowed. She recently adopted her first security objects: a doll named Baby Moses and a stuffed cat she calls Baby Jaguar. She began taking ballet and tap this year and loves practicing her “p.a.’s.” We have “school” at home three days a week, and she enjoys learning her letters and is starting to learn to write her name. She is so excited for Christmas and has asked Santa Claus for three things: a baby doll, a diaper for her baby, and a candy cane. We are having so much fun watching our sweet little girl grow up!
Blue Bell and Edy- Our dog and cat who are so good with the kids (the cat has come a long way!).
Family- Our parents, Drew’s sister’s family, and Drew’s grandparents all live close by. We are thankful to be able to raise our children so close to our family.
Church Family and Ministry Opportunities- What a wonderful church family the Lord has blessed us with! We have been so excited to see the Lord working at First Baptist Marion this past year and a half. Emily is active in the children’s ministry and recently led the children’s choir in a musical called The Tale of Three Trees. Drew, as pastor, is of course always busy with the many opportunities to serve in our church and community.
Fellowship with Friends- Emily attends a weekly Bible Study at a church close by that offers free childcare. What a blessing! She also serves on the steering team for our local Mother’s of Preschoolers (MOPS). Drew enjoys weekly fellowship with local pastors and also plays ping pong once a week with a group of Christian men.
Travel opportunities- We took a family vacation this August to Jackson and Memphis. The Memphis Zoo was a hit, along with Mud Island, Yogi Bear Park, and the Mississippi Braves baseball game. Emily and the kids spent a week in Ft. Myers, Florida with her family in June. In July, Emily and Trey took a trip to Great Falls, Montana for a few days to spend time with close friends.

We are very fortunate, and our blessings endless, but the most important blessing of all

is a personal relationship with our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), whose birthday we celebrate this time of year.

Lucky Little Kitty

One of our traditions when we go walking in our neighborhood for the past month and a half is to visit two little kittens who live next door to our nursery worker, Mrs. Mary, and around the block from us.  Their owner has been trying to find them a home, with still no takers.  She always teases me asking when I want them.

Today Mrs. Mary watched Evangeline and Trey while Drew and I worked on the Space Party.  I went over to the house to check on things and noticed a strange (as in not Edy) cat under her car parked in my driveway. As I got closer the kitten walked towards me and started purring as I picked her up.  She looked a lot like my little kitty friends from around the block.  I wondered if their owner had finally brought me one!

I then began to wonder if that kitty had traveled in Mrs. Mary's car up to my house.  It sure looked like the same kitten.  And, I've never seen any other cats hanging around my house.  Blue Bell seemed to recognize this kitty too, which was odd. 

I drove the kitten up to it's "home" and counted and there was only one kitten there!  The other kitten came up to us and started meowing something that sounded a whole lot like, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?  I TOLD YOU YOU WERE GOING TO GET IN TROUBLE" to the lost kitty.  I returned the kitty and she happily ran over to her food and water bowl and then laid down in her usual spot. 

How lucky is that cat?  The day she decides to "car surf" the vehicle happens to be traveling to someone's house who knows her and knows where she lives!  I think this is the same kitten that got hit by a car last week and is showing absolutely no signs of injury today.  She is one lucky little kitty!

Mistaken Identities

Evangeline is really good with names.  Like, really really good.  I'm pretty sure that there are adults at our church who could identify fewer people by name than Evangeline can and she's two.  Not knocking FBC Marion in any way.  It's a super sweet congregation with tons of fellowship and love for one another.  And, Evangeline knows almost everyone.

So, it was only a matter of time before she started calling Drew, "Brother Drew."  I think it's hilarious.  Drew hates it.  She also calls him just plain ole "Drew" but in a condescending kinda voice that sounds a lot like me.  Not sure where she picked up on that. :)

In slightly related news, I was brushing Evangeline's teeth earlier and she started to have a total meltdown.  As in screaming and trying to bite me.  I looked down and was using Trey's toothbrush.  Ooops!  Now she knows how it feels as I've chased her around the house with my toothbrush in her mouth on more than one occasion. 

Trey just said, "Edy" very clearly.  I'm thrilled.  Drew, not as much.  He could definitely do without that cat and isn't crazy about how big of cat lovers his two children are turning into.  They have Snowden in there blood, after all. 

Outsmarted

Happy Mother's Day!  Today we ate lunch at McAlister's for the third week in a row.  Since learning that both ministers and children eat free on Sundays, we have been going there a lot!  And today mothers got a free dessert!  So our family (us plus Drew's parents and sister's family) ended up getting two free adult meals, three free kids meals, and three free desserts.  We (or Drew's dad) paid for four adult meals.  Pretty good deal!

All was well with Evangeline until she saw my mom's free cheesecake.  Without doubt, Ev's favorite food is cake.  She's never had cheesecake before, but it looked an awful lot like cake, and had the word cake in it, so she wanted some.  But, she wasn't done with her mac and cheese.  Unlike cousin Elizabeth, Evangeline rarely eats all her food. 

We told Evangeline that she could have a bite of cake when she ate some more of her mac and cheese.  And then the power struggle began.  For a good ten minutes the four of us (me, my mom, Drew's mom, and Kelly) held firm: no cake until a bite of mac and cheese. Ev cried.  Whined.  Pouted. Pushed away her bowl.

Then Drew came back to the table with a piece of cheesecake and immediately gave her a bite.  I was horrified!  Drew is more stubborn than Evangeline (and anyone else I know!) and he always wins the "finish eating this before that" battle at suppertime.  WHAT was he thinking?

After her first bite, Ev immediately wanted, "more, please."  Drew said, "take one bite of macaroni."  She quickly shoved some in her mouth.  Another bite of cheesecake.  Now, two bites of macaroni.  Before we knew it, half her mac and cheese was gone! 

So, who outsmarted whom?

Cuddle-Free Zone

     Every day I am amazed at the differences in my two children.  Evangeline was walking at one year almost as well as she does now.  While Trey took his first steps two months ago, he still won't take more than about six steps at a time before he decides he'd rather just crawl.  I'm pretty sure that Trey says more words at almost one than Evangeline did when she was his age.  He can clearly say Mama, Dada, Blue Bell, ball, Edy, and his favorite, "Uh oh."  I've also heard him say "Hey" and "Thank you" a few times.  Who knows when he'll catch on to "Evangeline."

