Is It Naptime Yet?!?

Gordon/Charnik Wedding Teaser

2011-09-29T17:11:00.006-05:00

Here are just a few pictures of the beautiful wedding I shot out at Evins Mill in Smithville this weekend. Congrats to Mary-Gray and Andrew! More to come on Facebook...

Gotta Paint This...

2011-09-29T10:16:00.003-05:00

I need one for every room in my house. :)

The Morning After

2011-09-28T15:04:00.018-05:00

Yes, this post is a little late. Or alot late, seeing as how this occurred about a month ago. Our little European excursion will have to take the blame, but I figure it's better late than never...

Big Girl Baby as she calls herself (because a baby is obviously the thing to be at our house) had her fourth birthday party, completely with cookout, cake, ice cream, and a whole slew of presents. (This whole foods market birthday cake is absolutely delish might I add...)

When it was all said and done I was just too pooped to clean up, and when I woke up the next morning to assess the damage, I thought... what a fun house we had last night. :)

Here's what I saw...

Judging from that last shot, I'd say the day was a success. :) Now someone please get that girl a cup of coffee...

1, 2, 3, 4

2011-08-30T00:33:00.006-05:00

I love being a Mama... I really really do. There's truly absolutely nothing else I'd rather do with my life than raise my babies. Don't get me wrong... like all moms, there's not a point in every day of my life where my kiddos aren't driving me absolutely insane and I long for a few uninterrupted hours of quiet to myself... even if that only means I get to clean up my kitchen without being nagged for something that will cause me to have to mess it up again. Even with that said though, I wouldn't trade a single day of the past four years.

My Reese Cup made me a Mama exactly four years ago today. Seems I can't have a kid without there being some kind of dramatic story that goes along with it. For this one, it was the eternity that it took to get her out. Already four days past her due date, sunny side up, and she. wasn't. budging. From the time we showed up for our scheduled induction (8am August 29) to the time she finally showed herself to the world (11:27am August 30) 11+ people in both of our families had spent the night in the hospital waiting 27 1/2 hours for her to arrive. She finally did so, when she wanted, and without anyone telling her how she was gonna do it.

If you know Reese, then you know that not much has changed in four years. :)

Now this beautiful girl of mine (who I can barely claim as my own to look at her) is one year away from Kindergarten and I really can't tell you where the time has gone. Her imagination keeps me in stitches. Her brilliance and intelligence, well it shocks me so often at what she's able to comprehend. (The girl can spout off verses and chapters of scripture without blinking an eye.) I would be absolutely beside myself without her help each day now living with and taking care of two babies. She is responsible and able beyond her four years, and I'm so grateful to have her as my daughter. All that to say, she's still four... and the things she comes up with and says sometimes (insert story last week from April Willett) well, let's just say Lord knows I need a reminder every once in a while that she really is only four... :) I get really excited to think of how sweet I know our relationship can be as she grows older, and pray to God he gives me the wisdom to guide her little heart to love Him well as she matures. Oh how I loooove my Reese Cup. Happy Birthday sweet girl! I'm so grateful that you're mine!

Thank You, Mr. Craig

2011-08-26T22:23:00.010-05:00

Dear Mr. Craig. Not exactly sure of your last name, but I would love to meet you, shake your hand, and tell you how much I love that list of yours. I'm not quite sure why anyone would ever buy retail again after truly experiencing what you have to offer. You see, patience is not always my forte, but when it comes to you and your list my friend, you have always delivered. Every time. And at this moment I am enjoying the cool night air from the comfort of the loveseat out on my deck. As much as I love to be outside, and as the mornings and evenings eventually become cooler and cooler (at least I think they will... they have to, right?) I'm sure I'll be spending many of them right here.

I would be remiss however, if I didn't give a huge shout out to this guy right here...

without whom, none of this would've been possible, seeing how he was so generous to lend me his truck. Thanks Bobby Billy. I owe ya man.

Those TSC staff peeps really blessed my socks off that day... cause on top of the wonderful truck lending generosity of our middle school pastor, a certain preschool ministry assistant who caught me in the act of trying to load carseats into the back of said truck came out to my rescue and suggested that instead, I let 'em hang out with the awesome ladies in the office for a bit...

Really? Do you know what you're saying? I mean, we're talking about these sweet adorable little faces right here...

Before you agree to this, please believe me when I tell you- you won't get anything else done while I'm gone. Here's your chance to totally back out on your offer. But you'd better hurry, before I run...

But she didn't. Wow. And it was suuuuch a treat to handle this without kiddos in tow! So thanks a MILLION each to Amber, Alicia, Christy, Angela, April, Joanna, and anyone else that I'm unaware of and unintentionally leaving out for keeping my kids out of the heat and out of my hair while I fetched up my latest treasure. Y'all absolutely made my day. An invitation to lunch on my deck sitting in my new furniture will be extended to y'all hopefully very soon!

Happy Weekend Everyone! Enjoy it!

A New Face

2011-08-21T23:50:00.009-05:00

So I've been wanting to re-enter the blogosphere for quite some time now. Turns out, this afternoon's naptime demanded absolutely nothing of me but two and a half glorious hours of whatever the heck I wanted. After 45 minutes of craigslisting and searching every store's website known to man trying to find patio furniture that I wanted and could afford (to no avail, might I add) I became extremely frustrated with the amount of money someone thinks they can charge for CUSHIONS (for crying out loud) and decided I needed an avenue to vent my frustration. This led to a visit to my very outdated blog, and then the decision that it was indeed time to say hello again.

But first, a facelift...

A new title, (because since I stopped blogging I have gained two more children and lost all sense of quiet, control, and time to myself) and a new look (since I have become slightly obsessed with DIY, turning someone else's junk into something beautiful, and "cottage white" and would cover every wall in my house in white beadboard if I had my way.)

So here it is. And speaking of facelifts- what I did with my weekend...

Before: Found on an obliging curb awaiting a trip to the dump

After...

And my favorite part about this little project was the cost. $0.00 Absolutely zip, zero, zilch, nada... you get the picture.

The shelves were leftovers from my garage in our former home, and the paint was left here by the former owners of our new home.

It's sheer therapy, I'm telling you! Didn't even mind looking down at my feet in church this morning and admiring the white speckled skin on my toes from the splattered paint. :) Marks of a great weekend. Now if only I'd take the time to make the paint on my toenails look half as good...

And just as an added bonus...

Sweet girl sleeping off the Cowboys defeat in her Romo jersey. :) Love her...

Another run-of-the-mill, ordinary day

2011-02-17T22:50:00.004-06:00

Every once in a while, you have one of those monumental moments in life. The kind that just sort of stop time for a split second. The Lord does something in your life that changes it forever. You ask yourself if you're about to be a guest on the SNL sketch "Really?!? With Seth and Amy" And you just keep asking yourself Really?!? Really?!? (haha- I just love me some good weekend update...)

Well, welcome to the past four days of my life. And let me tell you, past experience tells me that God is about to do something really HUGE here.

I am Mama to a handful of a 3 1/2 year old girl, and a precious 9 1/2 month old boy who is just starting to come into and show us his adorable little personality. If you're reading this, you probably are already aware that said 9 1/2 month old boy was a hefty 11 lbs 1 oz at birth. Recovery took quite a while after delivering him, and getting rid of the extra "love" I've been carrying around has proven to be quite a task.

I really got motivated to hit it hard after Christmas, though, showing up at the gym 3-4 times a week for the past 6 weeks, and feeling great. After the first month, however, I was becoming increasingly disappointed and discouraged at the lack of results I was seeing- in fact, I felt like I was moving in reverse.

After a great run this past Monday, Valentines Day, and going through my routine on the scale and kinda trying to scope things out for any changes in things, I'll just be honest- I was ticked and just decided it was time to have a heart to heart with God. I'm working so hard. I've changed so much about my diet. Why are you not blessing my efforts?!? Augh!!! Am I doing something wrong?

And then, a thought that had vaguely crossed my mind a few times over the past couple weeks, occurred to me again... Could I be? No, I'm still nursing Ty, and frankly it just doesn't add up...

Then a thoughtless Mama remembered that she had not purchased any Valentines for Reese's party the next day, and a quick 9:45pm trip to Walgreens was in order. Just as I was about to head to the checkout counter, the thought occurred to me again. Ah, what will it hurt. Just buy one. What the heck, buy two. Put your mind at ease.

And then...

Happy Valentines Day, Dear

R- "What is that?"
H- "What does it look like?"
R- (smile and a chuckle...) hug your wife and say "We're gonna have a baby..."
H- "No, we already have one- he's across the hall!"

But just wait- it gets better...

Fast forward to Thursday. Sweet little face pops up on an ultrasound screen. Holy cow. It's really true. And then the doc confirms even crazier news...

"You're 5 months along"

Congrats. You've missed the first half of it. Feel free to submit your story to one of those Lifetime "I didn't know I was pregnant" shows...

So there you have it folks- we are pleased to introduce Wagoner baby #3... Due Date, July 12... give or take a week... who can really tell... But hey, we'll be able to tell you if it's a boy or girl in 2 weeks! And when you finish picking your jaw up off the ground, you can come help me with mine. I think it may be there for a while...

Six Months

2010-10-22T08:34:00.007-05:00

Don't let the adorable little smile on the left fool you. People tell me it's terrible that I call him "fat boy" but- c'mon, can you blame me? When he outgrows it, or starts to understand what I'm saying, I'll stop, I promise. Fat Boy celebrated six months on Wednesday. As sweet and precious as he is 99.9% of the time, this kid has a shrill shreik of a scream that would taunt even the scariest of wildlife living in the jungles of Africa. And all it takes to really set him off is for him to be about half asleep and ticked off about wanting food in the middle of the night.

We had reached a point where he was sleeping through the night. Then, as all crazy babies do, he grew again... (what is he thinking?) and for about 2 weeks now I have been up religiously again at 2:30, 4:30, and 6:30. (though to give him credit, sometimes he'd sleep through the 2:30 feeding. How generous, right?)

I want to say to him - "You know that your sister slept through the night from the day she was born, right?!? Take a lesson!" (People told us that because of this, we weren't really parents the first time... lol)

And I know that there are all sorts of people out there that think I'm nuts for not starting this sooner- but a doctor my family really trusts advises to wait to give a child anything but mother's milk until there is a presence of teeth because the presence of teeth indicate that the body has started to secrete the digestive enzyme necessary to properly digest food. So- while they haven't completely poked through yet... you can see they're very close... and Mama and Daddy's sanity is at stake... so here we are.

And while I know you may have a hard time believing it... this kid took right to eating. :) And slept a glorious TEN hours last night. (Thank. You. Lord.)

And just so the Reese Cup isn't left out... enjoy a nice little giggle at what she and a couple of buddies conjured up after dinner last night. (Hope this little guy's daddy doesn't kill me for this- but he was ALL too eager to line up for this shot!) Love it!

Allow Me to Translate

2010-10-15T12:08:00.002-05:00

Reese decided to write me a note today. When I asked her what it said, this is what she told me. (Feel free to read it for yourself.) :)

Bring on the Cheese

2010-10-12T12:42:00.004-05:00

Compared to the church that I grew up in, I am now privileged to serve in a ministry that is quite, what some may think of as "progressive"... Our theology is sound and Biblical, but our methods, well... we do what works for the area that we live in, and I love it. I am however, beginning to wonder what they're teaching our preschoolers about Christmas...

Our three year old daughter came out of choir this past Sunday night eager to tell me all about the new song she'd learned from her teacher. Here's how it went...

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive more cheese... Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven-n-a-manger sing, let heaven-n-a-manger sing..."

As brilliant as this mind of hers is- we're still learning what's smart and what's not when it comes to getting yourself stuck in Mama and Daddy's footboard. This would probably make the 10th time I've pulled her out of this in a week.

Just a little insight into the world of the Reese Cup. :)

An Attempt at Unloading My Brain before I'm Late for Connect Group...

2010-10-10T15:47:00.006-05:00

Well now... let me begin by saying this. It has been a pretty rough year and a half. It just has. Let me tell you something though... the sun is out. (you say- yes we know, Heather. It's October and it's 90 degrees. We know that the sun is out.) No, I mean- in our house, the sun is OUT! It is good to be a W in TN!

But you know, sometimes my brain just frustrates me. I have so many things that God has taught me over the course of this past year and a half, and holy cow I want to tell someone that needs to hear it so that it can make an eternal impact on their lives. I just can't keep it in anymore, and I figured this may be a good place to start. Cause usually if I try to talk about it, it just gets all jumbled right about the spot where my neck meets my shoulders, chokes me up, and it never quite makes it out of my mouth very clearly. So frustrating...

I've learned something about myself though- the Lord revealed it to me back in the spring. It's been one of those revelations that basically every shortcoming in my life gets blamed on ever since I discovered it about myself. :) Ready for it?

I'm pretty sure I'm one of the most insecure people that I know.

Even NOW, I mean this VERY second... I'm asking myself- is what I'm typing clever enough? Will someone read this and think "man, that chick is hilarious..." And then I come back and say "girl. Just think. clearly. don't let anything cloud your mind. type until your spirit says 'yep, that's what I was trying to say.'"

Most of the time my mind gets so thick with concerns of every little thing going on around me, or of someone's opinion of me, that for a while it just become easier not to engage with people at all. Where church is concerned, it is far easier for my mind to make a b-line for whatever room my kid is being taken care of in, pick them up, and drive home to the safety of our four walls than to stop and have an intelligent conversation with someone.

Surely there's a label for this, wouldn't you think? :)

Couple this problem with being the wife of one of the pastors of a 2000+ member church, (who isn't afraid to talk to anyone at all) and let me tell you something else. Living a life of never feeling like you know how to act or being so afraid of what someone will say about you is ex-HAUS-ting. And absolutely fruitless.

And I really wanna be finished with it...

It's actually very empowering to realize and own the fact that I am a child of God, and that I can be completely fulfilled and secure in this relationship if I will just let myself believe it. Believe that at my fingertips are limitless resources of power from the Spirit of the living God.

For the place in life that I'm in right now... I think about it this way. Let's say my realtor just called- they wanna show the house in an hour. The kitchen is a wreck because I'm in the middle of making dinner, my bedroom has no sheets on the bed, three baskets of clean laundry to fold, and two more piles in the living room waiting their turn in the washer, and my daughter is up to her beloved ears in dress-up clothes and toy dishes amidst every book, block, crayon, and puzzle piece that she has strewn around her bedroom floor. My 5 1/2 month old is screaming because of those horrible bottom teeth that just won't break through.

