Oh, I have a blog?!

Well, here I am. Yes, it has been almost FOUR MONTHS since my last post! :( Geez! There have been several attempted posts, but none successful. My summer was crazy busy with work! I was sooo glad to see it come to an end. Along with the BRUTAL 100+ degree temps! BUH-bye!!

With the end of the summer came the beginning of my year with a...gulp...3rd grader!! What in the world?! Can I just say that it scares me that my child is now at an age that I have vivid memories from? I mean, I remember 3rd grade like it was yesterday! I could probably tell you most of the people in my 3rd grade class. And I am probably friends with most of those people on facebook! ;) I mean, it's true that I have somewhat of a freakish long-term memory, but I bet that lots of people have memories from 3rd grade! So it just kind of scares me that the things that happen this year could have a lasting impression on Drue. Of course, she could be left with a ton of wonderful memories! But she also might retain the not-so-wonderful ones.

Like, you know HYPOTHETICALLY, of course ;)...

...if she were to not get the multiplication tables absolutely 100% right one week and had to miss out on the ice cream sundae the ones in the class with all correct answers got that week. Which is so crazy bc I was really...uh, I mean SHE is really good at math!

...or if there was this boy that she and her best friend both liked...so of course she HAD to write a pretend note from the boy to the best friend letting her know that he did not like her! I mean, what other options did I...er, SHE have in that situation??

...or if then the best friend figured out the note wasn't real and told everybody in the WHOLE THIRD GRADE! Geez...it was just a little joke. Ahem...

Thank goodness those aren't real situations though! They could be traumatic...

Despite my silly concerns, I'm sure my Drue will do great in 3rd grade! She likes school and loves her new teacher. We have been very blessed with wonderful teachers so far! Anyway, here is my beautiful, 8-year-old 3rd grader....with braces!! This is our first day of school pic...a few weeks late! She really is getting so big!! And so beautiful! I am so proud of this little girl! :)

A Lesson In Love

My friend, Katie, got married at the end of April. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding! And she was without a doubt one of the most beautiful brides I've ever seen. I got the honor (along with my friend Lindsay) of doing the guest book and programs. I'm so happy for Katie and Andy and wish them all the best in the world!! But this post isn't about the wedding...it's about what happened to me on the day of the wedding.

I am ALWAYS late. It doesn't matter what time I get up or what time I start getting ready...I can't seem to be there as early as I planned. Well, I thought on the day of Katie's wedding, that is NOT going to happen today. Today is Katie's wedding and I am going to be ON TIME. Hmm...I need to be there at 4:00 for pictures, so I'll need to start getting ready around 2:00. Proud of my decision, and determined to be on time, I actually decided to go ahead and get started a little early...maybe 1:45. The first item on the list...paint my toenails. No problem!

I hopped up on the counter in the bathroom and pulled out my brand new bottle of Maybelline Express Finish polish. It's supposed to dry in 50 seconds...score! I am sooo gonna be on time today! Pink Shock...love the color! I couldn't wait to get started. I unscrewed the lid and moved the brush toward my toe. I stopped though, quickly deciding to go grab a paper towel from the kitchen to put under my toes. I mean, I didn't want to make a mess. I would hate to get nail polish on the vanity. I replaced the brush and scurried off to the kitchen. I had left some food out on the counter from lunch, so I decided while I was in there, I'd go ahead and put that up. One distraction led to another and my quick trip into the kitchen to grab a paper towel had become more lengthy than I had hoped.

I started back to the bathroom without my paper towel, remembered it when I got to the bathroom door, and turned around once again to retrieve it. Upon my return to the bathroom, I hopped back up on the counter and got ready to resume the toenail painting process. However, due to my kitchen distractions, I forgot that I had not screwed the lid back on the nail polish when I went to "grab" a paper towel. I attempted to pick up the nail polish by the lid, instead hurling the entire bottle of brand new, 50-second-drying, Pink Shock nail polish to the floor of my bathroom where it shattered. Oh. My. Goodness!!!