     Their sleep behaviors are what make me laugh the most.  Trey is a snuggler.  He loves his monkey blanket more than anything.  We just set up his "Scout" that he technically got for Christmas today, so I placed it in bed with him tonight (the first time he's ever had a stuffed animal in bed with him other than the monkey blanket).  He snuggled right up to it, with his arm curled around his monkey blanket.  So sweet.

      Evangeline, in contrast, does NOT like stuffed animals in bed with her.  Earlier tonight she was playing and put a few baby dolls in her bed and covered them up.  When Daddy tucked her in he left the baby dolls in bed.  A few minutes later we heard her crying.  I sneaked up to her door to listen and heard her say, "Get out, baby!" followed by a loud THUD.  Her bed is a cuddle-free zone for sure!

      Drew just asked what I was blogging about.  I told him "the differences in our children."  He pointed out that one's a boy and one's a girl.  Thanks, honey!  I'm sure that the gender difference will become a factor in the years to come as well!

Don't Eat My Cheesepuffs!

We had an eventful lunch today.  As the kids were eating and I was cooking green beans, suddenly giant flames began to shoot from underneath the pan.  At least 10 inches.  I panicked.  I know exactly where our fire extinguisher was in Henleyfield, but in the short 2 seconds I considered trying to put the fire out myself, I couldn't recall where ours was.  My only thought was to get my babies out of that house ASAP.

So, I gathered up the kids and the dog, thought briefly about the cat and remembered she was already outside, and hurried out the back door.  Drew was over at the church hanging out with Mr. Ray Cantrell who just so happens to be a firefighter.  Pretty lucky, I thought.  He is even driving his Marion Fire and Rescue Truck today.

After what seemed like FOREVER, Drew picked up the phone and I instructed him to "come home right now."  One good thing about having Drew work so close by is that he IS so close.  I've called him home on numerous occasions to inspect injuries, unstick my van, etc, but I think this is the first fire I called him to put out.  I was also thinking about Ray. 

Drew ran home fast, followed close behind by Ray.  As they flew by, Evangeline shouted to Mr. Ray, "Don't eat my cheespuffs!!!!"  Someone needs to straighten out her priorities. :)

The flames had died down by the time they got to the house and I was thankful that there was at  least a tiny bit of smoke so they didn't think I was totally crazy.  Turns out I just need to clean my grease trap.  And I will, cause other than the cheespuff comment, that was no fun! 

P.S. Evangeline ended up feeding her cheespuffs to Blue Bell anyway.  Guess she was saving them for her?

God is working in Marion

I love Marion.  To be honest, for a long time I've been scared to say that.  Scared of hurting all of my Henleyfield friends who I also love very much.  I definitely left a piece of my heart in Henleyfield.  But, I know know know that Marion is where we are suppose to be.  And I've fallen in love with this little neighborhood. 

Nearly every day I go walking up and down my streets with my double stroller and dog.  I have gotten to know my neighborhood very well.  I walk around and pray and search for people to invite to church.  Nothing excites me more than being able to invite someone to church and we have been praying since we got here for opportunities. 

The week before Easter Drew and I passed out a bunch of flyers and met many people in our community.  And several came to our Easter activities, which was thrilling.  I see God at work and am just so excited and encouraged by it! 

There have been several families with children that we have met and been praying for.  One family joined our church Palm Sunday and their oldest daughter was baptized Easter Sunday! 

There's another family that lives close by whose kids are always playing outside.  Evangeline loves them.  She prays for them every night and is always asking us where they are.  In fact, when I told her they were at school, she said she wanted to go to school, too.  The little girl has been to church a few times.

A few days ago we met a mother and two young children who had recently moved in.  The mother mentioned that the little kids use to ride a van to another church at their old house.  Today I stopped by and asked if they wanted to come to TeamKid tonight and I could just walk over and get them.  The mother said okay, and I prayed all afternoon that they would actually be there to come to church when I went back and got them.

At 6:40 Evangeline and I walked over to pick them up.  I realized half way there that it was a mistake bringing her b/c she wanted me to hold her the whole time and she is a heavy chick!  Anyway, a lady I hadn't met answered the door and told me that the woman and children had left to go to her mother's because their washing machine had broken.  I was disappointed, but at least encouraged that she had specifically left a message for me. 

Evangeline and I walked back over to the church and were met with a crowd of children.  After averaging four kids at TeamKid for the first several months we were here, you can see why we were so excited to have had 16 kids there tonight!  And, four of our "regulars" weren't there.  If you add the two other kids who were doing laundry, that's 22 kids.  Wow!  God is blessing us for sure!

We decided a few weeks back to do an Easter lesson tonight since church Wednesday was cancelled due to our Maundy Thursday service.  Tammy did Resurrection cookies, we did an Easter craft, and I did the Resurrection eggs (a preschool and grade school version).  The awesome thing about the resurrection eggs are that they present the plan of salvation really well. 

By the end of our lesson I was blessed with the chance to pray with two girls to accept Christ.  And they both poured out their heart to me, confessing sins to me and telling me about some really deep hurts in their families.

In my ladies' Bible Study we talked about how sometimes you pray for something but what you're praying for isn't what really what needs to happen.  It struck me tonight that had those two other children come, I would've had to immediately take them home and not have been able to pray with the other girls.  God knows what He's doing.  And, I'm excited to be in the middle of it here.  If you're reading this, please say a prayer for Marion.  Pray for the many unchurch families in this area.  And, pray for these two sweet new believers. 

Jackson Trip

We had a really great weekend visiting my dad (Granddaddy Snow Snow, or otherwise know as simply "Snow Snow" or "No No" or even "Nos Snow") at his condo in Jackson.  Our primary purpose in going was to attend the first ever Speaker of the House/Lieutenant Governor's Easter Egg Hunt, but we also wanted to squeeze in a few fun things, as well.

Friday evening me, my mom, and my kids headed to Jackson.  We met dad at Jason's Deli and I was reminded of how much I like that place.  It always makes me think of Waco, and my friends Dayna and Kevin (who just moved to China!) for some reason.  I guess we ate there a lot.  I liked it because it was Weight Watchers friendly.  Trey liked it because there were crackers on the salad bar.  Evangeline, of course, liked the ice cream. 

I had a pretty rough night at the condo, which was to be expected.  I just don't enjoy sharing a room with either of my children ever.  Trey was in the pack n play next to me and coughed and fidgeted ALL NIGHT LONG.  I eventually moved to the couch, then back to the bedroom b/c Trey was crying and I had to nurse, then to tuck Evangeline back in, then back to the couch, back to tuck Evangeline in, back to the bedroom.  That's what I mean by 'rough night.'  I heard Evangeline and my mom up pretty early and then later discovered that Evangeline had escaped her pack n play in the office (which was also to be expected) and was kinda roaming around my dad's condo. 