But sure- I'll have my house clean and perfectly staged for you to walk through it in five minutes and then decide you don't wanna buy it. Bring 'em on... :P

All of the sudden- my sweet husband walks through the door to my rescue. "Hey babe, got the call about the showing. Thought you might need some help getting everything together."

You mean- I don't have to take care of this myself? I don't have to handle this load? You're gonna lead us through this crazy moment and save the day?

Yep... my heart stops pounding. My head stops swirling. Four-letter words stop trying to make their way across my lips. And my mind can rest. Because I know that I don't have to do something my mind tells me is impossible, or if I attempt it, won't be good enough anyway. Because while I'm good at cleaning up the filth of a home- my man is waaaay better and faster at dealing with the clutter. He's gonna handle it for me.

I. am. secure. The task is taken care of.

I am the same child of God as every hero and heroine of my faith. The same power that drives their ministries is readily available to me as well. And let me tell you- that power doesn't come from me. It comes from the One who lives deep within me.

Can somebody breathe a breath of fresh air with me?

Folks- insecurity doesn't just make you look weak and unsure of yourself. It breeds sin. and hurt. and turmoil. and just plain devastation.

But that's a blogpost for another day... and beyond that- it's time for Sonic and church. :)

Eat Pray Love... Reviewed and Redefined...

2010-08-22T16:01:00.011-05:00

Wow, this movie made my brain swirl. I knew beforehand what I was going into... or had an idea anyway. A woman on a yearlong trip through one european country and two asian countries (Italy, India, and Bali) to "find herself" essentially... Even so, I just wanted her to get it. And by it I mean an answer. Well, not even just an answer, but THE answer. Probably because it was Julia Roberts. I don't know "Liz" at all, (speaking as if I know Julia Roberts... lol) but what American woman can't identify with at least one character Julia Roberts has portrayed in her sensational career... people just love to watch her on the big screen, and this definitely leaves nothing to be desired as far as her acting is concerned. ReMARKable performance. Two thumbs up, absolutely. Obviously if you're not as a big a fan of her acting as I am then you'll feel differently, but the sole fact that she was the lead role in this movie was all it took to get me there to see it. Needless to say I'm a fan, and speaking from a spiritual point of view- whatever quest her character was on... I found myself wanting Julia to find the real answer to what Liz was looking for.)

From a Biblical perspective, any effort to give any good answers to the purpose of life or the idea of “finding yourself” was sorely wasted. (Not that I was expecting anything different.) The movie pretty much bombed in giving anybody any real answers, let alone the right direction to head in. Well, I’ll take that back- she set out on a quest to find herself, and she at least started by seeking to find “God”, though he is never defined as the God that I know my Savior to be, but rather leans more towards the idea of everyone being their own god... something is actually quoted as saying once he dwells in you, he becomes you, or some kind of nonsense along those lines. (The scene where she kneels in her bathroom and cries out to Him regarding her failing marriage- wow. The veins were popping out of her head as she anguished with tears flowing from her eyes.) But since this quest didn’t lead her to Jesus, well then... bomb. Liz can’t seem to be happy, no matter what she does... divorce, an extramarital relationship before the divorce is finalized... nothing gives her “peace” or gives her fulfillment... she’s not satisfied. Positive- she seeks out something “spiritual” to help her achieve it. Negative- nowhere near finding the one and only God who could truly satisfy what she’s looking for. (Let me pause for a moment to say that I absolutely could relate with this woman in this aspect of being constantly dissatisfied... and I very much disliked the horribly selfish person that it was making me to be. Not as if I'm working to change it because of something I decided that I liked or dis-liked. It's the amazing hand of God who will not let those that He calls His own be any less than everything He wants to make them... not and be happy anyway. Life is miserable outside of God's plan. I’ve been on a similar journey, but unlike this poor girl, I knew immediately where the Answer lied... I just had to make the effort to own it for myself and make the effort to be obedient to His word.)

From the perspective of one who still endeavors to see the world... wow again. Especially the scene where “Liz” is taking a taxi through India. It maybe lasted a minute to a minute and a half, but the way the videographer captured the chaos of a busy city in this crazy country was incredible. I instantly felt like I was in the backseat of one of many Chinese taxi’s I’ve ridden in, except the chaos was times 10. My spirit was instantly oppressed, however, and burdened by what I saw in this country, and remained that way until her time in India was complete.

Message behind the title... find these three things and you’ll achieve balance and peace in your life.

Eat- (Italy) Seek and experience pleasure... fill yourself up with things that make you feel good, and nourish you, body, mind, and soul... whatever those “things” are. Here, in the end, they
were family and relationship. And great Italian food. :)

Pray- (India) Find yourself... meditate... understand who you are

Love- (Bali) Relationship; intimate human interaction and connection

Obviously the middle one is what has thrown me into such a conundrum. Like I said earlier, I’ve battled a similar battle. I used to write off any notion of “knowing yourself” as some kind of new-age garbage, but I now whistle a slightly different tune. (Only slightly, mind you...) What I’ve discovered is that “knowing yourself” needs to be about asking God to identify your weaknesses... the places you are most prone to fail Him and dishonor His name, many times bringing the consequences of sin onto yourself and many times your loved ones... and then asking Him to make you acutely aware of ANY and EVERY time Satan rears his ugly head to try to use these things to attack you so that you are ready to defend yourself. (ie, using the Armor of God as found in Eph. 6.) Therefore, knowing yourself, isn’t about knowing yourself at all... but rather knowing God, and more specifically Jesus Christ, who YOU are in HIM, and the power that is available through Him to live victoriously. It’s the ultimate security. I am HIS... when you can truly own that for yourself, the security that takes over your mind is indescribable. It takes over every decision, every emotion... everything. I’m a daughter of the Most High, forever under his protection, and LOVED in the most COMPLETE possible way I could ever need. Nothing that any person could say or do to me, no matter who it is, no matter how closely knit my relationship is with that person, even if they hurt me in the worst possible way, can ever change my worth to Him or my place in eternity. This was indeed the missing message that burdened my heart for this woman.

I actually really loved this movie. In many other places it made some really great points, and I’m dying to see it again... hopefully soon. Being able to see all of the places in the world that you’re able to see is really exciting to me. And Julia’s famous fun laugh and beautiful smile resonate in several different places... you catch glimpses of pretty woman and the runaway bride a couple of times... :) But it leaves an ache in my heart. It speaks SO closely to the heartstrings of what just has to be hundreds of thousands of women, if not more, in regards to the emptiness that they must feel when their life is void of a Savior... (though they misinterpret that void for something else... something more tangible.) They’re going to relate to this woman, whether through their own divorce experiences, or maybe a myriad of other addictions or heartaches that Satan has used to wreak havoc on their lives, and since this movie seems to leave you believing she’d “found herself” or her “inner peace”, then in an effort to fill that emptiness, so many are going to follow her example. I want to grab them all by the shoulders and invite them to know my Jesus. I’d probably ask them to redefine the title a little something like this...

Eat- Seek God’s Word. I Peter 2 tells you to study it as if you were eating it up just like a newborn baby craves milk. It will fill you up and nourish your mind and spirit.

Pray- Talk to God. Pour out your heart to Him. Ask Jesus to be Lord of your life, and ask Him to bring people into your life that will help you know Him better and how to live for Him. Then spend quiet moments listening to His voice. The Holy Spirit will speak to your heart and give you guidance.

Love- Do just that... Love Him. With all your heart, soul, body, spirit, and mind.

I’ve found then that the peace of God that is absolutely impossible to describe, will set up a guard around your heart and mind. The security you’ll find is so freeing. A victorious life is inevitable.

Hmmm... my brain feels better now that all of those thoughts are on “paper”. But my heart still wishes the message of this movie would direct people to Christ...

My Not-So-Green-Thumb

2010-07-21T21:32:00.002-05:00

I've done everything that's been asked of me in regards to "staging" my house to sell it. I've loved this house. If it had some more space, I'd buy it all over again. For some reason though, after over three months, we're still the proud owners. From painting over my beloved red kitchen, to taking down all of my family photos, to storing one of my couches to open up my living room, to leaving fresh baked cookies on the table for a potential buyer (and not to mention the cookies giving it that nice "homey" smell), I've done it all... or so I thought.

According to my realtor, who is aparantly a feng shui expert now, I need red blooming plants in my house. Now I thought feng shui was all about the "flow" of your home... (whatever.) To quote her email, however, anyone who has placed red blooming plants in their home has sold it within a week of the next person that looked... At this point, I'll try anything.

So... meet my red blooming plants.

The problem is... my fingers do great things to your neck, shoulder, and feet muscles, a computer keyboard, and my piano, however- they've never been super successful at keeping these things alive. Thanks to lady at Lowe's for her encouraging advice...

"Try these. They're annuals. They're gonna die anyway." :)

Question for the Big Nanny...

2010-07-18T23:36:00.004-05:00

So everyone knows that VBS starts tomorrow. I'm teaching theatre in the mornings, games in the evenings, and piano in between for a couple of afternoons this week. Dinners for each night of the week are prepped and in the deep freeze, ready to be thawed each morning and popped into the oven when needed. My house is cleaned and will be ready to show at a moments notice. I've spent the evening organizing my week down to the very last detail, and in the end, this is what will be assisting me in keeping my sanity...

Whoever thought of sticky notes for your desktop was an ABSOLUTE genius...

So (cue musical intro) my question for the Big Nanny is this- (enter Taylor Hicks solo...)

This is what we dream about, but the only question with me now... is, Do I make you proud??

(Though I'm sure your desktop is much more decorated than my own.) :)

HAPPY VBS-ing EVERYONE!!!

Confessions of a Health Food Junkie

2010-07-16T15:24:00.004-05:00

Does anyone else think it's weird that I got super excited over my lunch today?

Starting at the top and moving clockwise, we have...

Watermelon
Sweet Potatoes
Quinoa
Broccoli

Hi. I'm Heather. And I love healthy food. I spend my "nursing time" flipping between Food Network and the Cooking Channel, and get excited over organic cookbooks and cooking magazines. I could read them for hours. Today was the first time I'd ever made quinoa, and it pretty much made my day...

Phew... glad I got that off my chest.

On a side note- this just in from Reese... (I got her dressed today, but apparantly shorts and a t-shirt weren't enough. The leotard needed to go over the outfit.)

"Welcome to Handy Manny's School for Tools. Today- we're learning how to make a dress! It will be SO beautiful..."

(I bet Manny would be thrilled to know what a great seamstress he is at our house...) :)

A Saturday Well Spent

2010-07-03T23:54:00.009-05:00

I could very easily become addicted to this game... And yes he beat me- but I had the lead after the front 9! (Somehow that's not the score that counts...)

My Little Drama Queen

2010-07-03T23:24:00.012-05:00

"Mama... I fink I just need to wee-wax..." she says, crawling into an empty tub with her clothes

on...

...tell me about it.

Things I Plan to do in July

2010-07-01T15:56:00.005-05:00

Keep finding ways to pour myself into my relationship with Christ, my husband, our kids, and our ministry
Put up sweet corn in my deep freezer... enough to have an ample amount for dinners, not only for my family, but also to share with friends... probably about 15 quarts or so
Enjoy warm evening walks with my love
Finish the book "Shepherding a Child's Heart"
Pack up my house so I can move down the road in August
Spend time with a few teenage girls that have stolen my heart
Golf with my husband, brother, and Dad
Play with my kiddos and catch lots of those moments on video
Lose 10 pounds
Drink lots of carrot/beet/celery/lettuce and apple juice (freshly juiced I might add)
Get a pedicure... maybe with Cathy if she didn't spend all of her money at Cedar Point and on her new boat :)
Go to Gatlinburg with our awesome TSC Staff Family
Become a cottage/romantic/shabby chic guru- and decide how I will decorate every room of my new house to suit that taste

Song of the Day

2010-06-01T09:44:00.002-05:00

Toot-ed, Toot-ed, Toot-ed, Toot-ed, Toot-ed swallow Jo-Jo-Jonah? Who did swallow Joooo-nah now?

Back in the Saddle Again...

2010-05-28T17:03:00.007-05:00

And this is the little hoss that's putting me here...

Though instead of putting the saddle on this 5 1/2 week old hoss, (that's into size 6 month clothes I might add) I'm carrying him around. Currently all 13 pounds and 24 1/2 inches of him. Not that I'm complaining... you think I'd be a champion weightlifter after carrying him around since July of last summer... and frankly I'm beyond grateful to be carrying him with my arms as opposed to my abdominal muscles and, well, you know, all that goes with that...

All that to say- Mama's bloggin' again. And with him and his 2 1/2 year old sister (that seems to think she's running the show around our house) Mama's bound to have lots to say.

Then again- I'm finding that half of what Miss Thang says these days really may not need to be published online. (Oh the joys of raising Reagan's child. lol I think his mother and sister will appreciate that...) I think she is living proof of the incredible sense of humor that I believe God has. I wouldn't be suprised if He didn't carefully and specifically place children with personalities and thought patterns like her own directly into families that are in full time ministry... just to keep their parents on their toes. Because who doesn't love to see and hear the potty-training pastor's kid that is all too eager to talk to ANY and EVERY person about everything she's discovering in her 2 1/2 year old world?!?

What a treat. We'll leave the rest to your own imaginations.

Egg Hunting - SMILEBOX! :)

2009-04-11T12:47:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Riding Out the Storm

2009-03-28T18:45:00.010-05:00

So the Wag fam set out for a fun day of PennStation, mini-golf, and batting cages in the boro today... and had a grand ol' time. :)

Apparantly we were missing out on some crazy storms back home... On our way back, 'bout 5 minutes or so before we exit 840, lets just say Mama's stomach started getting a little nervous. The clouds we were driving under looked as though they'd swallow us up any minute! Mama was ready to clean Daddy's clock, seeing as how Daddy's a wanna-be storm chaser from Oklahoma, so he slows down to about 50 to watch the action. Augh! GET YOUR GIRLS HOME AND OUTTA THIS WEATHER!

Obviously we made it back safe and sound, and pulled into the church parking lot just in time to see this... one of the brightest rainbows I've ever seen with the beginning AND ending of it on either side of the TSC campus. GORGEOUS. With a big scary wanna-be tornado hiding in the rain right in the middle of it... just amazing. Thank you camera-phone.

Yes, this is two pictures "glued"together to make one... Thank you photoshop. :)

Hope y'all had as much fun riding out the storm as we did! :)

Dear Aunt Weesha...

2009-03-20T00:27:00.009-05:00

...and Uncle Wob, Hannah, and Hudson too.