I wonder what I must have looked like in the seconds that followed. I could not decide what to do first, so I ended up just kind of running around in a circle for a few seconds. Oh my gosh! What do I do? What do I do? Should I get a towel? Is this all going to dry all over the bathroom in 50 seconds? It was everywhere....on the counter, on the tile, on the rugs, on the door, AND on the carpet of our bedroom. Holy Moly! There was a lot in that bottle! There was also glass everywhere. I quickly realized what I would have to do. Gulp! I was gonna have to tell Justin so he could help me. I really really didn't want to tell him. The reason? I am so hard on him sometimes for little mistakes...telling him he should have just been more careful or that he should have known something. Now here I was. I SHOULD have been more careful and I SHOULD have remembered about the lid, but I didn't. And now I would have to endure whatever came my way. I mean, I have just RUINED our bathroom. Sigh...Justin! I need you! Please help me!

He came into the bathroom and I'm sure I was on the verge of tears. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I dropped a whole bottle of fingernail polish in the floor! And what did the man do? He jumped into action immediately! He didn't complain one single time. He quickly got busy trying to get it out of the bedroom carpet. He pulled 2 brushes out of the closet that we use to scrub the tub. He asked me for fingernail polish remover. He poured it on the carpet and scrubbed it and it worked! While he did that, I was trying to scrub the tile. I was spraying Clorox Clean-Up and scrubbing so hard. And all the while, HE was comforting ME! He was telling me that accidents happen and not to worry about it. He told me how we are SUPPOSED to help each other. He sat there scrubbing along side me, helping me clean up my mess. The fingernail polish remover ran out. And I still had to get ready for the wedding. He sent me to Walgreens to get more remover and more nail polish. When I got back, he told me to get in the shower and he would keep cleaning since I now only had an hour and 15 minutes until I was supposed to be there...and I had not even painted my toenails yet.

What a special man. Even as I sit here typing this, it makes me tear up. Why am I so quick to chastise him and he is so forgiving? Obviously I had something to learn from him that day. He gave me a lesson in love. It has left a lasting impression on me. I am so lucky to have him. I hope that I can show love to others like Justin did that day....especially to my family. It's not about telling others if they're right or wrong. It's not about making someone feel bad for something they've done. It's about loving others. And showing others the love of Jesus! It's not about me, Lord...it's ALL ABOUT YOU!

If you're wondering about the bathroom, we got almost all the pink up! We did lose the bathroom rugs in the fiasco, but that's a small price to pay considering everything that the nail polish tried to claim. I don't think I would allow myself to get down in the floor and look for pink now, but it looks good as far as I can see! Haha! Oh, and I was only a LITTLE late for pictures that day... :)

A Happy Mothers' Day!!

Adorable Mothers' Day balloon and beautiful flowers!!


I love Bath & Body Works for Mothers' Day!


I LOVE THEM!!!

My precious Drue

I had a wonderful day! We started out at church for a wonderful service. Then we went to lunch with my parents and my brother's family...so much fun!! :) I am so blessed! And so thankful for my family! I am so happy to be the mother of such a wonderful, loving, caring little girl. She makes me so happy! :) Happy Mothers' Day to all of you Moms out there!!!

Blessed by...

This week's "Blessed by..." is one of the big ones! I have been soooo blessed throughout my life by...Kathy Cate, my mom! What a woman! :)


Like many kids, I didn't fully realize the greatness of my mom until I was older with a daughter of my own. Let me tell you, when I was growing up, this woman HAD IT TOGETHER. But I had no idea...

I had no idea the amount of energy she used when every week she worked AT MINIMUM 40 hours a week. I had no idea that when she then went to the gym several nights a week, she was really putting forth effort....and she was buff! :) I had no idea what it took for her to be able to do these things and still cook dinner often for us. I had no idea how draining it was for her to stay up so late helping us with school projects...posters, reports, shadow boxes (remember those?!), etc. I had no idea how frustrated she must have gotten when she still had to pick up after all of us constantly, yet she did it. I had no idea how AWESOME she was when she was playing softball and volleyball in addition to all the busyness of life...and btw these are some of my very favorite memories. Yep, she had it together alright. If only I could have appreciated it during the time it was all going on. Man, I want to be like her. I'm still baffled how she could do it all when I struggle so much myself with less than this.