Both kids enjoyed exploring the place, so much so that I was eager to get them outta there as quickly as possible!  Dad and I took the kids to the zoo, while mom ran a few errands.  My dad has a zoo pass, so we hope to go there a lot this summer.  This time last year my mom and I took Evangeline to the zoo.  I have to say that I had a much easier time this year.  Last year I was eight months pregnant and walking around took a lot out of me.  It was much easier now that the baby is out! 

Evangeline had fun, but did seem to act a little afraid of some of the animals.  Mainly the monkeys.  She also did not like the Tamirs and the Wart Hogs (they weren't quite wart hogs, but they were some kinda hoggy things).  Maybe they just got too close to the fence for her and she's afraid they would get her?  She LOVED the alligators and was thrilled to see four baby gators swimming in the pond.  She also really liked the flamingos. 

Trey was super easy going.  He enjoyed looking at the turtles and the giraffes the best.  It was so funny seeing his face when he first saw the giraffe. 

Poor Evangeline tripped over Snow Snow's foot and got her first real scraped knee.  And, eleven hours later, it is still a big deal.  She freaked out at bath time when it got wet.  Poor baby. 

We met Carrie for lunch at Mazzio's which was fun except that I was not going to pay $9.99 for a buffet when all I wanted was two pieces of pizza even if it did come with a drink and even if Evangeline did get to eat free.  So, I ordered a small pizza for $6.00.  No problem except that it took forever for them to bring it to me.  Being on a diet is miserable to start with but being on a diet and having to sit and watch other people eat pizza while patiently waiting for your food is really bad.  My mom was finished and ready to go before mine ever came.  :(  The price I pay to diet.  I told my mom that I got a Bravo star at Weight Watchers for going to Christy's wedding last week and not eating any cake and she said that she'd MUCH rather have a piece of wedding cake than a Bravo star.  Supportive, huh?

We were afraid that the wait at Mazzio's would make us late for the egg hunt, but we showed up in plenty of time.  It was a very nice event with fun jumps, face painting, an Easter bunny, real bunnies to take pictures with, and yummy snacks.  Evangeline loved holding the little bunny and Trey enjoyed his first ever cupcake (or the icing, at least). 

When it came time to hunt the eggs, Evangeline was a little bratty.  She went around picking up the eggs, opening them, and then if she didn't want what was inside, she just threw it back down.  I eventually figured out that she was specifically looking for eggs that contained skittles. 

My children blessed me with a quiet ride on the way home and we arrived just in time for our Sunday school grill-out party that was,  yes, at our house.  I am super thankful to my wonderful wonderful wonderful (hi, honey!) husband who got everything ready while I was gone.  When I asked him if we could go to Jackson, he was practically giddy responding yes.  He enjoyed the weekend by having a Friday night steak and then playing tennis with Corrie Saturday morning. 

I had so much fun having our friends over!  I am very thankful for all the friendships we have made here in Marion!  I am already looking forward to the next time we all get together for Italian night! 

Praying for a good night's sleep tonight!  At least Trey is down the hall and both my kids are pretty worn out.

Spring cleaning, lost keys, and a stump..... oh my!

Yesterday was a good example of how trying to do too much can get you into trouble.  Spring hit with a wham and suddenly I realized that it was HOT outside and my poor children were still wearing long sleeve shirts.  So, even though I was organizing a Team Kid fun night, had a photo session scheduled at Sears for both my kids, and desperately needed a trip to Wal-mart, I decided it would also be a good day to reorganize my children's clothes.  Actually, I didn't so much decide to do it as felt like I was forced into it by all the nice, but hot, weather that was just not compatible with our wardrobes. 

Thank goodness my mom is off for Spring Break!  She came with me to Sears and took Evangeline to Cici's while Trey and I shopped at Wal-mart.  Our Sears pictures were just okay.  Not nearly as good as the ones of Trey we took two weeks ago.  Here's a hint as to why: the guy who took our pictures yesterday was there for an interview two weeks ago when we got Trey's pictures made.  He was nice enough, but I'm confident that I could've gotten some better shots than him.  At least Evangeline is no longer afraid of the big flash, so she didn't freak out like she did at her two year pictures.  More positives are that I easily stayed in my budget since the pictures weren't so great and the newbie accidentally ordered me an extra page of wallets that I did not have to pay for but apparently will still recieve. 

I got home and for once both kids went down easily for naps.  They've been having difficulty (especially Evangeline) since Daylight Savings Time.  I should've known it was too good to be true.  I had plenty of time to put all the clothes that were stacked in various baskets and boxes throughout my house into some of the empty tubs that were in our shed.  I jumped in my van and headed to the shed to load up some tubs when Wham!  I hit something.  My first, sinking, thought was that it was Blue Bell.  Too scared to look under the van for a dead dog, I ran back to the house to see if she was there.  She was lying comfortably on the living room floor.  Whew!  Edy was hanging around so I knew she was not the victim either.  Then I realized that my van was stuck.  Like, really stuck.  Really really stuck.  I called Drew.  No answer.  I texted Drew to call me ASAP.  When he finally arrived we discovered that I had hit a stump.

Now, in my defense, you couldn't see this stump at all because the grass is really grown up around it.  And, since Drew isn't writing this blog, I won't point out any of his reasons for why I should've easily been able to avoid that stump.

Drew spent awhile trying to get my van unstuck and then finally called Mr. David- the man who can do anything- to come and help.  When I say he can do anything, I mean it.  Since we have moved to Marion he has built us bathroom cabinets (he's a master at cabinetry), fixed our hot water heater, made us a turkey for Thanksgiving, a ham for Christmas, baked the best dessert I have ever eaten called California pie (okay, tied for the best ever with Tammy's lemon cookies, Jody's Bakery iced sugar cookies, and Carolyn's Creation's cheesecake.... I like desserts, can't you tell?), built the church a soft serve ice cream machine and then made us ice cream for Evangeline's party.  How this man has stayed single I have no clue.  Anyway, after an hour and a half Drew and Mr. David managed to unstuck my van.  Next time I'm just going to call Mr. David directly.  I'll probably get just as much grief, but in a little nicer way.