Thought you might like to see this. I came up with it all by myself- totally surprised my Mama one day a couple months ago!

Here's something else that I've been meaning to send a BIG THANK YOU for! A little belated Christmas gift... thanks to Nana I still got to celebrate in February! :)

I am saying such new and funny things everyday. While Daddy was gone visiting you, Mama told me everyday where he was, and who he was with. Now that he's home, when it's time for him to leave for work, I always ask her if he's in * and tell her that he's w/ Weesha. :) (Though I bet he's glad he doesn't have to make that trip everyday!)

This morning, while Mama was getting me ready for her Bible Study, I was singing sweetly like I do quite often. I guess Mama wasn't paying good attention, but as I bust into the chorus of "How Gaaaaate" she realized what I'd been singing... Of course she ran to grab the video camera, so I sang parts of it for her again. See if you can figure it out! :)

Did you hear it? "Age to age... stands. Time... hands. Beginning... end. Godhead... three... one... Son... lion-lamb." :) Mama and Daddy are very proud of what I'm learning... but I think they're being extra careful with what goes into these ears of mine these days. :)

Hannah and Hudson- I love you both lots, and will be so excited when we can play together sometime. Let's skype soon! And I promise to try not to turn off the Mario Kart again next time...

Love, Reese

A Conversation Between Friends

2009-03-10T14:06:00.002-05:00

Sitting at Pancho's Sunday night, Reese and Collin are having the best conversation that a 10 year old can possibly have with an 18 month old, and Reese decides to relieve herself a bit...

"ppffftttt"

Of course Collin thinks it's hillarious...

Collin: Reese, Reese, say "excuse me"
Reese: (no response, except for maybe another ppffffttttt)
Collin: laughing loudly... Reese, what do you say???
Reese: (thinks about it for a second...) You're welcome!

A Call to Worship

2009-03-08T07:49:00.016-05:00

As spiritually uplifting as that may sound... this call sounded more like blood curdling screams coming from my 18 month olds room last night around 10:00. (Which was technically 11:00 w/ the time change.)

Reagan was in the back guest room with his guitar. I had spent my evening shooting all the Bubba's at the WBF and was sitting in front of my computer going through shots, then all of a sudden...

waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

So of course I JUMP from my chair and run into her room to find her 1. flushed cheeks, burning up/sweating because someone had put her to bed in her red fleece polka dotted CHRISTMAS pajamas...? and 2. crying uncontrollably, asking for a drink.

Fever? Doesn't feel that way... OK, maybe she has sweat out every bit of moisture in that little body of hers. Let's change the pj's, get some water, and politely ask Daddy to change rooms since the guitar music seemed to be easily seeping straight through her bedroom wall. Thank you Daddy... he's gone to the bathroom floor now with his music.

If you know my girl though... we got the pj's changed. we got the drink. we got nemo and the ninny and the nuk. She still hears it though...

music? music? daddy? music?

So off we go, to a sweet time of singing her favorite song "How Great is Our God". As you will see, my little aspiring worship leader still has some lessons to learn about wilfully baring her midriff as she sings, but it now seems that the "pio" (pee-o) is not the only instrument that grabs her attention. :) Her voice rang as clear as could be, singing "Naaaame" (above all names) at the top of her lungs in such a way that I'm sure put a smile wide on Jesus' face.

Of course the pictures can do a better job of telling the story than I can...

singing "Naaaaame" at the top of her lungs. :)

After the Weather We Had Today...

2009-02-08T22:11:00.002-06:00

... I really wanna be back here. :)

Intervention Please!!!

2009-02-07T20:27:00.006-06:00

Could someone please get this man a vacation... I found him like this tonight, just before 8:00, in the Equipping Center, curled up in the fetal position with my daughter's ninny and nuk...

Someone please get him some help before he does something... crazy?!?

P.S. In case you weren't aware, our very own Pastor Duane hit the big 4-0 yesterday, and tonight was a big birthday celebration in his honor. :) You can check out the pictures here!

February 7, 2004... A Day Which Will Live in Infamy... Well For Me Anyway :)

2009-02-07T11:25:00.011-06:00

So the story begins on the warm Wednesday evening of June 25, 2003. She'd arrived straight from Ohio at the student service at TSC and spotted the cute intern almost immediately... yes, she'd heard about him, though he had no idea who she was... and although her interest was peaked, well... after church, she went to Sonic with someone else. :)

That someone else invited her to SNAC that weekend... so the girl went, arriving straight from a camping trip in shorts, a t-shirt, and a do-rag, and bless someone else's heart, opened the door to the beginning of the rest of their lives together... "their" being the girl and the cute intern that is. See, cute intern had been instructed by his boss to start hanging out with a few girls his own age in an effort to defer the 8th grade crushes on him, so when he spotted a new girl in a cute do-rag walking through the door, he asked her out the first time he met her. The girl was heading back to Ohio the next day, so the persistent intern decided breakfast at Cracker Barrel was in order. Needless to say, she accepted.

For a whopping 7 months, between Texas, Tennessee, and Ohio, it was pretty touch-and-go for the girl and the cute intern, who had by then graduated school and become childrens-and-youth-associate... but on February 7, 2004, with his guitar and only one good knee, somehow the... (well we don't wanna call him the c.y.a. do we?) the cute boy managed to kneel down and ask the girl to be his wife.

Remember folks, we said one good knee... that's because cute boy had just blown out his ACL, MCL, and meniscus playing intermural basketball that past November at school. One good knee wasn't going to stop him though... Cute boy had written his girl a song, and right in the middle of the last chorus... whoops... he dropped his pic inside the guitar. Good thing girl was sitting right next to the guitar case. When she leaned over to get another pic out of it... well a pic is not what she found, folks. :) Giving cute boy just enough time to gingerly slip down to his good knee... :) Here's what the girl came back with.

And yes... her jaw dropped when he placed the rock on her hand.

And yes... I've been wearing it proudly for five years today.

And yes... we keep the goatee around because, admit it folks... cute boy would still look 15 without it. :)

Love you, baby... :) Still glad I said yes, even a whole five years later.

Fave Fotos Friday

2009-02-06T10:52:00.003-06:00

"Hey Mama- I've got a suprise for you..."

"I cleaned out the cabinet ALL BY MYSELF!!!"

"Now why don't you return the favor and clean off my face?!?" :)

My Attempt at De-Masculinizing the Game of Football

2009-02-01T00:34:00.005-06:00

The Verdict Is In...

2009-01-29T17:47:00.002-06:00

Well, as fast as she is growing... here's hoping the flap on her left ureter does the same.

Turns out Reese does indeed have stage 3 reflux that affects her left kidney. (The right one is working just fine.) My niece actually had the same thing only it affected both of her kidneys, and she outgrew it in less than a year. No problems to worry about so far, and she'll be on antibiotics until she either outgrows it or has it fixed surgically. Pumping antibiotics down her throat daily for the next year or so goes against everything I stand for when it comes to how we eat and live... so here's to going against my grain. Thanks for everyone who's checked on her and prayed for her today. The test went "smoothly" with no fighting, though lots of screaming and over ten minutes of trying to calm her down after the test were involved. I wasn't the one laying on the table and I know my nerves were shot when it was all said and done.

So now I'm looking for ways to "count it all joy..." and I decided to thank God for the technology and medicine to find these things so my baby doesn't suffer kidney failure at some point in her life! Good thing to be thankful for, huh?!?

Clever Title Currently Unavailable...

2009-01-29T12:27:00.005-06:00

I can honestly say I can no longer keep up with the rate at which this girl is growing and learning. Every. single. day. she hits me with something new. A new word, a new dance, a new nap schedule... :) Tomorrow marks 17 months since this child made her way into our world and I can't remember what life was like before her. Today while I was in the bathroom getting ready, she was in my room watching tv. She toddled into the bathroom and we had the following conversation...

Reese: "Mama- I tigger. I tigger poop."

Mama: "No Reese cup, not poop. Say 'Pooh'"

Reese: "poop"

Oh well... I tried, right? :)

Now I know that not everyone shares my love of musicals and what not, and while several people have told me they feel Pierce Brosnon ruined his career when he did Mamma Mia, I strongly disagree. I fear I've gone a little overboard with it however, since receiving the DVD for Christmas...

This is not the only song she asks for. Random requests for 'Honey' and 'Money' have been coming up as well. Needless to say Mamma Mia has been put away in exchange for PraiseBaby and other CD's to ensure my little sponge is soaking up things other than, well anyway...

So here in a few short minutes we'll be taking the Reese Cup to Vandy for something called a VCUG... (google it if you'd like) We're trying to find out if her urine is refluxing back into her kidneys, and I'm worried the process may be a little frightening for her to say the least. The majority of the time children outgrow it if this is indeed the case, but your prayers would be appreciated for her over the next couple of hours! I'll try to update this when I get home if we find anything out immediately...

Fun With Ooblick

2009-01-28T22:59:00.003-06:00

Does anyone else remember playing with this stuff as a kid? I'd forgotten all about it, but leave it to my supermom sister to introduce it into my own girls playtime.

How much fun are they having?!? And how cool is my sister to not care that it's being strewed floor to ceiling in her dining room? Way to go Danielle... you're a better mom than I would've been about it! lol

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-28T20:00:00.002-06:00

Planning Ahead

2009-01-27T10:20:00.004-06:00

When it's our turn to celebrate an anniversary of any sort... I hope that someone will take the liberty of plastering this lots of places. A little behind the scenes of what really goes on during an M-trip w/ Reagan.

Now you all are gonna be fighting over who gets to sign up first for the October trip, aren't you?

hehehe... Love ya baby.

A Sad Day

2009-01-23T20:24:00.005-06:00

Seems like we've been on the go non-stop since the weekend before Christmas... probably because we have. :) But hopefully things are fixin' to slow down for a while. I'm back at my parents to retrieve my daughter who spent last weekend with them while Reagan and I went to the STS Conference with our students... (which is a whole post in itself... somehow being left at Mia and Papaw's while Mama is away always brings out more teeth... seriously- it's happened 3 times in a row now! And teeth always mean fever and vomiting and a puny Reese cup. My poor mom- Reese is gonna grow up thinking "My Mia always took such good care of me when I was sick... but where was my Mama?" lol) Hopefully after we get home tomorrow we won't have to leave again for a while.

This will go down in the book as a very sad day during time spent at home however... please let me introduce you to the family dog, Brutus.

(Here he is modeling Dad's glasses for us... he he)

Named for "Brutus the Buckeye", this dog was a brilliant, sweet, cuddly, loveable black labrador.
Sadly I use the word was, because this sweet pup was hit on the road today and taken from us suddenly. I'm not a dog fan, y'all, but I cried when the sweet gentleman who hit him knocked on the door to tell us what had happened... just minutes before he was let out he was resting his head on my lap wooing me to pet him with his big dark eyes. I hurt more for my dad and sister... I'd say they loved him the most.

So here's a little tribute to Brutus, taken last week... a little trick he did where we put a treat on his nose and he'd sit there for as long as it took until we told him to fetch it up... watch your fingers at that point though! :)

We miss you already boy.

It's Always Something...

2009-01-07T09:30:00.002-06:00

Blogs are lacking... I've been home for three days and have been dilligently getting back into the swing of piano on top of trying to rearrange my entire house to hold all of the stuff we got from three Christmases. (I'll still probably be at it through the weekend...)

A little hiccup in our week that I'd like to inform you all about and ask you to pray for. Last week in Oklahoma Reese began showing signs of what I thought could be a UTI. Turns out I was right... and my doctor said it's actually a pretty bad one which is uncommon in children her age. (I did get her to sit on the potty though and saved her a cath- yea for Reese!) :) After her antibiotics clear it up, we'll be going through a couple of tests to be sure everything is working right in there. (The "reflux" issue that they're checking for is actually something my niece had and outgrew after a year or two...) She's not feverish or lethargic... still running around and playing and acting completely normal! Praise God for that! Please just pray for her little body as we await the testing and then the results... I know God isn't suprised by this and we can trust him!

Catching up on Christmas

2008-12-31T14:36:00.004-06:00

Oh yes, we are having fun fun fun on our two week Christmas vacation... week #1 in Ohio came and went with less sleep than I had when Reese was first born. (which isn't saying much since my kid has never really had a night when she hasn't slept through the night) Some overseas sister of mine who will remain nameless has harassed me for my lack of blogging, but what can I say... I had more fun with my sisters last week than I have had in years. I think I like us better as adults than as kids... :) Needless to say blogging was the last thing on my mind. I'm gonna do my best to catch up for her though over the next few days.

We opened gifts at our house on Friday the 19th... Santa was very good to us all! :)

We're now in Oklahoma celebrating with Reagan's family for the new year. Speaking of said overseas sister... I miss her bunches and wish they were all here with us... I'm super proud of them right now though.

Last night was spent with his Dad and tonight will be spent with Mom. Lots of pictures have been posted on Facebook... you can see them there if you'd like.

Hope you're all making as many wonderful memories as we are!

Christmas at Home

Christmas in Ohio

Christmas in Oklahoma

Fave Foto Friday (a little early) - Christmas 2007

2008-12-18T23:15:00.002-06:00

SNOW DAY!

2008-12-12T12:49:00.005-06:00

Playing in the background of my mind, I hear Bing Crosby, Vera Ellen, Rosemary Clooney, and that other guy singing on the train to Vermont... "snoW, snOW, sNOW, SNOW SNOW! It won't be long before we'll all be there with snow..." :)

Ooh I'm definitely gonna watch that movie tonight.

Anyway... here are some pictures of our fun in the snowy morning. Reese was not altogether interested... kinda more of the same "what are you idiots doing with me out here? and NO I don't want to touch that stuff... can't you feel it's cold?" :) So it lasted all of about 5-10 minutes...

And if you're really interested, you can see pictures of our snowy night here.

How The Grinch Iced Christmas

2008-12-12T00:20:00.003-06:00

I dont' know how I've lived here for five years and visited The Opryland Hotel twice at Christmas and still and never heard of this thing... probably a good thing we learned about it after we had Reese though, cause she loved it. The lights mostly... she enjoyed looking at all of the sights and crawled up and down and up and down the stairs in the slide room talking to us about it the whole way. She actually cracked us up going down the slide. No smile, no laugh, no screaming or tears... just kinda slid down and lay at the bottom motionless and patiently 'til someone picked her up like... "OK morons why'd you shove me down that big sheet of ice? What was the point in all of that?" (now that I think of it, the motionless part was probably because she couldn't move due to how bundled I had her...)

