Saying Yes

This past week was a long one for me at work. I spent the entire day yesterday trying to set up appointments, most of the requests ended in a "No." So needless to say, I needed to hear a "yes" at the end of the day. After E's bath time, I sat down on the couch and asked him if he wanted to cuddle, and he said YES! (I don't know about y'all but most of the time when I want my little man to cuddle, he is far to busy to stop what he is doing to sit still and cuddle. He typically will run over plant a big kiss in my face then move on.) E had no idea how much I relished those moments with him.

No Much to Say

We had a relatively calm weekend. Rob & I got to sneak out Saturday night for a date night! Hooray! We saw The King Speech and went to Japanese food. The evening was divine. The movie was amazing. We see a lot of movies, and this one was by far the best one we have seen in some time. I have always had a fascination of the English monarchy, and this one is based on a true story of King George VI (the ruling Queen of England's father). It will warm your heart.

Here are just a few random pictures from the past week or two that I thought were worth sharing.

Utensils, utensils, utensils! E will not eat anything unless he can use a spoon or a fork to feed himself. It is a horribly messy task, but it keeps him entertained, happy, and full. What else can you ask for?

Here is a funny picture of the girls being especially cuddly the other night. Sophie normally doesn't allow Heidi to show her this much affection, but that night Heidi won out. It was pretty cute. (Sophie is my little guard dog, and Heidi is my little love bug. Sophie will sit by the door to keep track of the neighborhood, while Heidi sleeps on my feet.)

10

I always find these lists a little daunting because I am trying to come up with a list for a small group of people that, well-let's face it, already know so much about me. Let's see if I can come up with any surprises...

1. My favorite flower is the Edelweiss. Most people think that it is the gardenia, which I do love, but blame it on my Austrian roots and my love of The Sound of Music-that flower makes me smile.

2. I am scared of swimming in the ocean. It does not keep me from snorkeling, swimming, or scuba diving; but every time I am in the ocean I hear the Jaws soundtrack in my head.

3. I name my cars. My current car is named Cindy. Her navigation voice sounds just like a Cindy.

4. If I could play any instrument, it would be the piano. It is on my bucket list of things to do in my lifetime.

5. One book series that I read every couple of years is "This Present Darkness." It scares the crud out of me, and I loose sleep at night because of it-but it keeps me aware of the realness of spiritual warfare.

6. My favorite sweet thing to eat would be Oreo cookies-double stuff of course.

7. I have a love/hate relationship with the game of scrabble that I inherited from my Grandpa Lacy. I played that game with him countless times growing up, and I only beat him once in my lifetime. It is the only "cerebral" game that I can play with Rob and actually have a chance at beating him.

8. If I could live anywhere in the US it would be in Lake Tahoe. It is my happy place! (They have old ladies with naturally grey hair. All the old ladies here dye their hair an unnatural shade of what they used to be. I like the fact that the old ladies there age gracefully and try not to cover it up.)

9. I am terrified of heights. I am just fine if I never visit the Grand Canyon as an adult. It makes my pulse go up just thinking about it.

10. Even now that I am in my 30's, I still think that if someone else's name starts with the letter A that it means they must be special.

Any surprises?

Having a Real Conversation

This picture has nothing to do with this post, but I had to show how big my little man is getting. He is starting to loose his baby chub! :( (Look at what is in this picture-the darn dog scoop?!?)

Last night was the first night of my Bible study at church, and I have to say that I absolutely loved it. When I walked in I was struck by the number of women there-easily a 150. What surprised me is how personal they were able to make it. They had us divided up into groups of 8 sitting at round tables with a table leader.

My leaders name is Claire, and she is fabulous. She can't be older than 30, single, and works at Pier One's headquarters here in FW. (She is in charge of the candles-so next time you are in PO, buy a candle and think of Claire!) She walks up in a black pencil skirt, bright red nails, and a leopard blazer with a trendy little black belt pulling it all together. She kind of reminds me of a younger version of my mom, so I love her already. She is incredibly sassy and is absolutely hilarious. She has an honesty to her that I connect with, and I look forward to getting to know her more over the coming months.