I had no idea how lucky I was to be raised in a Christian home. I had no idea that the godly woman I call my mom was setting such a good example for me that I would carry with me forever. I had no idea that when she and my dad were "making me" go to GMAs or SWAT, they were helping to instill a faith in me that was so deeply rooted, that it would surface years later as I fought my way out of a dark place that I struggled in for a VERY LONG TIME. I had no idea that she'd never give up on me even when it probably seemed I was a lost cause. I had no idea that one day I would want to be like her...because I thought she was just a silly PARENT that didn't know anything...at least not as much as I did. :) Nope, I had no idea how lucky I was...and still am.


I had no idea when I was little that years later my mom would be diagnosed with Parkinsons and Dystonia. I had no idea that I'd have to watch that strong, athletic, busy-bodied woman have to go through such tough times. I had no idea that I could hurt so much for her and not know how to express it. I had no idea that the crazy woman would try her best to keep up a strong front for US in her increasingly difficult battle. Then years later, I had no idea that my mom would be diagnosed with Uterine cancer on top of everything else. I had no idea how hard it would be to watch her go through surgeries and feel as if she were so fragile.


HOWEVER....I also had no idea how STRONG I would discover my mom is. I had no idea that when she got sick she would be such a fighter. I had no idea she could still be a ray of sunshine in my life. I had no idea that she would remain faithful to God and continue to be a good example for me and everyone around her. I had no idea she would still be so devoted to her family and making others happy. She is one of the most unselfish people I know. I had no idea she was sooo AMAZING! But. She. Is.

I LOVE YOU MOM!! You are so amazing and I am so proud to call you my mom! You are one of the strongest people I know. You have blessed me more than I could ever describe. Thank you.

These pics are from Easter. Drue LOOOVES her MeMo! :) The bottom pic is my dad and me with my mom. I love them. :)

Anniversary!

Our 1st Anniversary was this past Sunday, the 21st! Woo hoo! We didn't have any big plans. I only had one thing in mind that I wanted to do....I wanted to have cake and punch. I know that sounds dumb, but that is what I wanted! Haha! First of all, you must understand that I LOVE punch. Not like Mexican fruit punch, Hawaiian punch, or even Stoby's punch (which I do also love)...no no, I love party punch! :) The different kinds of punch that are served at birthday parties, showers, weddings....yuuuummmmm! AND we didn't even get to have any of our punch at our wedding...which I heard was delicious... :( Yep...I needed cake and punch for sure.

Well...we decided to have some folks from our small group over on Saturday night for a (rainy) cookout and some games. So our good friends--the Linkers, Nick, and Kati--all came over for some food and fun. Nick had asked me what he could bring. I told him what we were having and said if he wanted anything else he could bring it. Well, that didn't work. He asked again. So after MUCH more prying (or one more text asking me what he could bring), I finally gave in and told him my secret anniversary wish. He laughed at me...via text. But he told me he wanted to bring the stuff to make the punch. Yea!! I was very excited.

I told Kati the story, and she too thought it was funny. But I didn't think much else about it until a couple hours before she was supposed to be there. The text said "Hope you like chocolate cake" She had made a cake! So sweet!

We had such a great time with everyone that night. And I will say that I was not the only one that loved the punch that night. There were 6 of us there...I think only 5 of us were drinking punch...it was almost gone at the end of the night. Yeah, I'm probably going to have to do this every year! Also, congrats to Kati for setting a Farkle record...I've never seen anyone take sooo long to get on the board! Haha! We even gave her a sympathy roll to try to help her. And it was her first time playing....bummer! I really really hope she'll play with us again sometime!

Blessed by...