I think her Mama enjoyed the colors as much as she did! :)

Since I already uploaded my pictures to Facebook, you can see them by clicking here!

A Mozart in the Making

2008-12-08T20:43:00.002-06:00

This may go down in history as my favorite picture ever. You can thank my hubby for the clever Blog Title... :)

She may look like her Daddy... as long as she plays like her Mama! :)

Monkey See, Monkey Do

2008-12-08T12:20:00.002-06:00

Tribute to My Karaoke Buddies

2008-12-04T21:57:00.012-06:00

That little girl that used to pull the long skinny knobby things out of the top of her canopy bed and use them as microphones while she sang to herself in the mirror... she came back out tonight. Tonight I remembered how much I love music and not only that but Christmas music, and took more than one trip down memory lane thanks to a wonderful Christmas concert I got to sit through tonight.

See, where I've been living for the past five years, it's not uncommon to "know" and be around musicians as a part of normal life. When I first moved here, it was not uncommon for me to get all excited anytime I saw someone... like the first time I saw Keith Urban at Wild Oats, or the time I noticed Michael Tait a couple rows in front of me at the movie theatre watching "The Passion", or the time I almost rear-ended the guy in front of me watching Jeromy and Jennifer Diebler walking down Main Street in Franklin, and we all know what I did when I saw Toby Mac at the Mellow Mushroom... (c'mon people, 99% of the time I leave them alone and let them live their lives... I really just felt Reese deserved the opportunity to have her picture with a rock star that was cool when I was a teenager and is STILL cool today.) After you've been here long enough though, you do start to get used to it a little bit. If you knew me about 5 years ago and prior though, (my life pre-Tennessee), you may (or may not, who knows...) be a little suprised to know that my life was a different story when it came to my music. To be honest... my music was pretty much my identity.

So back up about 9 years with me to Heather-the-freshman-in-college and meet these guys... Stephen and Brandon... my two best guy friends in college.

(ooh they're gonna love me for that one)

Stephen... well the first time I met Stephen he got me in trouble with this crotchety old professor we had who wouldn't hesitate to embarass the junk out of you in your very first day of Old Testament Survey by calling you out for "talking" because you were politely listening to the crazy guy sitting next to you pulling pictures out of his wallet and telling you all about his girlfriend in Clearwater (who at the time I was certain didn't really exist... lol. ) Just kidding, buddy... :) ok maybe I'm only kidding a little.

Brandon... well Brandon and I had a little bit of family history... meaning that I was actually engaged to his cousin rather quickly after meeting, but anytime we visited his home, rather than hanging out with my fiance I wound up becoming better friends with and spending more time with Brandon, singing together and playing around on the piano. I think that fiance actually thought Brandon and I were running away together after our break-up... that however, is a different blog for a different day. :)

Again... if you knew me pre-Tennessee, you also know that as far as having girls for friends... well, I had one before college and one in college, (who is now actually married to Brandon.) and then other than that... the rest of my friends were guys. These two guys are still the only guys I've ever known that shared my "freak-out" level love for music right along with me. (I honestly don't even know if Reagan has seen the full side of what was once music-freak-Heather.) I had a blast and the privilege of travelling with these two and 6 others guys and gals for a year, (living out of a 15 passenger van and a trailer), in a college recruiting ensemble, seeing most of the country east of Missouri. It was during this year that Stephen and I earned (or rather gave ourselves) the nicknames Karaoke King and Queen. To this day when I get to go to a good concert I always think of them while I am there and wish they were with me. (and Reagan now... hi honey :) )

So back to said concert... The Gloria Tour with Travis Cottrell, Shaun Groves, and the reason for said walks down memory lane... Cindy Morgan.

Travis- Travis just rocks my socks off. I play it cool when he sings y'all, but you have to know that I think it is the most awesome, coolest thing that they go to church with us and I get to hang with his kids and hug his wife. They're just a neat and crazy family. If anyone ever had a reason to be a snotty musician family they would, and they're just not like that. Travis, your music blessed my heart tonight, along with watching your proud wife smile from ear to ear as she sang backup to you in the choir.

Shaun Groves- Shaun sang "Welcome Home" tonight at a Christmas Concert. I don't care if it was a Valentines Day concert... as long as he sings "Welcome Home" I'm a happy girl.

and last but not least

Cindy Morgan- It's 1996, I'm 15, and as much as I can be in love... I'm in it. :) My best friend bought me the soundtrack to a song she'd heard because when she'd heard the lyrics "being so in love that you can hardly eat" all she thought of was me and my new boyfriend. :) Those lyrics were from Cindy's song "How Could I Ask for More" and to this day makes me giggle to think of me and Ruthy when I hear it. (I actually wound up singing it in a few weddings later on in college... including Brandon and Stephen's.) Then a year later when that boyfriend dumped me with a note passed to me in chemistry class nonetheless, it was her song "You Were There" that got me through the summer." and tonight when she sang "Praise the King" I couldn't stay seated long. I could tell a few more stories, but needless to say Cindy and I had quite a relationship through my teenage years.

So tonight, sitting in my own church at a great concert, (geesh, what am I talking about. compared to where I come from, every Sunday morning is like sitting through a concert in my church) I couldn't believe how I found myself reverting back to music-freak-Heather, singing at the top of my lungs with the musicians on stage and wishing my co-freak-out-buddies were there with their wives and my hubby singing right along with me. I miss you guys! Hope you get to experience some awesome Christmas concerts of your own this year!

In A Blogger Slump

2008-12-02T12:47:00.002-06:00

Whatever hormone that you lose that causes you to stop thinking clearly and gives you Mommy Brain after you have a kid... I think I lost a double portion.

I've always been a very organized, clear-thinking person. Now traveling to my mom's for 5 days and coming home to Christmas musical preparations and Christmas recital preparations and just plain Christmas preparations puts my brain in a whirlwind.

Ahhh... isn't there a vitamin I can take for this?

And so while there's been plenty of bloggable material, like our wonderful Thanksgiving in Ohio, or the very first Turkey that I cooked all by myself, or the beautiful table that my sister and I put together (and really thought Better Homes and Gardens would've come knocking on our door to photograph for their magazine...) or the fact that my dad's first round of chemo has been a small bit successful (meaning his counts have dropped a little), or my niece's new "evil-eye", or the fact that my mother in law has managed to make it to the other side of the world in one piece all by her lonesome, or the fact that my daughter walks around like a drunk zombie now practically all the time, my brain simply will not let me sort it all out long enough to put it in writing.

There are pictures, however, on facebook for your viewing pleasure. Should you be so interested, you can find them here and here... though I still haven't even put all the pictures onto the first link yet. Maybe tonight.... we'll see.

Until then... it's time for six hours of piano.

Ree-See Phone Home

2008-11-16T23:39:00.003-06:00

Hey Mia... Do you see what's in my hand? It's Mama's cell phone. She was trying to do her homework this afternoon and the only thing that could make me even remotely cooperate was for me to be allowed to play with this normally forbidden object... so I turned it on, pushed a bunch of buttons, held it up to my ear, and proceeded to shout for you over and over (and over) again...

MIA.... MIA.... MIA!

I couldn't seem to understand why you never did answer, since everytime Mama uses it, I can shout your name and all of the sudden I hear you talk to me.

Oh well... maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow.

Her Father's Daughter

2008-11-11T11:21:00.005-06:00

As I was pulling Reese out of the tub this morning... rubbing her head with her towel to get all the extra water off... I looked at her in the mirror and saw...

...her daddy. :)

Guinea Pigs

2008-11-10T11:46:00.007-06:00

So I shot a couple of families yesterday...

with my camera people- come on.

Check 'em out here and check back soon... I hope to put some more up of the H fam tonight!

Fave Fotos Friday

2008-11-07T21:16:00.009-06:00

A few shots from around our cabin in Pigeon Forge this weekend...

I look at this picture and think I really need to call Vandy and make sure they gave me the right kid... (not that I'd give her back at this point...)

Sweet Sweet Sweet Silence...

2008-11-06T13:49:00.003-06:00

What you're about to see should be an advertisement for PraiseBaby DVD's, and will probably only be found amusing and sweet by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and maybe a second cousin or two...

It's 45 seconds of my child sitting nearly perfectly still for what was a full 30 minutes of our Wednesday afternoon.

Ahhhhh... Thank you PraiseBaby. Thank You very much. :)

Bad wife. Bad Bad Bad Wife...

2008-11-05T09:21:00.004-06:00

Well folks, I did something unbelieveable yesterday.

Something I am not proud of.

Something I would never ever dream of doing intentionally.

And I have terrrrible aim... so it's nothing I could've done on purpose if I'd tried.

Thing is, I like a good foot massage... anywhere, anytime... and night before last I begged Reagan to rub my feet, but seeing as how I asked him at 11:00, I was just out of luck. So, he promised to give me one while we watched the election coverage the next night.

Well, with each polling result as I grow more and more bitter to the news, I'm thinking... "OK, time for that foot massage and then I'm just going to bed. I just don't want to hear anymore."

So, I hop up, run into the bathroom to grab some lotion, and toss mind you... toss it onto the bed.

That's when it happened.

I hit him folks. And you would've thought that bottle of lotion weighed 50 pounds.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I felt so bad. I just stood there with my hands over my mouth trying to figure out if that really just happened.

But it did.

Needless to say, I never got my foot massage.... and if Reese is an only child, you'll know why...

I Need You All to Pray

2008-11-04T08:40:00.003-06:00

Hey Friends,

Many of you know about my dad's cancer. While all of his organs and everything else seems to still be very healthy, the protein counts are still climbing, finally bringing them to the decision to start chemo. He did this last week.

Night before last he was playing on the floor with my niece, and some kind of crazy sharp pain in his side hit him out of nowhere. He had a skeletal xray done, but no signs of anything yet, and the pain is increasing with each day. My dad doesn't tell anyone when he's hurting, and my mom just called me in tears asking me to pray... said he's in a lot of pain right now. She wanted me to ask anyone and everyone that I know to do the same.

Thanks y'all... it'd mean the world to us right now.

Dear Tooth Fairy

2008-11-03T21:35:00.007-06:00

Dear Tooth Fairy,

Hi, my name is Reese. I know you're usually pretty busy forking over dimes and quarters when big kids lose their teeth, but I was wondering if you had anything to do with those teeth before they actually fall out.... like as they are cutting through my gums?!?

At this point I'm thinking of re-writing a very popular Christmas song, and calling it

"All I Want for Thanksgiving (is My Two Front Teeth)"

It would save me buckets of drool.

It would save my runny nose from getting anymore raw from Mama wiping it all day.

It would probaby take away my cough.

but more importantly

It would save my Mama's sanity... because I must admit I have been the crankiest, whiniest child on the face of the planet today.

Lucky for me, I somehow found some patience during dinner tonight and made my Mama feel really sorry for me... to the point that I got to eat an entire chocolate chip cookie all by myself after dinner tonight.

And boy did I enjoy it. :)

So tooth fairy, since I'm sure you'll be in the area tonight('cause a big majority of the kids in the world live within a 10 mile radius of me...) feel free to stop by and help these things on through.

My Mama will thank you, and probably leave a quarter or two under my pillow for you to pick up.

Since I'm pretty sure my grandma will never ever ever read my blog...

2008-11-02T20:44:00.003-06:00

...then let me just tell you that this is sooooooooooooooo her in a few months. :)

Click here...

It's Fall Festivus For the Rest of Us

2008-10-31T20:37:00.009-05:00

When and how did my sweet little baby girl go from this...

...to this?

(please pardon the interruption for a moment while I express my frustration at myself due to the fact that I brought along my nice new camera and left the memory card stuck in the card reader at home... thus leaving the shutterbug mama with less than satisfactory pictures of our fun fall festival night.)

OK... now that I've got that out of my system.

Thanks to her awesome Aunt Alicia , our Reese Cup was the sweetest little china doll at the party. (and yes, sister, it actually fit her pretty well!) :)

And boy did she get the hang of it quickly. Didn't take her anytime at all to figure out that a."I play a game, (which means I either throw a ball at someone, Daddy pushes me around on a tricycle, or I splash around like a fish in the duck pond for as long as Mama will let me soak myself and anyone within 2 feet of me), b. "I figure out the nice people think I'm funny and cute, so I play it up even more until I'm invited to dig through the big bin of sugar heaven... and yes I know exactly what's in that bin", and c. "I try to eat the candy, paper and all... and when that doesn't work, I drop it in my bag."

Reese got to see and play with all her favorite people tonight. Here's a little video of our fun! :)

A couple of pictures worth special note... I felt my overseas sister needed to know that indeed I did get a couple of buns held together with "chopsticks" (tiny as they may be) out of this head of hair. :)

Needless to say, all that fun wore her right out... she didn't even last the whole three minutes it took us to get home.Happy Fall Festivus, y'all. :)

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far

2008-10-31T09:31:00.005-05:00

I'm starting to think that Reese has been watching her Mama...

I found her in her room last night doing this.

Look Out Mr. Obama... Mama's on the Warpath

2008-10-24T00:01:00.014-05:00

So tonight Reagan and I made the familiar trip up to my hometown in Ohio to #1. pick up our baby girl from her two week stint with Papaw and Mia and #2. spend Friday night with all of my mom's cousins and their families at the family farm for a fall barn dance.

As I've written about before, my parents live on a busy state route in one of the many po-dunk-ville's that make up the great battleground state of Ohio. Being as it is election time, yards are filled to the max with the little plastic signs promoting their choice for President.

Allow me to pause for a moment and show you something that has become a great conversation piece in our circle of family and friends... the fact that since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the VP choice for John McCain, my mother has more than once been mistaken for the Governor of Alaska. It's just a small resemblance, especially if my mom is wearing her glasses, but a resemblance nonetheless. See for yourself...

Not that my mom needed a look-a-like for her to jump on the McCain-Palin bandwagon (no pun intended) I remember throughout my life her always being one of the first to get involved when an election year rolled around. Beyond attending rallies and things like that, she's been known to collect books, calendars, and anything else she can get her hands on for President's Reagan and the 2nd President Bush. (She's already attended two Palin rallies in this area in the past several weeks.) Raised with strong morals and an even stronger work ethic, firmly believing in a person's right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, (and of course the right to bear arms) my mom is more than proud to call herself a licensed gun-toting all-American woman. This, I'm sure contributes to the fact that, (along with her palin t-shirt) of all the souvenirs she could've chosen at the Palin rallies she went to, she chose this one...

Autographed, of course.