Because Drew was busy unstucking my van, and because, unfortunately, the place the van was stuck was Blue Bell's potty spot, I knew Drew would not be able to pick up our pizzas for the Team Kid pizza party. So, I called my mom, my second hero of the day, to once again come to the rescue and watch my kids while I ran to Cici's.  When I dropped the pizzas off at the church we already had one family there.  They had misread the bulletin and come an hour early.  Their granddaughter had been to Vacation Bible the past few summers, but Sunday was their first official time to visit the church.  So, naturally, I asked them to help me clear out some tables and put them straight to work!  They are really hard workers and I am very thankful they came early! 

We had a great fun night with sixteen kids at church.  The only mishap was a lost tooth.  I teased Maggie telling her that she lost her tooth twice!  The first time it fell out of her mouth.  The second, it accidentally got thrown in the garbage.  I hated for the poor child not to get any tooth fairy money :) so we dug through the trash and Mrs. Sherry came out with the tooth! 

The tooth was not the only thing to be lost.  Somewhere in the process of cleaning up I borrowed Drew's church keys.  I really, REALLY, thought I had returned them to him but a while later he asked me for them.  They weren't in my pockets.  I searched the entire building.  No keys.  By the end of the night, everyone was searching.  As a pastor, Drew feels like it is important for him to have keys to the church and his office, etc.  I agree. But, the keys were lost.  After we went home and put the kids to bed I went back to the Family Life Center and searched again.  By this point, I was kinda feeling like our marriage was at stake (just kidding, but I certainly was testing it!). I dug through another trash can with no luck.  Finally, I came home and recieved a lecture on how I never give Drew his keys back when I borrow them which is, sadly, true. 

Two guesses as to who found the keys first thing this morning?  Yep, the man who can do anything.  I don't know why we didn't call him last night!  I'm just glad Drew has his keys!  I think I need to put Mr. David's number on speed dial. 

Don't Drink and Drive

March 6, 1994 is a day I will never, ever forget.  That Sunday morning I was finishing up a retreat with my youth group at Lake Forest Ranch.  I had had a really good weekend on one of my first youth trips.  I spent a lot of time playing tennis and thought that I might like to start taking lessons.  Also, that morning, while on a walk around the lake, I'd seen a deer.  I got very excited and thought, "I wish I could see Granny Gay so I could tell her about this deer!"  Spotting deer was something that Granny Gay enjoyed doing with all her grandkids.  Every year we would go to Guntersville State Park and count how many deer we saw.  I was definitely brought up in an anti-hunting family!  Later that evening I felt guilty for ever wishing I would see Granny that day!

That afternoon we took our dog, Freckles, on a walk by the creek.  Katie caused Freckles to jump up and I got a bad scratch on my leg.  I yelled at Katie for causing me to get scratched on my leg.  Felt bad about that later, too.

I went to church early that evening because we had youth choir practice.  My mom and sister would be coming later for church and then to take me home, something we did every Sunday night.  I remember glancing up in the sanctuary from the choir loft and noticing that they weren't there yet.  I didn't think too much of it.  They were either late, or had decided just to come get me and not go to church.  Something had come up.

Towards the end of the service, I felt a tap on my shoulder.  One of the ushers motioned for me to come to the back of the sanctuary.  "What did he need with me?" I wondered.  One of my neighbors was standing at the back (front) of the church.  It was my friend Ramey's mom.  Our pastor was also there, having just given the invitation.  Mrs. Rush explained that my mom and sister had been in a "little fender bender" and she was taking me to the hospital to see them.  She was lying.  It was more than a "little fender bender," but I am grateful today that she sugar-coated it so much.  Her sister was also with her.  Apparently her sister had come by her house and said that she'd driven by a wreck and thought it was a familiar car, one of their neighbors.  They immediately drove out to the scene, only a few miles away.  They found out the details and saw off the ambulance.  They were even there when my dad happened upon the scene.  He's who told them where I was and asked them to go get me.  As we drove to the hospital, my first clue that this was worse than I had been led to believe was when I found out they were at Riley hospital.  Longer story than I'll go into, but I knew that my mom would have never gone to Riley's on her own, though I will add that Riley did a wonderful job taking care of them during their stay. 

When we arrived in the ER waiting room my dad, Grandmama, Granddaddy, Uncle Shag, and Aunt Mary were all there, among a few others.  I remember my dad being on the phone a lot.  He'd called my mom's parents to give them updates.  Sammy Bill and Granny Gay were unfortunate to have had all three of their children in car accidents involving drunk drivers and this was sadly familiar for them. My dad had been so upset talking to them that he'd told them that it was mom and me, not Katie, in the accident.  When they asked on the phone how I was, he said, "fine! She's standing right here! But Katie's got a broken leg." 

For the most part, Katie was okay.  Her major injury was a broken femur and she was in a lot of pain.  When I arrived at the hospital my mom was upstairs getting tests run.  Her injuries were more serious.  She suffered a blow-out fracture to the face.  Her doctor said it was like getting hit in the eye with a line drive.  She also had a broken ankle, hip (I think), and tons of cuts and bruises. 

Everyone kept asking me if I was okay and trying to comfort me.  My Aunt Mary bought me pretzels from the vending machine.  I was wearing a long sleeve hunter green shirt and khaki shorts.  People kept rubbing my legs and I was embarrassed because I hadn't shaved all weekend. 

I was allowed to go into the ER to see Katie.  By that point her third grade teacher, Mrs. Stewart, had arrived.  Katie's leg was in a sling and she was in a gown.  Her cute little leopard outfit had been cut in two.  Katie complained about her foot being cold and Mrs. Stewart took off her own sock and placed it on Katie's foot.  I felt guilty for not thinking of that.  Afterall, I was her sister.  But, I have remembered that moment so many times as a teacher.  I want to be the kind of teacher who will give the socks off her feet to one of her students! 

I didn't get to see my mom until many hours later in the ICU.  By that time, Sammy and Granny had arrived.  I'd forgotten all about wanting to tell her about the deer.  My mom was really really swollen and in obvious, severe pain.  And there was nothing I could do. 

There was never a moment where I thought they may not make it and I can credit Mrs. Rush for that one.  I always thought that it was "just a fender bender" and they'd be fine.  Thankfully, I was right. 

That night we got home and discovered that Katie's hamster, Dizzy, had escaped from his cage.  I told Granny, "I am NOT going back to that hospital and telling my sister her hamster is gone!"  Granny said, "I am NOT sleeping in this room with that hamster out of its cage."  We found Dizzy under the bed and I don't think I ever told Katie he'd gotten out. 