I was talking with a friend at work this week. His name is Ryan Johnson and he's a member of my church family. I have known him for awhile. He is good friends with Justin, although they don't get to hang out as much as they would like.

Ryan is a very godly man. I've had the opportunity to have some pretty good conversations with him. I was able to talk with him earlier this week at lunch one day. I started talking to him about how weird I thought it was that I felt busier and more overwhelmed with life since I've gotten married. I mean, come on...obvioulsy I should feel less stressed since I've gained a partner in life! :) Justin helps me with everything I need him to. And he is happy to do it. He will gladly pick up Drue if I need him to. He helps her with homework or AWANA verses. He'll even run to Wal-mart for the smallest thing we need without complaining. :) He is such a helpful husband. Why, then, do I seem to feel so much more overwhelmed these days?

See, when I was single, I felt I could do it all. I did everything I had to. I worked 40 hours a week, helped Drue with AWANA, did my Bible Study, helped with homework, stayed on top of what Drue needed for school (including costumes, stuff for parties, etc), paid the bills, spent lots of time with Drue, spent lots of time with my parents and my brother's family....the list goes on and on. So, WHY is it now that I feel like we're always in a rat race? Why is there never enough time anymore? I mean, I know everyone is very busy...but how is it that I had time to do all of these things before, but now there is no way I could possibly get everything done alone (sometimes we can't even get it done together)?

While discussing this with Ryan, he said something that has just blessed me all week long. He said "Isn't it cool how God gives us strength when we need it?" What? I had never even thought of it that way. He was absolutely right! I'm not "supposed" to be able to do it all. I haven't lost any of my ability or drive. I'm not a failure...haha! God gave me strength when I needed it! How AWESOME is that?! Wow! Even as I sit here, I am so humbled by God and how much He loves me.

Thank you, Lord, for loving me and providing for me. Thank you for giving me the strength and courage to do what I needed to do during that difficult time in my life. And thank you for allowing Ryan to bless me by reminding me of your love! "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

Blessed by...

Today I have been blessed by one of our students! I won't put her name on here because I don't know if she would want me to. But this girl is just a little ray of sunshine! She seems to always be positive and always smiling. So for this post, we'll just call her Sunshine. :)

I was on the phone this morning with a parent when I saw Sunshine walking around in the offices, but I didn't pay much attention. But then she came into our office with roses and cards for us! Little Miss Sunshine had brought roses and cards for all of us!

Wow!! And she had written in the card. And not just like "Have a nice day. Love, Sunshine" She actually took the time to write how she thanks God for me. How I am a bright, beautifully made woman of God. And that she hopes she brightened my day just a little. Just a little?! Sunshine just blessed my socks off! What a precious girl. Thank you, Lord, for wonderful, encouraging people like Sunshine! Help me to show your love through encouragement like Sunshine has done!

OUCH!!

Well, the time has come....to get my butt back into shape (not literally just my butt, although it is included)! 25 years people! 25 years I ate whatever I wanted, exercised as little as I wanted, and stayed as thin as I wanted. Well, NO MORE! Around the time I turned 25, I started gaining a little weight. I'm still not sure what happened to me because my eating habits really haven't changed...they are equally as bad now as they always have been. Since the time I turned 25 (about 20 months ago), I have slowly, but increasingly, been gaining. Well, it's time to put a STOP to that!

I have joined a "Biggest Loser" weight-loss challenge at work recently...and I'm going to win! ;) It's from March 5 to May 7 (i think). To aid me in my weight-loss attempt, I have joined the Women Can Run clinic in Conway. I'm loving it so far. I really would love to become a runner! Really! I used to love to run when I was young. I was pretty fast, too. I mean, so what if the 5th grade track meet was the highlight of my running career?! I was the best female 5th grade runner for the 100 meter dash (or is it yard? clearly this was important to me) that year! Haha! I would love to think there's still a little runner in there somewhere just dying to be let loose.