So why should it surprise me that in such a critical time in our nation's history that she would want to shout it out to the state of Ohio her choice for our next President and Vice President?
As a matter of fact, one of the last things she said to me on the phone tonight during our drive up was... "I can't wait for you to see the sign in our yard." I'm thinking... "oh it's one of those cute little pink ones, or maybe it has lipstick on it to match her t-shirt..."

So here Reagan and I come, down the road, past the spaceships, (again... see here) and what should we see several houses before we reach Mom and Dad, but this...

You can see measuring by the tree behind it, that this ain't no 2 foot plastic yard sign. And there aren't one, but two... one on each side of the driveway and in lights no less. "Booooo" I said as we drove by it. "How horrible... why would a person do such a th..."

And then I saw it. The next words out of my mouth went something like this...

"Ohhhhh. Shuuuuuuuut. Uuuuuuuup. They didn't!" Followed by several outbursts of uncontrollable laughter. "Reagan!!! What did she do? (I think I hit him in the arm about then...) Where did they get that thing? No way! No stinkin' way!" And then a little more laughter...

What was no more than the size of a small pin head at first sight grew larger and larger as we pulled into view.

Y'all... this. thing. is. HUGE. I promise. Ten feet tall at least... maybe a little more. And no- that doesn't include the flags on top of it.

Now c'mon... you're either laughing, or your mouth is gaping open, but you know you wish you would've thought of it first. And only my mom. Don't get me wrong... my dad is all about him some conversative moral leadership... mom's just always had a little bigger mouth than he has is all. :) (Unless it's at one of my brother's soccer games... but that'd be a different post now, wouldn't it?)

You'd have to know this Christian comedian Mark Lowry sketch I grew up listening to to really understand the meaning of what I was thinking as we stepped out of the car to see this sign, the yellow made of sturdy metal holding the wooden sign up with chains. All I could think was "GET IT MAMA!!!!!!" I immediately walked into her room and said "You told me you couldn't wait for me to see your yard sign... you didn't tell me it was ten feet tall and BULLETPROOF!"

Turns out that the Obama supporter down the street took these metal pieces in to my brother in laws tool shop to have 'em welded together, but never implied what they were for. When my brother-in-law's boss saw that Obama sign pieced together between those pieces he'd welded, he was pretty ticked off. Turns out he went right back to that metal shop and built him up a nice little bigger-and-better and parked it right in my parents front yard for all to see... including any undecided astronauts currently working on the space station.

So there you have it, oh great Buckeye State... vote for who you may... if I were you though, I'd make sure my Mama wasn't looking over your shoulder when you cast your ballot.

Consider yourself warned.

Question of the day... well my day anyway.

2008-10-21T11:50:00.003-05:00

Q: What do you call it when you come home from a trip, jump in your tub for a nice hot soak, wash your hair, decide you're just too tired for anything else so you go to sleep on it wet, and then wake up to remember your hair dryer exploded when you tried to plug it in at the Asianese hotel?!?

A: Hat day...

Who's Next???

2008-10-21T00:29:00.006-05:00

You know, I never have considered myself racist or above or better than those that I might consider less fortunate than myself... I still don't, let's just clear that up right now... after reading this book however, I think oblivious may be a good word for what I discovered about myself as my plane hovered somewhere over the Pacific last Saturday.

God used this read to overhaul the way I would see the teachers and children that I would be blessed to spend my time with in the days that would follow. Instead of just seeing a people lost in complete ignorance... devoid of the knowledge that there is Savior that loves them... who were ignorant to my "better" way of life... living a life that was forced on them by Communism and poverty... instead of just seeing them as sad, poor little people that needed my big wonderful American-ness to come in and save their day... to do them a favor by donating my time for the week... I saw that each of them, the teachers especially, had a history... a childhood... a life that they were living, most of them a spouse that they were loving, a person they were trying to be a friend to, and a future they were trying to provide for their families... just like me. I began to understand that I wasn't taking the message of Jesus to them just because they were pitiful and less fortunate and needed His help to make it through their difficult lives. They were just like me. A husband or a wife, mother or a father, living the same kind of life, facing the same kind of issues... just like me. Human, sinful, and in need of a Savior. That's it. Oh, our lives may be exponentially different in the houses we live in, our means of transportation, the food that we eat and the clothes that we wear. None of that really matters when you look at them through the eyes of Jesus, though. That's sounds like such a cliche I know, but it is a huge reality to me right now. Puts us all on the same lost, in need of a Savior playing field. Before I only pitied them because of their place in this world... as if I had something to offer in my own rite. Now I view these people, one woman in particular, as an intellegent, compassionate people, full of goals and dreams and the energy and ability to accomplish them. They're missing out on the most important thing, though. Not due to their rejection... they just have never heard of Him.

So here's the book... you can watch a video about it here. I watched it after I read it and think it will spoil part of the story if you watch it before you read. You can suit yourself though... you should know that in parts I bawled my eyes out. Sobbed, actually. Consider yourself warned. Thanks to Melissa and that little contest of hers. Let me know who wants it next. I'll put your names in a hat and send it on down the road!

Working My Way Back to You, Babe...

2008-10-18T20:28:00.015-05:00

Hey Reese Cup... Guess what?!?

MAMA AND DADDY ARE COMING HOME!

We spent all of yesterday and will spend today with Aunt Alicia, Uncle Rob, Hannah, and Hudson and had sooooooooo much fun.

A long trip still awaits us, but the first leg begins tonight around 8:00 and we are ready to kiss your sweet little face again!

We love you bunches and can't wait to get you back. See you in four airplane rides!

Knee-How! :)

2008-10-15T05:46:00.020-05:00

Day two of English teaching is over... let me just tell you this is a different trip than any I have ever taken. I'm enjoying myself, don't get me wrong. And I'll do it again in a heartbeat. My brain is just in a different place than usual when you do something like this. Most of the time it's (pardon my code) EE, EE, EE... Make sense? Ask two questions... get results by the end of your trip. Let's see if I can explain... for one thing it's hard for me to even sit here and think straight while I type because my brain is straight up tired from having to think so hard of simple words that the teachers can understand... and I haaave toooooooo taaaaalk soooooo sloooooooow. (Please forgive me if my "L"'s still sound like "R"'s when I get home. If you hear me say "famery" instead of "family" I'd appreciate your patience as I detox. :) )

I don't know... like I was saying, most trips have an end in sight... by the end of your week or ten days or whatever... Take a group and build the building. Go run the children's program for 5 days. Hit the streets and win 'em over. Get as many as you can and connect them with your local contact for follow up. This isn't like that, and it isn't going to be like that... all of the "spiritual highs" that come with many things like this aren't here for me. It really feels more like just getting up and going to work everyday. The burden is no less- don't get me wrong. The burden is incredible when you see it with your own eyes and experience the gravity of having something you want to say soooo badly that you can't even remotely communicate. There is a big story unfolding though that Father is writing and in the recent days has just begun penciling our parts onto the pages of it.

It seems more like I just started a new book... an exciting one with lots of intriguing clues and insights into the coming pages. Except the pages haven't been written yet. A new page begins every time Reagan's phone/alarm clock goes off at 5:30 and invites us to put our ink to the paper. And it's incredible the way new characters are being added everyday. A new person with lots of influence in the area of education over this area of the country walks in and wants to begin relationships with us and more importantly the company we're representing. In two trips we haven't had to search for one person or hardly break a sweat to find the doors that Father is swinging wide open. They're coming to us! Teachers and education officials are coming from many places around the county to sit in on our classes and learn from us. News cameras were there today... yep- we're gonna be on asianese tv... :) Thank you for those of you who are holding us up... please don't stop! He is hearing you!

Here are a few pictures of us working hard! :)

Lots of pictures are being uploaded to a photobucket account. You can see them here... It's not supposed to be a private album, but if it comes up asking for a password I think "picture" will work.

1/2 a day ahead, but a day behind... :)

2008-10-15T05:31:00.003-05:00

Here is what would've been my post upon arrival... no web access where we're staying, so I typed it up on my computer and saved it for when I could post it... :)

Oh, the sounds… the smells… the tastes… the exhaustion… the jet lag…

All sense of time is lost at this point. Oh, I know that it's 5:45 am here Tuesday morning, and that it's 4:45 pm at my house Monday evening… but how long exactly have I been gone? Did I really just travel for 36 hours in order to reach this place? I mean…. How does anyone that wasn't just born here even find it? Our flight left around 11:30am Saturday October 11 in Nashville, going through Minneapolis (2 hours or so) en route to Tokyo (approximately 12 hours) them straight onto GZ (another 3 or 4 hours) where my head finally found a pillow it liked for 5 hours or so, then leaving GZ (where they let me keep my oversized Listerine but took my tiny little shampoo?!?!?!?) We hopped one more flight to NN where we finally met R & A. Didn’t stop there though… a nice little man was hired to drive us and our luggage around for lunch and then to the bus stop where we boarded the last leg of our trip for a 2 hour bus ride that would eventually drop us here for 4 days or so… Nngmng.

So here we are… nice little room. Amazingly clean room, actually. Although somehow the Asianese have completely missed the concept of a mattress and box spring and just sleep on the box spring. I keep telling myself it beats the floor, but I’m not altogether sure that there’s much of a difference. And one of those notorious Asian bathrooms where the toilet and the shower and sink are just all one big room. I’ve always heard about those and wanted to be able to use one. And hey- it’s a toilet. A real one. No squatty-pottying for this girl… (thank you Jesus for that… no really. Thanks. A lot.)

Reese- I miss you girl. Your mama misses you like crazy. She wanted to cry for you last night. I thought a good night’s sleep would help wear that off. Not so much though. I still wanted to cry for you this morning, so I did. Just a little… but it felt a lot better. I know you’re having a blast with Papaw, Mia, Aunt D, Uncle Jeff, Eden Grace, Daniel, Aunt Shi-Shi, Uncle Michael-Babe, Uncle Ry, Grandma, Pappy, Mammy, and all of our other crazy Ohio family.

I woke up this morning to a rooster crowing… since it also appears the Asianese sleep Lucy and Ricky style, I climbed into Reagan’s bed for a few minutes of cuddling and continued to awaken to the horrible sound of what was probably my lunch or dinner being tortured. This hog squawked and grunted until… well until it just didn’t squawk or grunt anymore. We’ll see if pork is on the menu tonight.

Day 3 (or is it 4?) of my travels will commence with my first day of teaching… and I’m up, waiting for my turn in the shower. And it is early…class starts at 7:50am. We have to report to our hotel lobby at 6:50 am. Someone forgot to tell the headmaster of this school that when I teach piano, it doesn’t ever start before 1pm. Yeah, he missed that memo completely. Nevertheless, here we go….

We Made It!

2008-10-14T06:07:00.004-05:00

Took us three days to get to where we were going... but we're here!

A more interesting post will follow soon... probably tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know that we're all safe and sound and the first day has been great.

T Minus 2 Days...

2008-10-09T13:32:00.006-05:00

Someone made the comment to me upon receiving the news of my pregnancy with Reese...

"Hope you've gotten everything in that you wanted to do in life... 'cause those days are over now!"

Well dude, I don't know what world you live in... but you must not have a Mia. Or much ambition.

Not that I'm feeling terribly ambitious these days. Saturday is the day I board the plane for my second trip to this precious land. And while I am excited, yes... and expecting to watch in awe what God's gonna do with us and how He's gonna use me to communicate to a bunch of people that will understand about as much as I am saying to them as I understand Reese's jabber, yes... I'm still on a bit of a roller coaster with it all. As a matter of fact my heart kinda sinks when I think about leaving her for two weeks. I'm not afraid she won't be taken care of... good grief. She's gonna have a BLAST and won't even miss me. I'm the one that's gonna miss hearing her sing when she wakes up in the morning, and hear her jibber jabber as she "reads" to me from her carseat, watching her play with her cousin... I'm just gonna straight up miss her. Some people look forward to a break from their kids... and while one day I'm sure I'll fall into that category, I'm not there quite yet. I count myself extra blessed to be able to stay home with her and spend my days with her. I love everything about being her Mama.

Let me just tell you how much God has revealed himself to me in the past 5 days in what I believe to be an effort to calm my jitters and just remind me that He is acutely aware of silly little unstable emotional me and that He cares how I feel. See, my sister in law commented a couple years back about having to leave her kids to do things like this, and how God spoke to her saying "I love them more than you do... they're mine. I've given them to you- not the other way around. You've gotta trust me with them." Let me just tell you the minute I heard her say that, I was like "ooh God, you are so gonna use that on me someday!" Well, the day has come, y'all... :)

So Sunday, my mind had been a whirlwind of emotions all morning already knowing that this was the week I had to leave her... I was down to only seven days. (Can you believe how much we work ourselves up over stuff?!? And a week ahead of time!) And in the middle of a 5th grade Sunday school lesson on Abraham and Isaac, I read this in Genesis 22:15-18...

"Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

OH the peace that flooded my heart in that moment! I know that was written to Abraham, but had there been the audible voice of God I couldn't have heard Him speak to me any more clearly. And y'all don't even know the times God has used the life of Abraham to speak truth into my life... it was during a quiet time years ago while studying Abram that I realized God was calling me to leave home and move here in the first place. That's another post though...

So I'm suprised I don't have that passage in Genesis completely memorized by now, because Satan has made my nerves flare up multiple times during each day of this week, and each day I go back to the promise I received on Sunday.

The grass needs mowed after the rain we got this week, and I am on borrowed nap time as it is, so I don't have the chance to get into my Bible Study this morning... I do ask you girls to pray, though. Pray, pray, pray, like your kids begging you for candy in the Publix check out lane. The Lord spoke to me so much about how powerful the prayers of His children are, and if anything is going to be accomplished in this land, with such language barriers and government opposition, it will only be through the miraculous hand of our powerful God.

See y'all in a couple weeks!

Dear Nana

2008-10-04T21:35:00.004-05:00

Dear Nana,

This is Reese. I wanted to write and thank you for my new coat. It is sooooooo pretty, and sooooo fuzzy and warm. I got to wear it for the first time tonight when Daddy and Mama took me to the corn maze with all the 5th and 6th graders. Mama is still looking for a hat, but not all the stores are carrying them yet. Mama thinks that just because it's October it's time for fall clothes, coats, and hats... even after 5 years she doesn't realize that just because it's time for those in Ohio doesn't mean it's time for them here. :)

Here are some pictures of me in my new coat... though I wasn't in a very smiley mood tonight. Mama said it looks like it was made for me- and she loves it too! Thank you again for it. I love you and can't wait to see you again!

Love, Reese Cup

Check it Out!