The next day I went to school.  Big mistake.  I learned that if there is ever a tragic family event, it's a good idea to keep kids out of school the next day.  I spent the entire day crying.  Everyone knew about the wreck.  It had happened on a major road in North Meridian, right in front of The Landing restaurant.  Traffic had been blocked for a while.  Everyone knew and everyone knew it was my mom and my sister. Even those who meant well and would say, "I'm so sorry!!" would make me cry.  I was thankful that my English teacher pulled me out of Social Studies to check on me.  We sat in the courtyard and talked and she even bought me a Sprite out of the drink machine in the teacher's lounge, which I didn't drink because I was so upset. 

We spent the next month driving back and forth to the hospital.  My mom came home in ten days, but because Katie had pins in her leg, she had to stay five weeks.  She got tons and tons and tons of gifts in the first few weeks.  Then, Easter came and she got more stuffed bunny rabbits than you'd ever imagine.  Granny and I made sure that the Easter bunny would come visit her in the hospital! 

The ladies of First Baptist Meridian did a fantastic job providing meals for our family.  For six straight weeks we had a meal every single night. 

Sammy and Granny stayed with us a long time.  That's how I got my first alarm clock; Sammy bought it for me, tired of having to wake me up like my mom always had. 

We learned from witnesses that a drunk driver had swerved into my mom's lane and hit them head-on.  Thank goodness they were in a van, or the impact could have easily killed them.  My family does not drink.  And after this, we certainly never have.  Drinking and driving hurts people.  The effects are felt even eighteen years later.  My mom's eye has never been the same.  But, my mom and Katie were lucky.  They survived!  Please, if you drink, don't drive! 
 

Things that make me SMH

        I have a confession.  I am not very up-to-date on the latest text/FB lingo.  For a while I would see people make a comment followed by "smh," such as, "Just went outside and it's still raining.  SMH."  I always intepreted that to mean, "Just went outside and it's still raining smmmmuh" cause I had no clue what smh stood for.  Finally, I googled it and aha, it means "shaking my head."  Makes sense.  Hopefully I have enlightened someone who has also been wondering what that means!
        Living with a two year old there are a lot of things that she does that cause me to "shake my head."  For the past three days she has been asking to wear her "kitty shirt."  Technically, her kitty shirt is a Valentine's shirt, but since it's still February (til tomorrow!  Happy Leap Year) we have continued wearing it.  The past three days I've had to explain that she couldn't wear the kitty shirt because it was dirty.  Yesterday I did laundry, so today I said, "Evangeline!  Guess what!  You get to wear your kitty shirt today." She burst into tears and said, "kitty shirt DIRTY!  No No DIRTY."  I finally got her to calm down so that I could explain that I washed it and it was now CLEAN!  SMH....
        Often we have a breakdown in communication, but sometimes the things Evangeline says are perfectly clear and I'm just not listening.  At lunch today she said, "Mama!  Blue Bell spaghetti nose!"  I turned around to see that, yep, Blue Bell did in fact have a piece of spaghetti on her nose.  That's what you get for begging too close to a toddler as she eats.  The other day Evangeline kept telling me she wanted a "goldfish bowl."  I had no clue what she was asking for but later discovered she wanted a bowl of goldfish.  One would think that would've been obvious, but she's never referred to goldfish as "goldfish" (it use to just be "shish") and never asked for a bowl of them before.  SMH...
        The only person in our house more stubborn that Evangeline is her Daddy.  I overheard a conversation the other night as they read her Dora Birthday book.  Drew:  Say, "We did it!"  Ev: "I did it!" Drew: "No, WE did it."  Ev: I did it!  Drew: YOU didn't do it!  WE did it.  Ev: I did it.  (Repeat about 10 times).  Drew finally won that battle. SMH....
         He also reported to me a battle over peas and meatloaf.  Evangeline wanted, "more meat" but Drew told her she had to first eat a pea.  She kept pretending to eat a pea.  Then, she would put the pea in her mouth, spit it out, and squish it on the table.  Finally Drew made her eat a pea. Then, she ate several more peas and no longer wanted any meatloaf!  SMH...
         Everytime Evangeline sees a capital "E" she says, "Dr. Wilson!"  The only thing I can figure out is that she remembers seeing an eye chart in his office.  We are going there today for Trey's nine month check-up.  Our conversation this morning went something like this" Me: Today we are going to go see Dr. Wilson for Trey!  Ev: No!  Scary shot!  Me:  No, you won't need a scary shot!  Ev: Sucker?  SMH...  I am going to notice if they have one of those eye charts, though.
          Last night I made a cake for Bible study.  I noticed Drew helping himself to a big piece and "got on to him" for eating my Bible study cake.  He said that he thought I made it just because.  Just because what?  Just because I started Weight Watchers this week and decided I'd celebrate by making a cake?  Drew said he didn't know it was for Bible study and really didn't care; He was eating a piece anyway.  SMH.... By the way, I saved him a piece afterwards and no one cared that a chunk was missing!   
          I celebrated that Trey is getting his first two teeth this week.  No clue why I celebrated because I should've known that it meant several nights of him getting up screaming at 2:00.  It's kind of sweet though how he cuddles up next to me.  It makes me miss him waking in the middle of the night to nurse (just a little bit).  SMH.....

Scratch Cracker Barrel off the list

Every Friday night we meet my parents for dinner.  It's really nice especially now that my dad is in Jackson during the week and we don't get to see him very much (though more than when we lived in Pearl River County).  Two weeks ago we went to Cracker Barrel and had a great time.  In and out no problems.  Tonight, not so much.  You know it's a pretty bad eating experience when you're at a restaurant for nearly two hours and still don't get a chance to eat!

First off, they told us it'd be a 10 minute wait.  Ten minutes turned into 35 before we got inside.  After we were seated and ordered our drinks (which took a good bit longer than usual) we waited and waited and waited.  We finally asked for some cornbread and biscuits because Evangeline was clearly getting hungry.  An hour after we first sat down we got all of our food (including the bread).  Evangeline scarffed a few bites down quickly then promptly started throwing up!  She has a problem where she throws up occasionally at meals and it is compounded by her eating quickly which she did tonight because it was 7:30 and we'd been there a long time!! 

Drew caught the puke and therefore lost any kind of appetite he may have had.  So, we loaded up into three to go boxes and headed out the door as quickly as we could.  Oh, and I asked for my tea to go and was told they didn't have any at the moment.  :( 

Drew said that we're running out of places that we can go eat in Meridian.  Pretty much La Pinata and Western Sizzlin are all that's left.