Also, some friends and I decided to do like a mini boot camp at the fitness center...I'm not actually sure what the official name of our little 4-person class is. Anyway, yesterday was our first day. I had my reservations about participating. First of all, we meet at 5:30...in the morning! What? Ok, maybe to some of you that's not a big deal, but I can probably count the number of times I've gotten up that early on my fingers. And if you take away surgeries, Race for the Cures, and church trips, I'm not sure there would be anything left! So...apparently I was on edge all night Tuesday night because I woke up easily at 3:00 and thought it was 5:00. I sat on the edge of the bed stretching, trying to wake up and start my day. Luckily, I quickly realized my mistake. When 5:00 finally came, I got up, got dressed, and got to the fitness center...a huge accomplishment in itself. When I left 30 minutes later, my arms were jello. J-E-L-L-O! It was almost funny. I had trouble controlling them a little bit. Man, I'm gonna be sore tomorrow, I thought dismissively.

OH...MY...GOODNESS!!! Sore doesn't even begin to describe what I am feeling today. Literally, my husband had to PULL me out of bed this morning because I couldn't move. You name it, it's sore...for the most part anyway. My legs and butt are a little sore, but my upper body is RIDICULOUS! It's been almost funny at times, but man does it HURT! The best part is...I'm usually more sore the 2nd day. Can't wait to see what tomorrow holds... :)

I know it will get better and I'm going to stick with it. I don't know how many of you guys know my mom, but I just KNOW there are some "Kathy Cate" genes inside me just dying to get out!! And I'm going to unleash them! I just have to find my motivation and stay focused....no matter how painful it may be at first.

AND if I happen to do horribly or quit the running clinic or boot camp and don't win the Biggest Loser challenge and you never hear about it again...just disregard this post! ;)

Blessed by...

I AM BLESSED! I am so thankful for the many, many blessings I receive constantly. In my human nature, sometimes it's easy to forget how blessed I actually am. I have a Savior that LOVES me, wonderful family, a warm home, a great job, amazing friends and church family, food to eat, clothes to wear, freedom to openly profess my Christianity...the list goes on and on. I could obviously NEVER list them all. But I would like to focus on the people God put in my life that have blessed me.

I am going to try every week (or two?) here on my blog to just acknowledge someone who has blessed me. It may be something huge they did, or something they never even knew blessed me. I am so excited about this!! :)

For my first "Blessed by..." entry, I'm going to go for the obvious....my husband, Justin. The man who has to put up with me and all my imperfections all the time. :) I am so very blessed by him. He is a very sweet man. Most importantly, He loves the Lord and seeks Him daily! He genuinely desires to follow God in all areas of life. That is so important! There is no doubt in my mind that God sent him to me.

He is one of the most thoughtful people I know. He sends me sweet text messages throughout the day to let me know he loves me. He lets me pick chick-flicks on movie nights. I get to pick restaurants on nights we eat out. I even get to control the radio station in the car! :) Not that it's always rainbows and sunshine by any means, but WOW is he a thoughtful guy! I definitely don't question whether or not I am loved....he loves me!! :)

Not only has he blessed me as a husband, he has blessed me by the role he plays in Drue's life. He is so good to her. I've gotten to see several sides of him through his interaction with Drue. First, the side that loves to be a kid and play. And man, do they ever love to PLAY! They're always horsing around, teasing each other, poking each other, etc. My favorite is when they try to get me involved by telling on the other one...haha!

Then, there's the side that can sit down and teach her or help her with things. He has helped her with math homework, class projects, softball, guitar, awana verses, etc. The list really does go on and on. He is so caring. He really wants her to learn and succeed in the things he helps her with.

There's also the slightly more serious side when we all sit down to do her devotional or have prayer time. These are precious moments. We have a little book of devotionals that we do with her at night. It has been so much fun for us to go through this book with her. We all enjoy that time together learning a little something about God's Word. As for prayer time, we take turns praying to bless the food at dinner each night...one night I pray, one night Justin prays, one night Drue prays. But at bedtime....ooooh it's one of my favorite times! We all go in Drue's room and we all three pray. I love love love this time with them. I think it's so important for us to all pray together. She needs to hear us pray daily! So special!