2008-10-04T17:23:00.002-05:00

Click below...

http://wagstheshutterbugmama.blogspot.com/2008/10/invitation.html

Reese's Solo Debut

2008-09-28T15:28:00.003-05:00

Before there was Wags, there were terms of endearment like Queen Karaoke... The Jukebox... both nicknames I earned in college for always singing something and my ability to name most any song in 5 notes or less. With names like these you can understand why my heart leaps at the sound of my own girls voice following in her Mama's footsteps.

So pardon the video quality y'all... these were taken with my phone. But, I am proud to present my precious Reese Cup and her solo debut of "Mamma Mia". Please enjoy...

She's also gearing up for background vocals, as she shows here doing the "Ba-Ba-Ba"'s after the chorus of "Sweet Caroline".

Feel free to contact me via email or my phone to schedule this wonder kid for your next big event. :)

Willy Wonka's Lickable Wallpaper

2008-09-26T21:57:00.003-05:00

Anyone who ever wondered if the snozberries really tasted like snozberries, could probably ask Michelle Obama since I think that's what her dress was made out of tonight...

Cindy may've been ready for the catwalk again my dear, but I'd give Oscar de la Renta my vote over the Chocolate factory any day. :)

Deep

2008-09-25T10:25:00.004-05:00

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. "

The night before last, I had the privilege along with many of you, to take part in the homecoming of the much anticipated daughter of some friends from church. Her story can be read here. And yes it was full of emotion, and yes I cried big croccodile tears and held Reese Cup as close as I could seeing how she was on her Daddy's hip, but the one thing rolling over and over through my mind was that scripture passage in Ephesians 3... especially the part in bold. I mean, what a picture of our salvation! The lengths that they had to go through to be able to call her by their name, and they did it all gladly... nothing was going to keep her from them any longer.

Amidst all the applause and excitement and tears, the Lord spoke to my heart in that moment and said "This is just a small picture of how excited I get over you, Heather. As much as you know that they've loved this precious girl for months before they ever got to hold her or see her with their own eyes, I love you even more. The love that you see being expressed before you is just a fraction of the way I celebrate over you. And not just you, but this driveway full of my children that you rejoice with tonight."

My favorite photographic subject...

2008-09-24T13:54:00.007-05:00

I know it's not Fav Foto Friday yet... but what else does a shutterbug Mama with a fun new camera do with the cutest kid in the world???

How Long Have I Been Married People?!?

2008-09-23T12:58:00.003-05:00

OK, probably not as long as any of you that are reading... a measley 4 1/2 years though, should be enough to fix this problem shouldn't it?This is the second time this week I've received JUNK mail addressed to my maiden name to my current address... and here's the thing- I've never even LIVED here under my maiden name, so how are they doing this?!?

Birthday Weekend #3: The Finale

2008-09-20T01:22:00.008-05:00

As if having a 1st birthday party on your actual birthday and then having a second 1st birthday party a week later with all your friends at home was not enough... 1st birthday parties #3 and #4 were celebrated last weekend. These were extra special parties, 'cause they got to be celebrated along with Daddy's 27th birthday. Daddy's birthday wish this year was to celebrate it with most of his family in Oklahoma, and oh what a trip it was.

Jump back a week and a half ago with me to the very wee hours of September 11th, around 3:30am. What I thought was gut wrenching heartburn due to the spaghetti dinner I'd wolfed down before church, turned into much more of a nightmare. Let's just say this is not a stomach bug you want to even think about having 12 hours before you're supposed to be on an airplane ride alone (thank you WorldPerks miles for that little bit of inconvenience) for the first time with your 12 month old. It's not a stomach bug you want to have period. There are no amount of details that you even want to know about this... only to say that it. was. straight. up. horrible. With every ache, chill, fever, and pain that come along with a bug like this, I somehow managed to get Reese and myself packed. Reagan came home a little early to bathe and dress our little booger, then he packed the car and away we went.

The first plane ride was great. I even had an empty seat next to me, so Reese got to wiggle and squirm and look out the window to her little heart's desire. As soon as we landed in Memphis and I retrieved her stroller, she was sawing logs which allowed me some much needed rest during our layover. Little did I know our next filled-to-capacity-flight would be taken on one of those little puddle jumpers, and anyone reading this that has had a child knows what a near impossibility it was to get her to sit still in a small confined space for over an hour. (My thanks again to the WorldPerks people for the absence of my husband during this flu stricken flight.) Just when my flu ached body thought it could stand no more crawling and squirming, the plane landed. The end was in sight. I could hand her off to daddy again and resume my recuperation.

Not so fast, Mama.

I mean, for hours you've had this little girl in your arms. What makes you think that the little flu-bug germies decided to skip over your girl as you traveled together for the past 6 hours? Oh no Mama... this is not the end. It's only the beginning.

So the plane taxi's in to our gate, and for the first time in two hours Reese is sitting still, facing the aisle, on my left leg. Listen with me now to the "ding-ding" as passengers are invited to unbuckle their seat belts and begin shuffling into the aisle to exit this tiny little sardine can.

Reese took the "ding" as her invitation to let loose... loose of the banana she'd just inhaled, and all down the aisle of the plane. Whew- she missed me, and any other passengers, thank God. So let me be a smart one now, and turn her to face me, so I can comfort and console my "just-vom'd" baby and apologize to those still in their seats, along with the flight attendant who will have to clean it all up.

So we're up, out of our seat, trying to exit the plane. Wait for it.... wait for it...

BLUH again... only this time, she got me. From shoulder to kneecap. More bananas. Yum. That sure helps my own gag reflex at this point in my day. There was a little comic relief in it all though... the flight attendant actually handed me a single wet paper towel, and asked if I knew I had it running down my leg.

Thanks for your help- you go ahead and keep that though. I think you'll need it worse than me once you see what she left for ya back there sweetheart.

This would be one of four times for the vomming Reese over the weekend... one time in which I actually caught it in my hands at a restaurant, and another in which we awoke to it crusted in her hair and all in her bed the next morning. That sweet girl passed it on to her Nana, too, who was sharing in the pukey love by Saturday herself. Bet she was grateful for that visit.

(Side note: Regardless of the amount of puke I was covered in, I think this story pales in comparison to this one... geesh!)

This next part is especially dedicated to my sister-in-law, of whom I went through serious withdrawals without this weekend. There was a certain degree of sanity missing from my brain without you there, sister!!! These pictures were taken all weekend with you in mind! Thought since you couldn't be there I could at least capture as much of it as possible in pictures! Getting excited to see you in a few weeks!

Stop one was a couple days with Nana... just long enough to make her sick!

Stop two... a couple days with Granddad and Kerry Ann!

Last stop... history in the making. Daddy's birthday present was for everyone to go to the last Monday Night Football game to ever be played in Texas Stadium as we know it. How 'bout them Cowboys!!! :) (Begins with a shot of Brother being a teacher!) lol :)

Lastly, I really just felt that this picture deserved a space all its own... hope you'll love it as much as we do. (saved a spot to photoshop you in next to your dad, there...) :)

Yea For a Good Day

2008-09-18T22:51:00.040-05:00

First things first.... do you spell that "yay" or "yeah"? All opinions welcomed and encouraged...

(thanks for the spelling, sister) :)

OK- onto the important stuff.

I heart Beth Moore. I'm considering putting in a special request that our mansions be at least on the same block in heaven, that way we can get together for Starbucks at least once a week. (because we all know that even though I don't drink coffee, the taste of their hot chocolate and the aroma of everything else really is a little bit of heaven on earth, therefore there must be Starbucks in heaven...) This will all happen of course on the other side of this life, after my mind has been made perfect enough for me to really wrap my brain around all the stuff she passes on that God has taught her about His word. Why couldn't I have found such sheer joy in learning all of this when I was actually sitting through Bible college?

I also heart Beth Dunn. This'll be my second go-round with her as my Bible Study leader, and although my experience with Daniel last year would've been enough to bring me back to another LPM study, Beth Dunn sent that choice over the top for me. Even if she did get me for being late this morning because of my pre-Bible Study Starbucks run... which really wasn't why I was running late in the first place, but c'mon- isn't the fact that I didn't get to enjoy one drop of it enough because I dropped it in the parking lot?

Despite the fact that I sacrificed my $3 hot chocolate to the facelift-receiving blacktop that was a preschool parking lot, I lay here tonight contented, happy, and grateful for a very fulfilling day. See... Wags here has a self-diagnosed case of a little something called o.c.d. Jaws are dropping all around blogville, I'm sure, but you must believe me, it's true... if ever something was instilled into me as a child, it was an obsessive, compulsive desire to be this perfectly domestic wife and mother, and when my house gets away from me or I have to go more than a few days without preparing a good, hearty, healthy, cooked-mostly-from-scratch meal for my family, something in my brain starts going a little haywire. (All people ever did was brag on my Mama and her Momming abilities... what else can I do but try to emulate all the stuff I saw in her? I don't know that I ever will, but Lord knows I'll die trying.) In all seriousness here- unless I am intentional about not letting those things control my mind... THEY DO! And when you're only home for 9 out of the past 21 days, and 5 of those 9 days are either spent sick or running around planning a party and having company, none of those things like keeping my house organized and making dinner happen in my book. Today though, boy oh boy, Bible study was attended, a list of chores I hoped to complete were actually completed, piano lessons were taught, and (drumroll please) dinner was served. I think I actually enjoyed some television tonight with my family, and watched and heard Reese REALLY crack up laughing for the first time as we played in the floor. (seriously... y'all have never seen a kid gasp for air and belly laugh like this before. ooh I love that girl.) Add to that the great deal I found on the comfy new bedding the Wagoner's are sleeping in tonight, and you've just summed up a great day.

Since my house is actually somewhat under control again, I think my brain will finally allow for some reminiscing of the past couple weeks. Unfortunately the plug still has not arrived from my parents' in order to pull pictures off of my external drive from Reese's first birthday party, but in order to appease Big T I have managed to get the Tennesse party pictures off of my new and improved camera.

Which brings me to this tiny little rabbit trail... for Reese's birthday, Mama decided that she needed a new toy as well. Mama got one of these, and I. am. loving. it.

Move over piano... a career in amateur photography may be in my very near future.

So, here is the birthday girl... one year and one week old as of when this picture was taken, sporting a bow that will surely get her inducted in the hair bow mafia soon... we're keeping our fingers crossed on that one.

Something clicked in this chick's brain when she hit the big one, and that rotten look you see on her face is just that... pure what-can-I-get-myself-into meanness. I could go on again on how I can't imagine or hardly remember what I did before God gifted us with such a precious child, but sappy 1 year old post got me nowhere before, so let's move onto some more pictures, shall we?

Up first, the ever popular Big Nanny. I can't imagine a party being complete without her, and we were oh so excited that she came! Seeing as how Reese refused to smile sweetly with her beloved Big Nanny, I figured we'd just choose the best out of the five pictures of the BN herself... she with her signature pink and her snazzy haircut sure is looking good isn't she? :)

Next in the party pictures are my six extra arms... Cathy (we like to refer to her as the third Nana), Molly (who has been working tirelessly to get Reese just to say Molly. Keep working, girl- it'll come soon, I'm sure!) and Hannah. (who Reese actually just calls... Hannah!)

And no party is complete without your girlfriends, right?

And of course the boyfriend, too!!!

Last but definitely not least, Papaw and Mia!
3rd cousin Emmah and Mia

Being prayed over by Papaw... (looking good in his plaid!!!) :)

And of course... Mama and Daddy with their big girl!

Let's not forget the CAKE!!!

Mind you the HAIRBOW is STILL in tact! I mean, let's not lose sight of what's important here!

So there you have it... the big ONE in all it's birthday glory. Hopefully Reese will forgive me for the time it took to post all the festivities. Tune in soon for some good puke stories... (Hear them here first before Reagan tries to use them as a sermon illustration somewhere!) :)

Expanding Your Horizons

2008-09-18T22:51:00.039-05:00

For all of you that are merely living in Blogville and haven't expanded your horizons to the Facebook world, this is a little something we like to call "flair". You can pick your own or give it away to friends. I got this from Molly Curtis... think she's trying to tell me something?
Thanks girl... 'preciate that. :)

Hibernating

2008-09-16T14:36:00.002-05:00

Not on purpose really... I know I'm a super bad Mama right now, seeing how it has been two whole weeks since Reese Cup's bday, and no blog with party pictures from either party. The problem is this... I uploaded all of the pictures to my external drive and then left the plug to the drive in Ohio. It should be here very soon thanks to the US Postal Service, so Big T... if you can hold on a little longer, I promise it's coming.

There are indeed a plethera of blogs brewing in this brain of mine, including blurbs on my sweet Reese's first bdays, my sweet husband's 27th bday, my newest piece of photographic equipment (eg my new toy) and the latest on my weekend full of puke, planerides, and other fun stuff in our lives.

Tune in shortly... I promise I haven't dropped off the face of the earth.

2nd and 3rd Grade Coolertalk

2008-09-10T16:33:00.001-05:00

Tyler: "Know what happened to me today? I had 8 girls chasing me trying to kiss me on the cheek."

Stephen: "Yeah... I had 20 girls chasing me in 1st grade."

Bet they're gonna wish they had that problem in a few years, huh? :)

The Year in Review

2008-08-30T23:39:00.006-05:00

There are two ways that stand out in my mind today that God has chosen to show his love and blessing on my life in a real tangible way... a way that I can really touch and feel and sense and know. These two ways always make me think of a favorite verse of mine.

“And Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

I remember the first time I felt I really related to what Mary was feeling at the moment Scripture spoke of her in such a way. It was May 22, 2004. Someone had told me not to get so caught up in the busy-ness of my wedding day that I didn’t remember any of it, and so I made it a point to drink in every moment that I could. I’ll never forget it. God gave me the gift of Reagan. A gift I can hold and feel that blesses my life on a daily basis.

The next time I really remember truly treasuring a moment, came just over 3 years later, and exactly one year ago today.

A lifelong dream came true on August 30,2007 as God brought Anna Reese safely into the world and gave us the gift of a precious daughter. Again I say, I've treasured every minute and look back through the past year thinking I've never felt so fulfilled and never loved a child the way that I've fallen in love with her. Today was a little bittersweet as the uncontrollable was reminded to me that yes, she indeed must grow up. Didn't make me as sad as I thought it would though. A little yes, don't get me wrong, but more than that it filled me with joy just to watch her and to think of all of the little things she's accomplished over the past 12 months. I took some time tonight to look back through a year's worth of shots... amazingly enough I compressed it all into under 5 minutes. (Yes, that was a warning that this is indeed 5 minutes long.)