The only bright spot to the evening was that I randomly ran into one of my former co-workers from PRC, Martha Cox.  I had one those, "that really really looks like [Mrs. Cox]" moments and even texted Joni to ask her why Mrs. Cox would be in Meridian.  But, it definitely was her and we had a fun time catching up!  She asked if I was ever going to teach again and I said that I was planing on returning.  She was very encouraging and said that's where I need to be.  Those who know Mrs. Cox know that's a compliment.  She's one of the best teachers I know. 

Evangeline is happily eating the rest of her "bak bak" and "noodles" at home.  Maybe I'll eat after she goes to bed....

Baptist Casserole

There's a lot of things (and people) we miss about Henleyfield, but one of the things we miss the most is Ms. Betty Burks' "Award Winning" Baptist Casserole.  The "award" came at Drew's Top Chef themed 30th birthday for Best Entree.  He knew it was gonna be the winner before he ever put a bite in his mouth!  Baptist Casserole is Ms. Betty's staple dish at every NHSBC function and everyone loves it!  She was always sweet to make sure that I took Drew home the leftover casserole after Ladies Luncheon and it was a special treat for him.  It's been a good six months since he's had some, and when I mentioned possibly making it, he was more than excited.  He even set the meat out to thaw for me!  I put on Facebook that I was cooking it and got several inquiries as to what it was (though no one from New Henleyfield had to ask!).  So, I'm going to borrow from my friend Tammy's blog idea and post a recipe!  This will probably be the only time you get a recipe from me!

Baptist Casserole

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1 cup sour cream
8 oz mozzarella cheese
2 T butter
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 roll crescent rolls

Brown meat and drain.  Add sauce.  Place in 9x13 pyrex.  Mix together sour cream and mozarella cheese.  Spread over meat and sauce mixture.  Top with crescent rolls.  Pour melted butter and Parm cheese on top.  Bake at 375 until bubbly.

Unattended- Poor Trey

          For about six weeks now I have been able to let Evangeline and Trey play together in the living room while doing a few things in other parts of the house.  Our couches are arranged in such a way that Trey can't escape a confined area and we have a baby gate at the door.  For the most part, they have played together well.  Evangeline frequently asks if she can, "Play Trey" as soon as she wakes up from her naps.  I'll occasionally hear a teeny bit of fighting over a toy (which basically means that Evangeline has snatched something that is HERS out of Trey's mouth) but they have done pretty well for the few minutes at a time that I've left them playing.  Until recently.
          A couple of days ago I heard Trey crying and went in there to discover that he was chewing on Genesis Chapter 18 from my Bible. Arg.  I felt like both a bad mother and a bad Christian. Another time Trey was screaming and Evangeline had him pinned down and was hitting him on the back with a Hello Kitty McDonald's toy.  Not sure what that was about, but he did not like it!  Well, yesterday I heard Trey let out a LOUD scream and found Evangeline pulling him into the closet by the head.  She likes the closet and wanted him to play in there with her, I guess.  When I said, "Evangeline!" she just dropped him!  Poor baby! 
          Today was the worst.  I was in the bathroom getting ready for church when I heard Trey start wailing loudly.  I can definitely tell the difference now between a "she took my toy" yell and a "help me mommy!!!" yell.  This was a "help me mommy!" yell and a loud one, at that.  Evangeline had unplugged the lamp and had the cord wrapped TWICE around Trey's neck!  Thankfully she hadn't pulled it too tight!  I'm even more thankful that God gave Trey a good set of lungs! 
          Drew said he was surprised at all the trouble they get into, what with the few things I have to do other than watch them.  I'm worried that our days of leaving them both unattended in the same room have passed for at least a few more months.  It's funny/sad because now if  I put Trey in the living room with her he'll just sit at the baby gate and cry for me.  Poor Trey.  One day he'll be able to defend himself.  I really don't think she means to hurt him.......  She just wants to play!  Poor Trey. 

Evangeline's Birth Story

In honor of Evangeline's birthday, I'm copying and pasting her birth story (written by Drew) onto my blog:

The Longest, Happiest Day of My Life

I recently started watching 24. My Dad has all the seasons on DVD. He's a huge fan. I really like it, too, and I'm part way through season 3. But one thing I'll always remember is the way the episodes started in season one: "I'm federal agent Jack Bauer, and this is the longest day of my life." I won't ruin the ending for you, but it's definitely bittersweet... probably more bitter than sweet.

Well, the longest day of my life so far was yesterday. It, too, was bittersweet... but definitely more sweet than bitter.

We arrived at the hospital about 5:10am after a restless night in a local motel. We settled into a delivery room, and they started inducing labor around 6:45. She started having regular contractions, and they started the epidural at 7:45. They broke her water at 8:00, and we were off to the races. So far so good. No pain. She was doing great.

Things seemed to be progressing just fine. There was only one little hang-up, something that the doctor and nurses were uneasy about. Every time she had a contraction, the baby's heart rate would drop. She'd started out on her back, so they moved her to her side and put her on oxygen. Then, the heart monitor wasn't picking up correctly, so they used a different kind. Then, the baby's heart rate looked good for a while, until it started dropping again, so they turned her over on her other side. The whole time, she's doing great. No pain. Everything on my wife's end was great. Like I said, she was progressing just fine. It was just one of those things you think you've fixed, and then five minutes later, you find out it's not fixed.

Fast-forward a little bit. It's noon. Monitor keeps skipping, just not picking up right. So, the doctor comes in to switch monitors yet again. As he's doing it, she mentions that her right leg is really numb and she can't even move it. He tells her the meds from the epidural are pooling in her right side and that she needs to lay on her left side. We had been monitoring the heart rate ourselves for the last 45 minutes are so, and we really thought the issue had been resolved. Well, it wasn't. After they put her on her left side, every time she had a contraction, the baby's heart rate would drop AFTER the contraction... and stay down in the 90s... for over a minute. At that point, I took it upon myself to turn the computer screen away from my wife, who didn't need the extra stress of watching the heart rate herself.

The doctor probably wasn't gone for 10 minutes when he came back. I guess it was about 12:15. He said, in so many words, that if she were already pushing, we'd go ahead and have the baby that way, but since she was still a long way from pushing, we needed to have a C-section. It would just be too much stress on the baby to keep doing what we were doing.

That's where the "bitter" part is for us. My wife really didn't want to have a C-section. But with so much stress on the baby, it was the obvious choice.