Anyway, the point is....I am blessed by Justin Berg!! :) He's such a great husband and step-dad. He has a great heart! He's a very kind, loving man. I could never put into words how much he actually blesses me daily, and this was probably a poor attempt...haha! But I appreciate him so much! And love him! Thank you, Lord, for bringing Justin to us!

Hannah Montana Shades! :)

Taking a silly pic together...

A Star in the Making???

Drue has a new hobby! She got a guitar for Christmas. She loved it! While doing some cleaning this weekend, I came across a paper she had written at school. Here it is exactly as it was written:

"The present that I got was a gutar. I got it from santa. It is just my size too. It has a cool pattern around the circle. It is light brown. It wasn't tuned but my step dad tuned it. It came with four pick's. It is the best present anywone could ever have. It is awesome. It was my favorite present."

She is just so sweet. Of course she got a big, red "Good job!" in response! Haha! I have secretly (or not so secretly...I'm pretty sure I told my dad, but he said he couldn't teach me) always wanted to learn to play the guitar. Justin plays the guitar, so the plan has been for him to go through a DVD with Drue specifically designed to help children learn to play. However, we have been so busy lately trying to keep up with life, that they hadn't had a chance to dive into the wonderful world of guitar playing. :)

Tonight as I finished my Bible Study, I came out of the bedroom and went to Drue's room. This was the scene before me:

Aren't they precious? This melts my heart!!! I'm so thankful for the bond they share. They went through some of the video that talked about holding the guitar, tuning the guitar, and forming the G-chord EZ form.

Drue's G-chord EZ form...with hair still wet from the shower :)

Our new guitar player!















I'm excited for Drue! She did great tonight! Maybe I'll hang around these two and pick up a few guitar tips of my own! ;)

Surprise Snow Day!

Sunday night ended a very busy week for me. Well, I guess Sunday actually begins the week, but...whatever. In the past week, I helped with 2 baby showers, Drue's bday party, and a Super Bowl party. None of these things were just totally major events--with the exception of Drue's party ;)--but they all required me to prepare food, bring something, or help decorate. They were all definitely worth the work! But Sunday night, I was just so drained.


It was our small group that had the Super Bowl party. We had a great time...and great food! We were at our associate pastor's house. The living room was full. There were kids playing Nintendo DS or hide and seek, there were people going back and forth from the kitchen for more food, there were different conversations going on everywhere. One small group member mentioned he had heard on the radio that the roads could be bad from snow/ice before the Super Bowl ended. I found this tidbit of info interesting, but honestly dismissed it as quickly as he had said it. I think my thoughts were something like What? Winter weather?! I don't know anything about any winter weather coming. I always know when winter weather is coming. No, sorry to tell you, but there's no winter weather coming our way. I would definitely know about that already. Haha...winter weather tonight...how silly.


So I headed home from the party about 8:00 so that Drue could get everything ready for school the next day. The alleged winter weather prediction didn't cross my mind again until about 12:30 when I was sitting on my couch and heard something outside. I opened the door and heard a little bit of sleet. But then I headed to bed.


Monday morning my alarm and Justin's alarm both started going off (we both have to have an alarm and we both have to set it pretty far in advance in order to "snooze" an adequate number of times). I was in my "snooze" phase, when my phone started vibrating on the nightstand next to me. I am just sooo lucky that I was charging my phone and it was on the nightstand. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have heard it because it would have been in my purse. I probably would have just popped up and gotten in the shower and gotten ready before I ever looked at my phone...or looked outside. BUT I did hear the phone and I picked it up. I recognized the number as a number that calls to deliver recorded messages from Drue's school. Completely confused, I answered the phone. It was a recording that told me that Conway Schools were closed due to snow! What in the world?! Really? I told Justin and then I jumped out of bed to go look out the window. There was snow everywhere! Wow! I was just so surprised! And sooo excited that God had given me this snow day to recover from my busy week last week! :)


Justin ended up having to go to work at 10:00 for a couple hours. He said the roads weren't bad when he left, but it was sleeting and then turned to snow. The roads were apparently worse on the way home. And then it snowed all day long! It was so pretty! Drue and I went out once by ourselves while Justin was at work. Then we went out again when he got back. We all had such a good time. After we were tired of playing outside, we had some more great time together inside. We watched Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and played Wii together. It was such a great day! Thank you, Lord, for the chance to spend some time with my family!