Reese- you are a joy and a blessing to raise, to teach, to love, to rock, to bathe, to change, to read to, to giggle and play with, to watch grow and learn. I love pouring my life into you and having your in our home and as part of our family. You have enriched my life more in this past year that I ever would’ve imagined.

Mama loves you, baby. Happy 1st Birthday.

I Got My Baby Back, Baby Back, Baby Back...

2008-08-29T20:43:00.002-05:00

Pulled into the driveway tonight at mom and dad's and out walks dad with my sweet baby in his arms. Granted she'd just woken up, so she looked at us a little strange for a while... but once I got her in my arms, she spent the next five minutes like this and did not move.

See y'all... I'm gonna go cuddle with my girl. :)

Feeling a little lost...

2008-08-27T23:18:00.006-05:00

On Monday I did something unbelieveable... a little test run for a trip I'm taking in October. I left my baby girl in Ohio with her Mia and Papaw and I won't get her back 'til Friday. Let me tell you I'm feeling a little lost without my shadow by my side. I miss her so badly I can hardly stand it right now, and it'll still be two whole days 'til I get her back.

The good news is she doesn't even know I'm gone. :) Good news because I know she'll handle it fine now when I skip the country come October. Mia (my mom) bought a crib last month for all her grandbabies, which my 20 year old brother graciously houses in his bedroom. (How sweet is that? Mom said he's never once complained about the baby bed in his room.) The crib however is right next to the lightswitch... which she discovered this morning I'm told. :) My brother awoke early to on-off-on-off...giggle...on-off-on-off-etc. I think you've got the picture. I'm told he unscrewed the lightbult, but the sound of the switch was enough to amuse her. I guess it went on for a while. What a smart girl. :)

Speaking of smart girl... if you know me you know that Reese has heard a piano playing since her little ears popped out of her head in my tummy. My dad tells me that a girl was playing the piano on tv the other day, and she left her pile of toys to go and watch her on television. When the playing stopped, she returned back to her toys and proceeded to play again. How cute is that?

That's Mama's girl!

This is Mama's girl too... sitting in the 3rd generation rocking chair that her Mia, Mama, Aunts, and Uncle used to play on, smiling sweetly for her 1 year picture, going up on my wall very soon.

Ooh, I love these. (Photo taken by my mom and edited by yours truly.) I'm seriously thinking of taking up photography in the very near future. I mean... how sweet is this?

So what's a Mama doing with all her free time while her baby's away at Mia's?

Turning my kitchen red for one thing. And tomorrow is gonna be all about some cupcakes and a homemade smash cake for my girl's 1st birthday party in Ohio this weekend. We'll see if it's blogworthy or not.

Look out Martha Stewart... Wags is getting out her cake pan.

Tagged... I'm It!

2008-08-23T22:03:00.005-05:00

These are in no particular order, by the way...

7 things I want to do before I die:

Visit Europe for as along as it takes to see everything I wanna see
Have a few more kids and raise them all
Own a Mini Cooper
Take a cruise
Get my mom to fly with me on an airplane
Take missions trips with my family after all my kids are born and a little grown
Take a hot air balloon ride

7 things I can do:

Play and teach the piano
Take a good picture
Give a great massage
Find things that I want for cheap cheap
Cook about anything
Sing
Quilt

7 things I cannot do:

Go more than a few weeks to a month without visiting my family in Ohio
Speak a foreign language fluently
Watch Steel Magnolias without bawling
Imagine my life without Reagan and Reese (stole that from Erin... but its true!) :)
Go a day without phoning my mom
Enjoy a cup of coffee
Eat at Red Lobster

7 things that attract me to Reagan:

His ability to communicate and read me
His shoulders and arms
His tender heart
His love for Christ
His love for me and Reese
His voice and musical abilities
His leadership capabilities

7 things I say most often:

Read notes, not finger numbers
"Jesus loves the little reese's, all the reese's in the world"
No-No Reese
Hey lover
No ma'am, Reese, how do we ask for more? (and yes- she responds) :)
How much have you practiced this week?
That was 'puh-recious'

7 celebrity crushes from childhood:

Mac Powell
Mac Powell
Mac Powell
Mac Powell
Mac Powell
Mac Powell
Philip Larue

7 people to tag: (sorry- I haven't checked to see if you've been tagged yet or not.)

BigNanny
Alicia O.
Mom
Sumer
Leighann
Melissa
BigT

New Tricks

2008-08-20T18:47:00.003-05:00

The video says it all...

Joke of the Day

2008-08-20T16:33:00.002-05:00

Just had my biggest laugh all week, courtesy of Mr. Matthew Jordan.

Matthew: Knock-Knock
Me: Who's there?
Matthew: Dwayne
Me: Dwayne who?
Matthew: (while laughing hysterically) Dwayne the bathtub, I'm dwowning!

Love that kid! :) I don't know how Alicia gets anything done with him around... I'd spend my days rolling on the floor! :)

Welcome to the World

2008-08-19T08:54:00.003-05:00

I am pleased to introduce you to the newest member of our family, (extended family that is) Mr. Daniel Philip Thoma. Named for his grandpa's Danny and Phil, and weighing in at 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 21 inches long, Daniel made his grand entrance somewhere around 5:30 this morning.

Boys in this family are a great commodity... my brother is the only grandson on my dad's side out of 7, and one of two grandsons out of 7 on my mom's side. (We joke around that we have to get married to get boys in the family.)

Congrats to my sister Danielle, her husband Jeff, and my niece EdenGrace on being a BIG SISTER! You're gonna be a great one, girl! Get ready for lots of kisses and cuddles from Aunt Hedder and your big cousin Reese on Thursday little guy! We can't wait to meet you!

And the winner is...

2008-08-18T10:06:00.001-05:00

Me. :)

Read here. :)

A Jungle No More

2008-08-15T20:51:00.014-05:00

Move over Lawnmower Man... Pastor Reagan's out to steal your job. Took me (well... us I guess) two days to get all this done. If you've been to my house for piano don't tell me you haven't thought "good night people, PLEASE clean up your yard." Yes the weeds and gardening have been a little neglected this year, but not anymore. And it's hard to say this without sounding critical of R, so please don't think I'm hubby-bashing or anything, but let's just say I'm the one who gets things like tools for Christmas. Just not his niche... or so I thought. Guess an old dog can learn a new trick or two after all.

I worked all day yesterday pulling weeds and actually defining a line between the yard and the flowerbed in the front yard. Today was the day to do the same in the back yard, mow, trim, and spread mulch. (Let me just tell you that crab grass must find it's roots in hades. I swear that stuff comes straight from the devil.) Reese is napping and we're all geared up and ready to go when out of the blue the mower won't start. Well great. Surprises lurk around every corner. I had exhausted all of my Mrs.-Fix-It ideas AND called my Daddy (who can fix anything) and still no mower. Guess who came to the rescue?!? He just took over, disappeared twice to Lowe's, and left me pulling weeds in the back. All of the sudden I heard the familiar hum of the mower and voila! Shock, Amazement, Awe... these were only a few of the words I could've used to describe my thoughts at that very moment. Reagan fixed the mower and I didn't have to do a thing with it.

So... if you're driving by the Wagoner's house or dropping your kid off to piano... feel free now to leave your machete behind. It will no longer be a necessary tool to make it to my front door.

Dinner Anyone?

2008-08-14T13:24:00.014-05:00

So a little before 8 this morning after I jumped out of bed to try to catch the trash man (which I failed at) Reagan's phone rings... it's this guy.

Meet Charley. Charley goes to TSC... plays sometimes in the band for the student ministry. Charley is now one of my new favorite people. This is where Charley works...

Today was the grand opening for Moe's in Spring Hill. Charley called to give us a heads up that of the first 100 people to be in line, nearly the first 50 were already there.

OK- boil some water, make some oatmeal, grab some toys, clothes, and diapers... brush your teeth and oh yeah... don't forget your sleeping child, and we're off. Where's Reagan? Talking smack from THE SHOWER about how he's gonna beat me there? Whatever... I'm out the door. See you when you get there, babe.

Time of arrival- 8:45ish and I get one of these.

Lookin' good, huh? My first thought was... OK, couldn't I have run to Target and bought some sticky notes and done this myself? Oh well...

Anyway, thus began our 2 hour and 15 minute wait for the opening. Reagan, the Holtz family, my Aunt Kathy, Kerah, and Emmah arrive shortly thereafter. Reese was a trooper, sitting in her stroller eating her oatmeal and yogurt while still in her jammies and watching Nemo on her DVD player. Eventually she got dressed and had fun screaming at all the people in line behind her.

Which included her Daddy... 10 people behind us. :) How did it feel to be #59, lover? (Just as yummy as it did to be #49, I'm sure.)

Back up though... why is it important to be one of the first 100 in line you ask? Because the first 100 people got one of these...

And yes... you saw tents. Much more burrito-dedicated people than myself actually camped outside the door to be the first to get their free burrito. Including someone you may know as Drew Winter with his wife Lori. (Side note- I am an idiot and tried to yell at Drew to get his attention to say hello. If you know him, you know why I am an idiot. Gave the Holtz's a good laugh...)

So if you're ever interested in having dinner with the Wagoner's on say maybe a Tuesday night after 7:00... you'll know where to find us. Come join us. We'll be happy to save you a seat. We might even save you some queso.

Just in case you were wondering...

2008-08-05T21:46:00.001-05:00

...nursing a wiggly 11 month old with razor sharp fingernails is not a fun experience when you are sunburned.

Add that to my list of experiences.

The View from Where I'm Sitting

2008-08-04T10:18:00.007-05:00

Nice isn't it? The view from Sterling Shores. Within walking distance to The Back Porch and Grazie... my two favorite Destin restaraunts. Always a bittersweet time when this is the view from where I'm sitting, 'cause it means another summer is over. Not quite as bittersweet as usual however, because somehow even though this summer was just as crammed full of things as our summers always are, it really didn't seem to fly by as quickly for me this year. I've savored every minute of my first summer as a Mama. It's been completely wonderful.

The only thing that could make this year's Destin trip any better would be the addition of four others who are far far away right now... you know who you are. :) As much fun as Reese is having playing in the sand with Mama and Nana, I'm sure Hannah and Hudson could teach her a thing or two about sandcastles. We miss you guys.

Kudos to my hubby... He did his research and found a place to take me dancing last night. Or so we thought. Didn't quite turn out to be the place we thought (though we had a blast watching the 40 and over crowd make complete fools of themselves... ha ha) That didn't stop Reagan though. We found a boat a few docks down playing live music, and a couple docks down from there we made our own dance floor, watching a couple cranes chill out on a neighboring yacht. What a sweet evening. I love him... :)

All Good Things Must Come to an End

2008-07-30T22:41:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is my last full day at home, and I feel a little bad because I should be more excited to get back and see my husband after 2 1/2 weeks. It's not that I am not super duper excited to see him... just means it's time to go, and I must be honest, home has never felt more like home in my life and I'm not looking forward to it one little bit. My baby girl is now mocking many things that her one-year-older-cousin does, and I like the idea of Eden Grace being Reese's closest playmate. In my book, that's the way it should be. I got to be here when my sister got engaged... when my dad got the good news about his cancer... got my hair cut by my old stylist... got to watch Reese and my grandparents (still only in their upper 60's) spend time playing together... got to watch her cousin teach her how to dig around in the sandbox... to watch her like sitting and playing with her Uncle Ryan. (Give it another year and let him pick at her and aggravate her a little more and I'm sure that'll change, but... nonetheless.) :)

I read a quote once that said "Don't be sorry it's over... be glad it happened."

I'll be working on that...

What the heck was I thinking?

2008-07-26T23:37:00.009-05:00

As I posted a day or two ago, my mom, my sister Danielle, my niece Eden Grace, Reese, and I went to The Beach Waterpark on Thursday. One of the little watersport activities is swinging your way out on these...

There are only four of them, and once you get to the end you ring a bell and drop into the water. There was a time in my life when I could swing my way all the way out on these things and ring the little bell... had to have been like, ten years ago now that I think about it. Seeing as how I didn't think about it Thursday, I thought I'd try it again...

Please take a moment now to refer to the title of my blog.

Looks like my sister had the "action" setting on the camera as she snapped my picture.

You can see for yourself how the whole thing went down. No bell was rung, however there was a large flash as both my headlights popped out of the top of my suit for all the world to see as I exited the pool up the ladder. My mother couldn't get the words out of her mouth quickly enough, but the look on her face and gaping mouth told me I'd better jump back in and fast. Thank God the camera still wasn't snaping then... bet folks didn't know they were gonna get a peep show included in the price of their ticket.

And yes... I did smack the water when I hit. And yes, it did bruise my leg and still hurts today.

Here are a few other pictures of our fun day at the park...

Reasons to Celebrate

2008-07-26T23:20:00.009-05:00

Tomorrow is my niece's 2nd birthday, and today was her party. I broke down and let Reese have her very first brownie and cookie today to celebrate with her cousin. My girl thought she was in chocolate heaven... (my niece has a boatload of allergies, but LOVES these cookies my sister is able to make for her... hence the absence of a cake.)

Eden Grace wasn't the only girl with a reason to celebrate, however. Her Aunt Shi-Shi (my sister Ashley) got a big ol' gift today, too...

My baby sister got engaged today!!! She and her fiance have been together since their junior year of high school. She's 24 now, so needless to say, he's already been part of the family for quite a while. Here's a picture of the happy couple arriving at the birthday party, telling everyone their big news... I think she just walked to the back yard and shouted "I'M ENGAGED!"

Too sweet! Michael, her fiance, had already filled us in, so we knew what was coming. He told her that his car had broken down and she needed to come get him for the party. When she got there a table was covered in candles that spelled "I LOVE YOU" with a Bible opened to I Corinthians 13. A note said "read verse 7" which says "Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." After she read it she looked up as he walked into the room, bent down on one knee, and I'm sure you know how the rest went. Their dating anniversary is July 11. It's always been my sister's dream to be married on that day. It falls on a Saturday next summer, so... looks like she's gonna get her wish!

"Working My Way Back to You Babe..."

2008-07-25T09:11:00.005-05:00

See the little airplane over WashingtonState? Well, it is 10:17am EST, and I am stalking the flighttracker again. My husband is coming home today, and although I still will not see him for another week, I am as giddy as I was to see him as the day I married him. I am so overjoyed to know that he is lurking somewhere back in the United States that I can hardly stand it!!!