Well, I just asked the doctor, "Doc, how long before y'all do the section?" He told me it'd be about 45 minutes. So, I said, "I'm starving, and I've got to get a bite of something to eat." He said, "Well, just hurry." And I told my wife, "Don't you let them wheel you out of here unless I'm back in the room with you. Fight 'em, if you have to." So, I hustle down to the hospital cafeteria, get one chicken breast fillet and a piece of cornbread, take one bite of the chicken, and my phone rings. It's my sister-in-law telling me I needed to get back upstairs. They had gotten there right after they told us we need to have a section. In fact, I had passed them on the way to the cafeteria. Anyway, I put the whole piece of chicken in my mouth and took off, leaving my Dad holding my plate. He understood.

I got back in what I thought was just the nick of time, only to play the waiting game for 15 more minutes. They took my wife as soon as I got back, and they ushered me into the recovery room to get robed up.

In the meantime, my wife had about 8 different people doing things to prep her for the C-section. She was definitely experiencing information overload. She was having to sign stuff left and right. It wasn't an "emergency" situation, at least that's not the impression they gave us initially, but it sure felt like an emergency, the way they were rushing everything. All the while, she's still having contractions and is still on oxygen. They told her they were going to start the incision, but if she could feel it, they would have to put her under general anesthesia. If they had to use general anesthesia, I wouldn't be able to come in. And the whole time, I'm totally in the dark; don't have a clue what's going on.

Here's the deal, when they said I had 45 minutes, they meant 45 minutes until I'd be holding my baby. I thought they meant 45 minutes until they started the procedure. You can see where I got confused, I hope. Now, the truth is, it was more like 30 minutes before I was holding my baby, but that's getting the cart before the horse.

This whole time, I'm a total wreck. I'm mad, because I think they're not going to let me be in there with my wife. I'm extra mad, because nobody's telling me anything. Until finally, a nurse walks into where I am and tells me I can come in now. I walk into a room, and it looks like a scene from a movie or something. The doctor looks up, scalpel in hand, smiles, and says, "Oh, there you are." They put me behind the curtain with my wife's head and arms (looked like she was being crucified on a table). She's got the shakes so bad it looks like she's having detox withrawals. Actually, it was the meds from the epidural. I don't really remember much except that I was VERY supportive and VERY encouraging. Just had to throw that in there.

I'm up there with my wife's head, and she says, "Ow, it feels like somebody's standing on my chest." I say, "Well, the doctor's not that big; he may be!" Also about that time, about 3/4 of the way into the procedure, the anesthesiologist says, "Would you like to have something for those shakes?" My wife just about came off the table when he said that, like, "Why didn't you ask me that 15 minutes ago?" And it's never a good thing when you look around and see your anesthesiologist messing with his iPhone while you're having surgery!

About that time, we heard someone say, "Oh, there's the head." Someone else said, "That's alot of hair." Then, a minute later, we heard something like a suction cup. I actually didn't hear it, but my wife did. Later, we found out they had to use a vacuum to get the baby out. I'm not sure if it was an Oreck or a Bissel. A minute later we heard a short cry, then silence for what seemed like an eternity. Actually, it was only about 3 seconds, but it seemed like forever. Then, the baby started really crying.

They brought the baby around the curtain for us to see, but at this point, they'd not said whether it was a boy baby or a girl baby. We were praying hard that it was a girl baby... because that's what it was supposed to be, and the whole nursery is pink! And sure enough, it was a girl baby. We both breathed a sigh of relief. And the anesthesiologist was polite enough to lay down his iPhone and take a picture of the three of us.

They let me take lots of pictures in the OR. She weighed 8lbs 2oz, and was 21 inches long. My dad's cousin said it was the first time in history that a baby was taller than it's father.

I asked my wife if she wanted me to stay with her or go with the baby to the nursery. She wanted me to go with the baby, so I did, while they stitched her up, which took a REALLY... LONG... TIME.

The details are fuzzy, but I remember getting to hold my little girl and carry her down the hall to the waiting room to meet my parents, my wife's parents, my wife's sister, and our next door neighbors, who were awfully sweet to drive up to see us.

I just kind of hung out in the nursery for the next 45 minutes or so, while they finished working on my wife. She FINALLY made it to the recovery room, but it was still about another 30 minutes before my wife got to see the baby again. My wife stayed in recovery for about 2 hours total. She was in terrible pain and was terribly thirsty. I, of course, came to her rescue by bringing her diet coke and water. With the pain, though, I wasn't so helpful.

Fast forward again. It's about 4:00pm. We got settled into a postpartum room, and that's where we've been ever since, for over 30 hours. Our baby is healthy and beautiful. She's got a head full of brown hair with blond highlights. She's perfect, and that's really all I can say. She is perfect.

God has blessed us so tremendously. My wife and I shared our first good cry a few hours ago, just looking at our baby girl and thinking about how blessed we are. We came into the hospital expecting a very long day of labor, but by 1:00pm we had our little girl. My wife and I are looking forward to watching her and helping her grow up into a smart, beautiful, godly woman.