Throwing snowballs at the tree in our yard















Throwing snowballs at ME from behind her "snow fort" :)

An awesome girl to spend an awesome day with!

8 years old?!

Well, it happened. My "baby" girl turned 8! Is this possible? Maybe I should count again to be sure...one, two, three, four, five, six, seven...eight. Sigh...it's true. Well, even thought I'm a little sad about Drue turning 8, I'm also very excited for her. She is just such a sweet, thoughtful, loving little girl. I am so blessed! Her birthday was Saturday. I think she had a pretty great day. We had a party for her Saturday night with girls AND boys! More details on that and pictures to come ASAP!

When I picked Drue up from school Friday, we started playing a game where all through the night (and weekend) I would say "8 years ago RIGHT NOW I was..." It was so fun to talk about and remember that special time! You see, Friday marked 8 years since my actual due date, Feb 5th. I knew she wasn't budging that day, but I was scheduled to be induced the next morning. So, what was I doing on Feb 5, 2002 you ask? Well, I was driving around town looking for something to bring my baby girl home in, of course! Haha! Have I mentioned yet that i'm a procrastinator? ;)

I set out that afternoon to find SOMETHING to bring my precious little darling home in. Forget the fact that I had already had 3 showers and had LOTS of clothes to choose from. For some reason I felt that I needed to pick out an outfit myself....on Feb 5th. So I piled my 9-months-pregnant self into my little 2-door Honda Civic and off I went. I went EVERYWHERE and I found NOTHING! While shopping, I was just waiting for someone to ask me when I was due. I couldn't wait! I mean, for my whole pregnancy, I think someone had asked me when I was due every single day. And today...haha...today the joke would be on them. Today only, I would get to say that word that would surprise them. The one that would make them take a step back as if I might break. That word that would let them know I was now a pregnancy expert! "Oh, when am I due you ask? TODAY!!" And even though I was asked every single day throughout my pregnancy....not one single person in the 87 stores I went to asked me when I was due on my due date!! Geez...take away a pregnant girl's joy.

So anyway, somehow I pulled myself together from the disappointment and decided to head home. I honestly can't remember what my plan was at the time. I can't remember if I decided I could look through that pile of adorable clothes that we had one more time or if I was going to send someone else to look for a come-home outfit or what, but home I headed anyway. And as I was going home, a beautiful snow started to fall. It was exciting since it usually only snows once or twice here every year. I went home and waited for Drue's dad (we'll call him S) to get off work. He came and got me when he got off work. I really don't remember what we did during that evening except we went to hang out at a friend's house! What in the world were we thinking? Dumb teenagers. I do, however, remember that we went by Sonic on our way in order to get a Route 44 cup of ice for me. I couldn't eat after midnight, so I wanted to be prepared with my ice! Then we proceeded to our friend's house. The snow was steadily falling the whole time. And although it grew increasingly beautiful, I grew increasingly worried! I am a bit of a worrier as it is, but throw in 9 mos pregnant, snow, and hills....yeah, I was getting a little stressed! S said his 4-wheel drive was out and he wasn't sure if we could get home. WHAT?! Excuse me, but I have to be at the hospital at 6:30 am and you're not sure if we can get home?! Try again! Finally S decided we would try to go. I seriously think it must have been 2:00 am when we got home. Ridiculous.