The other 7 woman at the table range in age from 22 to 37. 2 of us have kids; the 22 year old's mom has breast cancer who just had a double mastectomy on Tuesday :( ; 2 teachers; 1 professional artist; and a student studying to be a PA who is completely stressed out! We all work, and it was funny because I am one of the "older" ladies sitting at the table. That felt weird! We all have a million things going on, and I was reminded that if all of these women can make time for themselves to do this-so can I. I have to admit-Isaiah is a tough and long book in the Bible, but I am looking forward to the "real" conversations that will come from it.

Every day at my job, I have conversations with people. I never really feel as if I ever get to connect with any of them though because they know deep down I have to ask something of them in the end-will you buy this or will you help me get this through committee or can you get me in front of this doctor, etc. Most people that I meet on a daily basis don't remember my name the next time I come in to see them, so I am looking forward to sitting down face to face with a group of people who really want to know me.

Who is it that you have in your local circle that you can have a "real" conversation with? (Annie often ends her blogs with a question, which I love. So here is my stab at it!)

Feeling a little nervous

The start of this new year is full of much anticipated change in our household. Rob started his job this past Monday. He has been out of a job since 5-1-09. It has been so long that I had to include the year! However in that year in a half he has diligently been plugging away at reinventing himself professionally-he is now a certified firefighter, EMT, and licensed paramedic. (Do you hear that sound? It is the sound of me smiling.)

Women In the Word Isaiah: God's Salvation Symphony Does the world seem to be in crisis? Or maybe it's your life that is in crisis. Are you asking, where do I go for help? What's the answer? Isaiah also lived in a shaky and uncertain time. He pointed people to the unfailing God as our one certainty. Join us in January as we study the beautiful and powerful words of Isaiah given to him by our Holy God. Come and listen to the message of God that begins with warning and judgment and ends with salvation, comfort and hope. Allow yourself to be shaped into a woman more like Christ as we learn about the awesome character of God, and as we meet the Messiah, our Savior!

So here is the part where I am reinventing myself from the inside. I joined a women's Bible study at a church that I really like, but have yet to ever commit to attending regularly. Most of y'all know my family's story, and I sadly find myself skeptical of church. It is an internal hurdle, and one I need to get over. So, starting Thursday-I will walk into the church all by myself-literally not knowing a soul-and attend a Bible study. I find myself scared to death! For someone who spent more time in a church than anywhere else growing up-I should not be this nervous. So while my husband continues down his "professional reinvention, " I am on my path down my "personal spiritual reinvention." It is time.

Fear the Frog!

So did anyone watch the Rose Bowl? We did! I have to say that I am thrilled that TCU decided to show up to play football this year, and hopefully silenced the "nay-sayers" about the non-BCS and non-AQ teams. So until next college football season-Let Purple Reign!

Now-on to New Years resolutions-I would like to say that I will not be like the rest of the US by resolving to work out more, but this year I am going to. I have some remnants of Everett sitting on my hips, and it is time to tone up this body of mine. So here it is...I resolve to fit into one of these outfits by the end of 2011. YEEHAW!

Holiday Recap

This year for work has started off with a bang, so I have to keep this brief. Here are a few pictures of the past few weeks that should sum up what happened. Everett's favorite gift of Christmas was a giant stuffed dog. He keeps walking up to it to hug & kiss it-pretty darn cute if you ask me! (Notice how the dog food scoop keeps appearing in a good number of the pictures with him.) Of all the things in this house that he loves, it is the dog scoop. He runs around with it and at times the girls chase after him knowing that the scoop typically brings them their meals. Since the time he could reach in and grab it, he has loved it. He cries and cries when we take it from him. Gross-I know-but I guess it could be worse.

Typical Christmas morning picture in our Christmas pajama's and the dog scoop.

My sister came into town with his husband and 3 kids. It was a week packed full of activities. The favorite being the Ice show at the Gaylord Texas Hotel. Everything in the background is made of ice. It was pretty cool (literally and figuratively).

I had to show how cute little E was in his blue coat. He was stopping traffic as he waddled through.

My sister, her husband, and three kids (ages 7, 5, and 1 1/2). She is one busy mama!

E playing with his cousin that is just 5 weeks younger. My sister made the comment that E is such "an alpha male." We all had to laugh because just minutes after she made that comment, E walked up and yanked his cousin by the shirt to drag him to the play room to finish playing. I think that was Jana's polite was of saying that he is bossy-which is true.

It was a great trip, and it was fun to see how much fun the little boys had with each other. I can't wait until they are older and can really play with each other! Good times.