These are a few of my favorite things... :)

2008-07-23T23:16:00.023-05:00

I am having so much fun being home these past few days, and am loving the fact that I still have a week and a half to go. Today me, my mom, one of my sisters, my niece, and Reese spent the day at a waterpark. We had a blast... even with two babies. Yesterday I dropped Reese off at my Dad's parents' and took off for an afternoon with my best friend since we were 15, Ruth Ann, who is now a massage therapist. One of our new favorite things to do when I come home is meet up at her office... she gives me a massage and we catch up on the past month or however long it's been since I've seen her last. It's one of the most wonderful hours of my life. :)

So here I was today, a big grown-up Mama now, driving around my old stomping grounds, and what should I find, but a radio station that seriously must've picked up a playlist from 1999 'cause all it did was play some of my favorite tunes from high school. What a perfect day.

Most of the afternoon we were reminiscing about old times, and my mind didn't stop reeling as I drove home. This led me to a list I compiled of my favorite things about coming home... and especially in the summertime. Therefore, in no particular order, we have...

Corn FieldsEverywhere you go in Germantown, Farmersville, Miamisbrug, Carlisle, or the million other little towns I could name that make up home to me, there are corn fields. I do not exaggerate when I say everywhere. Once my brother in law visited home with Reagan and me, and all he could talk about was how much corn there was and how we all must be cornchildren.

The Family Farm

Oooh how I love this place. It's absolutely gorgeous inside and out. This house was my favorite place to be as a child. It was built by my Grandpa's Great-Grandpa I believe, or maybe just his Grandpa, I can't remember... in the very late 1880's or so... (I'm sure if my mom reads this and I'm wrong, she'll let me know... although it is etched into the concrete floor in the cellar. Maybe I'll go check that out before I leave.) I pull into this place and feel as though my roots spring up out of the ground and just hug me tight. I walked in the doors just tonight and for a short moment took a very deep breath. The smells took me back to being 7 years old again eating Grandma's breakfast and watching the Bugs and Tweety Show on Saturday morning with my Grandfather. So much history in this house... so many memories made by myself alone, not to mention the scores of other people who have inhabited its walls. My Grandfather passed away 7 years ago, and just last year my Aunt and Uncle moved into it and still farm it today. Each time I go back to it my heart aches with the memories of childhood and I miss my Grandfather all over again. That, however, is another post in itself...

The Carlisle Spaceships

"What the *?!@ is that?" How many times have I heard that? I love driving by these things, located less than a minute down the road from my parents home, especially with unexpecting newcomers. It took me by suprise the first time someone asked. I mean- duh! They're the spaceships! Doesn't every town have random spaceships hanging out in a cornfield somewhere? I mean, these things have been here my entire life... since before I was born I guess, and yes- to my knowledge, people still live in them today. There's a big ol' white farmhouse in front of them, and a swimming pool to the right, and whatever posessed these people to do such a thing I'll never know, but they are a landmark. We give directions by them... "go past the spaceships and look for our house about a mile down the road on the right."

The Giant Jesus

Now this thing has not been up my entire life. I actually got to watch this thing go up. It sits in front of a church located just off of I-75, and directly across the interstate from where my dad goes to work everyday. Not exactly sure why they would ever wanna build such a thing. Word has it that it was built to take attention away from the Gentleman's Club on down the highway... who knows though. Being a Buckeye fan, of course my favorite picture of it shows why Jesus himself is also a Buckeye fan. :)

Last but not least...

Yes, this picture is a little old... (Reese was an unknown bean in my belly at the time it was taken.) But call me a little biased, I can't imagine any one family loving to be together as much as this one does. I'm so blessed to know that every trip home that I make is going to be a meaningful one, and not one member is going to dread getting together with any of the others. They are what make coming home the best times of my life...

Finally... Some Good News!

2008-07-22T21:43:00.004-05:00

For those of you who have been praying for my daddy... we received the first good report regarding his cancer since we first received the news of it two years ago.

Let me give a little background... each time my dad has had any urine/blood lab work done, his protein counts have increased... actually they've more than doubled every 3-4 months. First counts came in around 150, then jumped to 400's, then 800's, 1600's, then at the end of this past March, his counts measured just over 3900. Once your protein counts reach the 4,000's, your kidneys begin to be in more danger, and his were on track to hit the 8,000's.

So back in mid-May, my dad went under the care of a doctor in Florence, Alabama who placed him on a 60 day fresh vegetable/fruit juicing fast along with some other cleansing routines. Long story short... when protein counts are anticipated to be in the 8,000's, and they come in only just over 4200, I think we've got something to sing about. :) (or cry about... whichever hits you at the moment.)

Thanks to everyone who've lifted him up in prayer... continue to pray that the Lord will allow him to continue to receive this kind of news and that ultimately healing would take place!

On the road again...

2008-07-22T00:29:00.012-05:00

Let me begin my post with a big THANKS to my Uncle Keith for coming by my house and packing my car. Reagan would've been super proud, and I can tell you right now I wouldn't have been able to put the pieces to this puzzle together the way that you did... This was the way my car looked last Saturday as Reese, Grandma, and I headed to Ohio to begin our big three week trip away to finish up our summer. I can't BELIEVE summer is almost over.

This is Grandma... my Grandma, Reese's Great-Grandma. Her name is Florence. I like to refer to her as "G-Flo".

She came home from Ohio with us after the 4th of July and stayed for a nice long visit. She also cleaned my house from top to bottom and spoiled my baby every chance she got. Big Nanny thought she was the stuff for giving Reese Dr. Pepper and Doritos at VBS... then Grandma came. Grandma thought it'd be nice to let Mama sleep in one day, and I think for breakfast they shared a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee... Nice one, Grandma. Loved hearing that when I woke up.

Regardless of the coffee... you've gotta love my Grandma. If there were a sixth love language, my grandma has it, and I truly believe it is cleaning house. When Grandma calls and says she's coming to visit, you know it means your house will be sparkling by the time she leaves. Some people may take that as an insult, but not me... pull out the old toothbrushes- 'cause Grandma wants to shine your baseboards. I'm telling ya... this Grandma rocks.

As mighty and wonderful as her cleaning skills are, Grandma does have a little problem with getting her words mixed up. For example, she uses words like, homen-sectional, lesman, nonchalah (nonchalant), and tex-mexin' (text-messaging)... there are plenty more, trust me, but they are escaping me at the moment. We get so tickled when she mixes her words up, but don't you dare laugh at her for fear of hurting her feelings. Here's a bit of a conversation about landscaping that we had on our way home...

GFlo: I just can't believe they wanted $1600 to do that tiny little bit of mulching and planting in my front yard. I'll just pay you and your mom to do it if you're interested.

Me: Well, I don't have a clue about how to make it look, but if you get someone there that can put me to work and show me what to do, I'll be glad to help. Where do you get your ideas for what you want to plant anyway?

GFlo: Oh, Bern's comes out and they give me a diaphragm...

I am sure what she meant to say was diagram... let me just tell you though, it was all I could do to drive straight. My mind was racing with so many things I could've said... of course it was overlooked... until I got home to tell my mom and sisters anyway. Big laughs were had by all.

These folks here are my parents. I've shared with lots of people that over the past couple years my Dad has been fighting Multiple Myeloma... a type of cancer that's sort of the opposite of Leukemia. Rather than treat it by traditional means, they've been researching a more hollistic way of treatment... the last 8 weeks of which have been a complete fresh vegetable and fruit juice fast. If you could've seen my dad two years ago, you wouldn't believe how much weight he has lost and how much he has changed. The doctors say now he's the healthiest sick man they've ever met, and we're anticipating good reports from his latest bloodwork tomorrow. I'm so proud of how well he has done and how disciplined he has become. The 8 week fast was up on Saturday... if you've been drinking nothing but juices for 60 days, I'd say you'd be ready for a celebration, so celebrate we did. Burgers, chicken, salmon, and other yummy things all grilled around the pool. Mix all that in with a cake for my 8 month pregnant sister's birthday and you've got yourself a party!

Just when you thought the party couldn't be anymore fun, my niece Eden Grace suprised us all with a big announcement. "Mommy- POOPY!" Frantically we all began glancing around the pool, until we realized this not quite 2-year-old was telling us that SHE had to go. As quickly as an 8 month pregnant woman can hop, my sister quickly hopped up and got the potty chair, and little EG did her business. She was so excited, she kept squealing "Mommy- I made it, I made it Mommy!" Who would've thought 15 other people would all get to experience such a first... and all around the swimming pool. ha ha ha

As for Reese, she's having a blast with her cousin. My sister and I are big ol' nerds and love to dress our kids alike when we get 'em together... :)

Reese has now learned how to tell me to "stop it", (thanks again to Grandma for that one) and puts her hand out in front of her when she chooses to do so. So far I can't get her to do it on camera... every time I get it out she gets stage fright. Keep your eyes open for that one though.

As for Reagan, I continue to be amazed at the people they are meeting and the short stories he is able to share through his text messages. This is currently the view from his hotel room...

One story in particular that I can't wait to hear more about is the tiny, poor little village they could reach only by boat where he said foreigners had never visited before. Can you imagine the looks on the faces of those people when these incredibly tall white people pulled in on their boats?!? Please continue to pray for them as their trip finishes up over the next 3 days!

Hi Daddy!

2008-07-18T10:55:00.004-05:00

Hi Daddy- Mama said you might be on her blog soon, so I wanted to say hello and show you my new toy from Miss Sandy and Sydney. I love it. "As if I'm not bouncy enough..." Mama says. :)

Here's a picture that Uncle Rob just sent us. Mama and I love you and are glad you and Uncle Brother are safe! Mama thinks it's crazy to see you standing in that room with brother and our friends that she's only seen on video. Tell our family that we miss them and we love them bunches!!! Please hug and kiss Hannah and Hudson from me! If you can, try to leave me a comment so I know you got it!

I love you! -The Reese Cup-

And they're off...

2008-07-17T11:13:00.010-05:00

See the slightly older than the rest, but incredibly
handsome looking guy, about third from the left in the back row? We affectionately refer to each other as "lover". That is my 26 year old husband and after I looked at this picture it hit me that 5 families entrusted their highschool and college students to him yesterday. Kinda crazy, huh? What a fun team. I was so incredibly jealous yesterday that they were taking off without me. Sorry Reese... come October, you're staying home with your Mia. (I know, I say that now but... can't wait for that post, huh?)

Well, after four flights and nearly 24 hours, they've finally hit their hotel room where they will sleep and then get up for one more flight before reaching their destination. Yesterday I was sad and a little scared... today I am pumped and cannot wait to hear all of the incredible things God is going to do with these guys. I've taken a very similar trip two years ago and I know how my worldview was changed.

My normally very frugal husband decided to cough up the $.25 that will show up on our verizon bill and send me this picture via our cell phones of their first very modern Asianese hotel room. It's his brother showing me the see thru shower- I'm sure that won't be awkward at all. ha ha Trust me... nothing they stay in after this night will be anything of the sort.

Get ready to say hello to the squatty.

They'll be kissing their little western potties hello once they hit that place on the way back! :)

Praise God they've made it safely so far. Seeing as how it is after midnight on Thursday where they are now, they'll sleep "tonight" and take one more flight to their destination tomorrow. Pray for this team for the next ten days!

Turkey Kisses

2008-07-16T21:51:00.005-05:00

Picture me now... sitting up in my big ol' king size bed, laptop where it should be... in my lap, all by myself, with two internet windows pulled up on my screen. One to type my bloggerness, and one which is set to flightstats.com so i can watch reagan's plane cross that little strip of ocean between alaska and russia. there it goes... over the time line. when i started watching it less than a half an hour ago it was only halfway through alaska.... now it's almost to the tip of russia??? this thing is pretty crazy. the internet rocks.

anyway.

As I mentioned yesterday we spent the weekend at Ridgecrest. While we were there Reese picked up a new trick... my mother is claiming to have taught her this over the 4th of July weekend, but I like to think she just couldn't contain her love for her parents any longer... take a look. :) And don't laugh too hard at our silly kissy faces or noises...

And just today I found out that my little kissing baby isn't a baby at all, but rather a little turkey. She was cracking me up... this went on pretty much all day.

Rambling through the Exhaustion

2008-07-15T22:43:00.005-05:00

I don't even know why I am still up right now... we just got home last night from an awesome time at Ridgecrest, but I cannot describe how exhausted I became on the trip home. No amount of sleep last night has cured it yet, and now for the past hour I've been a weepy mess 'cause I'm sending my lover to the other side of the world tomorrow and will not see him again for a little over two weeks. Crying and thinking too much doesn't do much to rest your mind or body, let me tell you.

I'm not handling this as well as I thought I would, and have no idea how in the world how my sister in law ever did this for so many years with her hubby going time and time again... multiple times each year. I am overjoyed for HER that they are going... if it were me I'd probably bawl my eyes out the second I saw my brothers step off that plane. What relief it has to be to see them as I am sure culture shock has set in pretty well after the first three months. There is a suitcase full of fun familiar things on its way to their family with our team that I wish I could fill twice as full for them... I can't imagine ice cube trays, dr. pepper, grits, and a can of sage becoming a luxury in life... nevertheless, they are on their way. (probably returning from whence they came, you think?) :)

I put things into perspective just a bit for myself by remembering over and over again that it's only ten days and I'm not sending him into combat for a year. Gives me a whole new respect for military wives, let me tell you... If you are one of the handful of people reading this, please pray for this team over the next ten days.

As for me, my brain is finished for the day and severely tired... I think I will sleep now.

A Whole New World

2008-07-10T08:58:00.003-05:00

So last night was a new experience for me... having Reese has allowed me entrance into the elite world of schmoozing with the preschool mommies in our church. For nearly five years I've seen this little cluster of mommy-friends from afar and whatdayaknow- boom, I give birth, and I'm in. Thanks to BigNanny for hosting... sorry we missed out on the water olympics. It's great to see that you can hold down a job and keep your house clean for your husband, though. (he he he)

Water olympics or not, it was a good time. The conversation was very stimulating, the food tasty, the Mafia intriguing, and I got some info on some nice new blogs to snoop on. (You were all right about Shawn... I laughed REAL hard.) No pictures... maybe BigNanny will put a couple up. I had my camera, but didn't break it out... have to ease these ladies in slowly. Keep me around long and you'll see the thing should just be surgically attached to my eyeball. So did I mention the conversation was stimulating? I'll just say that if sisterpastor ever doubted her popularity among the ladies in our church, she can doubt no more.

On that note... time for breakfast. Reese is still asleep so I think I'll eat my oatmeal in peace.