Once safely in my own house, I began to um...well...pack my back for the hospital. Yes, 4 hours before I was supposed to be there. I then tried to lay down. S had been asleep since the minute we walked in the door! How was he sleeping?! Hello...we were about to have a BABY! Didn't he know that?! I just could NOT go to sleep. I was so nervous. And so excited. And so scared. I never did get to sleep that night. I got up and took a shower. FINALLY a million years later, my parents and S got up too. Then we all piled in and headed....very slowly...to the hospital.

My baby girl was born at 4:21 pm on Wednesday, Feb 6, 2002. I felt so blessed that day. I remember feeling that new love just radiating out of me....the love I had never known before. She was so precious. All of our friends and family came to see us...well ok, they came to see Drue. But no one did get to see her. She had fluid in her lungs and they immediately took her away from us. We spent 3 nights in the hospital. We finally got to go home on Saturday.

I still feel that love for her....only it is so much stronger than I ever imagined. She is such an amazing little girl. Any pain that I had to go through was well worth it! I don't know how I got so lucky as to have this wonderful little child, but I thank the Lord for her daily! Even though we have to go through some tough experiences in life, hopefully sometimes we come out of them better than when we started. I never planned to be pregnant at 17 and a mom at 18, but that is how it happened. How comforting that God does have a plan for our lives. Even though we may stray off the course sometimes, He's right there with us "recalculating" our route like a GPS! :) Thank you, Lord, for loving me. And thank you, Lord, for Drue!

Happy Birthday Drue!! :)

Happy Birthday to my Dear Ol' Dad

Monday, January 18th, was my dad's birthday. Being that it was MLK day, none of the family had to work all day...except him! Haha--poor guy! I won't tell you how old he turned, but I'll be 27 this year, and he was 30 when I was born. ;)

I LOVE when there's a birthday and the family can all get together. Especially if there is food involved! :) So Monday night we all gathered at my parents' house: my mom, my dad, me, Justin, Drue, Todd (my brother), Angie (sister-in-law), and their 5 children ranging from 19 mos to 10 yrs. It's a house full! We all somehow managed to come together and SIT DOWN to eat. That almost never happens!

More importantly, after dinner came the CAKE AND ICE CREAM! Yum! My mom made my dad's cake. His favorite kind of cake is chocolate with chocolate icing. I was so proud of my mom for making dinner and the cake. She has Parkinson's disease and Dystonia, so that was a lot for her to accomplish in one day. How special for my dad! :) There are wonderful parents. So anyway, I love a good store-bought birthday cake, but there is just something about a homemade birthday cake. Yuuummmm! He ended up with some wireless headphones for the TV and an FM transmitter/charger for his iPod so he can use it in his truck. Happy Birthday Dad!!

"Spring Break" from the Winter Weather

Umm...is it January? I mean, I know we just had Christmas last month. And I seem to remember a ball dropping at midnight and unfulfilled resolutions (yes, already), so it should be January, but...according to http://www.weather.com/ the high is 65 today. 65!! Isn't January supposed to be cold, windy, maybe even...icy?! Oh wait...it already has been all of those things too...haha! I am most definitely NOT complaining though. The surge of warm air we have had recently is WONDERFUL! It reminds me of early Spring.


Ahhh Spring...my favorite time of year. I love the warmer air, the smells, the colors...everything! One of my very favorite things that happens during Spring is....Daylight Savings Time!!! Yeah, yeah...we lose an hour of sleep for ONE NIGHT. Get over it! :) It is so totally worth the extended daylight! I hate when it gets dark outside at 5:00...or currently 5:30ish. It makes me feel like the day is over as soon as I get off work. I love when the daylight lasts long enough to go to the bike trail, play catch, go to the park, etc. I can't wait! Ahh Spring.....


So, while we enjoy this "Spring Break" from the winter weather and long for the actual Spring Season, remember that there are only 55 days until that wonderful day...the day that Daylight Savings Time returns! And until then, the daylight will continue to last longer each day. Yea! Now if only we could find a way to keep the warmer temps until then. Hmm... Anyway, hope you all have a wonderful "Spring Break!" :)