Happy Birthday Evangeline

          January 25th- one month after Christmas, the day after my sister Katie's birthday, and the day I first became a mommy!  When I think about Evangeline's birth the thing I always remember is how excited I was.  And now, two years later, I see things that remind me of her birth and I still get a little excited.  For example, the NFC Championship the other night reminded me of how we watched the Saints beat the Vikings in the hotel room in Hattiesburg the night before she was born.  I was excited about everything- giving birth, staying in the hospital, but most of all about meeting my daughter.  It was a big day!  The biggest moment of my life!
          I am so very grateful to have our sweet Evangeline.  She truly is a sweet and friendly kid!  She's good at remembering people just like her daddy and always wants to know where everyone is and what they are doing.  We've recently started letting her say some of her own prayers at night.  Drew will say "Thank you God for ______" and she fills in the blank.  She always remembers to thank God for Mommy, Blue Bell, and Trey.  Sometimes she thanks God for other animals like my sister's dog Nestle, and my parent's dog, Fred.  She usually thanks God for cake, too!  (Can't blame her).  Evangeline's "busy-ness" has slowed down a little bit, just in time for Trey's to pick up I'm afraid.  She's still into a lot of stuff and has no fear.  The fearlessness worries me a little bit because I'm pretty sure she'd go anywhere with anyone!  She climbed into someone else's car after Bible study yesterday and was trying to strap herself in.  When I approached her she said, "Bye, Mommy!"  I'm sure that it would've been fun to hang out with Cora and her Mommy, too!  Ha!   She still loves cows, cheerleaders, "Bak Bak" (chicken nuggets), baths, and Wonder Pets, but new interests include watching Dora the Explorer, tending to her baby dolls, and Bible Time.   She loves giving both eskimo and butterfly kisses to Daddy, Mommy, Trey, and sometimes Blue Bell!  She'd kiss Edy, too, if the cat would let her. 
          There was a time (back in the fall of '08 and winter of '09) that I seriously wondered if I would ever be able to have children.  It was a horrible time in my life.  I was in agony and crying to God everyday that we could get pregnant and have a baby.  Last night as I struggled bathing TWO babies all I could think was, "Thank you thank you Lord!"  How blessed am I! 
          I was trying to remember what we did last year for Evangeline's actual birthday.  I know that we went to Sears to get her portraits made after school.  It was the first "hard" portrait session of many because Evangeline could walk and wanted to run all over the studio (something she still hasn't gotten past).  We went to eat somewhere afterwards, but I can't remember where.  Maybe I'll check FB Timeline to see!  This morning we met Kelly (still very pregnant!), Micah, and Elizabeth at Chick-Fil-A.  What a perfect place to play. Evangeline is just the right size for the play area and will climb up and go down the slide with no problems.  We had a surprise visit from another (long-distant) cousin, Ethan, too!  After lunch, a visit with Poppy (who couldn't find a thing on their menu he'd actually want to eat), and a birthday balloon, we headed home.  We did a mini birthday celebration with the top to her birthday cake with Daddy and Trey. Evangeline only got a little upset by the candles this time.  The fire reminds her of the "scary fireworks" from New Year's.  We also gave her one of her birthday presents: a tricycle I bought at a yard sale for $5.00.  Are we bad parents?  We figured she could test this one out and if she likes it a lot, we'd get her a new one later.  We did get her a few other things too including a Dora bath doll that was on the Clearance rack at Wal-mart. 
            This afternoon we're meeting my mom at Sears for two year old birthday pics.  Keeping my fingers crossed for at least one good birthday shot!     Happy Birthday sweet Evangeline!  Mommy loves you!

How to remove sharpie from a baby doll

Evangeline "decorated" both herself and her baby doll (the brand new one she got for Christmas!) with a blue sharpie.  I have NO clue where the sharpie came from and how she got her hands on it.  She can spot a "color" a mile away though.  Thank goodness her brother was taking a nap in his room at the time!  Frustrated because I was in the middle of  doing the dishes from her birthday cake, I googled "how to remove sharpie" and came across a website with "8 ways to remove permanent marker." 

1. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
2. WD-40
3. Anti-bacterial hand gel
4. Hairspray
5. Cooking spray
6. Nail polish remover
7. Bleach (depending on the surface)
8. Goof Off

Some of these I can't try because I don't have them! 

Having previously taught Science, I decided that I would turn this into a little experiment (and blog about it along the way).

Problem: Which product: anti-bacterial hand gel, hairspray, cooking spray, or nail polish remover best removes sharpie from the surface of a baby doll's head.

Hypothesis: I believe the nail polish remover will best remove the permanent marker stains from Evangeline's baby doll.

Procedure:
Step #1: Divide baby doll's head into four equal portions. 
Step#2:  Place hand sanitizer on one portion of the baby doll.  Scrub for 1 minute.
Step #3:  Spray one section of baby doll with hairspray.  Scrub for 1 minute.
Step #4:  Spray one section of baby doll with cooking spray.  Scrub for 1 minute.
Step #5:  Use nail polish remover on one section of baby doll.  Scrub for 1 minute.
Step#6: Compare the results of each section.

Results:
The hand sanitizer appears to have done the best job.  Next best was the nail polish remover, then the cooking spray and lastly the hairspray.  The hairspray made little difference at all.  The hand sanitizer still left behind some blue, so the poor baby doll will never be the same.

Conclusion:  Keep all permanent writing utensils away from near-two year olds because there isn't really a magical solution to getting out the stains.  My hypothesis was wrong: The hand-sanitizer is your best bet.  Also, it may be a good idea to immediately apply the materials instead of first stopping to blog about it.  I will keep scrubbing the rest of the doll with hand-sanitizer and hopefully it will look decent. 

Extension:  If I were to repeat this experiment (which I hopefully won't have to!) I could try different brands of hairspray, cooking spray, and hand-sanitizer.  I used the Bath & Body Works Caribbean Escape brand of hand sanitizer, which made the baby smell really good, but may not have been as effective as Purel.  And, I'm pretty sure my nail polish remover was several years old, so this could have cut down on its effectiveness.  After the experiment concluded I tried some bleach, windex, carpet cleaner, and spray n wash, and none of those made a difference. 

P.S.  I have NO clue how to get the picture at the top to rotate.  Any blog-savy people able to help?

Facebook Timeline

          Sometimes Facebook just freaks me out!  The other day I signed up for Timeline.  On one hand, I think it's really really cool.  On the other, it's just plain scary.  For example, under "family" I have a sister, mother, father, husband, and two children who are "pending."  Pending what?  I guess FB is waiting for them to one day have accounts so that they can accept that they are my actual children.  Woah!  Also, Timeline thinks that Drew and I were married on July 13, when in fact we were married on July 7th!  I'm guessing the 13th was the day that I actually changed my status.  Funny because I know that if I got married today I would probably immediately change my relationship status. 
          One of the coolest things about Timeline is how it shows everything you've done since you've been on Facebook.  According to Timeline, I joined Facebook on December 21, 2004.  December 21, 2004 is a day that I will never ever forget and it has nothing to do with Facebook.  That was the day Grandmama died.  But, she didn't die until about 11:00 that night, so I guess that earlier that evening I had joined Facebook. 
            Technically, my sister Katie signed me up.  I remember coming home from Texas and Katie asking me if I had a Baylor email address because at the time you could only join Facebook if you attended a school that was in their system.  Since I had a Baylor address, I could sign up.  She told me it was this really, really cool thing where you could keep up with all your friends.  So, I let her sign me up and I really didn't think much of it for a long while after that.  Now I know that that same evening was when we all were called to the nursing home to be with Grandmama.
             So December 21, 2004 was a life-changing day.  I had no clue at the time what Facebook would be like or how it would enable me to keep in touch with so may friends.  I am definitely thankful for all that Facebook has allowed me to do, even if sometimes it can freak me out!