What a Man, What a Man, What a Man, What a Mighty Good Man!

I just wanted to pay tribute to a great man whose 80th birthday we all celebrated this past Sunday. He won't actually turn 80 until December, but in order for it to be a surprise, they went ahead and had his party on Sunday. I think there were about 150 people invited! I am referring to Dennis' grandfather, better known to all of us as "Grandad". Dennis made a comment the other day that "none of us would be where we are without him". I have to say that I agree.

The legacy that he and Grandma started will be alive for the rest of our lives, and hopefully for years after that. What a wonderful family they are and I am incredibly blessed to have married in to. They are the most generous people in the world, willing to help out whenever is needed, and willing to just give and give and give. I truly feel that they have been so blessed because of their own generosity. Dennis and I always say that we hope and pray that we will be in the position one day to give to our own grandchildren like they have given to us. I am so, so thankful that Sadie has the opportunity to get to know these 2 wonderful people.

So many of Dennis' stories from his childhood involve his Grandad. I love hearing stories of their hunting trips that they took all over the world, literally. Grandad took Dennis to Africa when he was just a little boy!! Grandad has been through so much and he continues to push on. The man still gets up and goes to work every single day!! He is just such a special man that means the world to us. He loves Sadie to pieces too. Everytime she comes around, his eyes fill up with tears. He has always said that Sadie Jane is his most favorite name. I'll always remember that.

So, here's to you, Grandad...thank you for being who you are and for heading up a family that has shown nothing but love to me! We love you!

Thanking God Every Day

Have you ever had one of those Sundays in church when the Pastor says something that just hits you like a ton of bricks? I had one of those today. It even got to the point where I was so overcome with emotion, I almost felt like I was either going to scream out crying or just fall over in the aisle. I held back though. It was probably best. At the end of the sermon during the invitation, Bro. David was inviting people to come down and pray at the alter before they took the Lord's supper, etc. He was giving people the opportunity to pray with some of the deacons/pastors of the church if they felt that they needed someone to "believe on their behalf". Sometimes, it's just easy to give up, and sometimes you just need someone to pray for you and "believe" when you feel as though all hope is gone. He welcomed anyone who might need prayers for their own salvation, financial burdens, loved ones to be saved, etc...

He then mentioned, ever so quickly, that if there were any couples who have been trying to conceive for a long time, and they needed to come and have someone pray with them, they were more than welcome. Well, of course that hit me like a ton of bricks. We began singing a song, and I saw a number of couples going down to pray at the alter. I'll never know if those particular couples were down there praying for a child that they haven't been able to have, but I do know that the Lord laid a heavy, heavy burden on my heart to begin praying for them immediately, and so I did. My heart just began to break for those who are still out there trying so hard to have a child of their own.

Dennis and I were in their position such a short time ago. Not a day goes by that I don't look at Sadie and thank God for her. Not a day goes by that I don't remember those feelings of sadness that I felt every month for almost 2 years when we couldn't get pregnant. And, not a day goes by that I don't remember that feeling of loss when I miscarried. Sadie is so, so, so special to me. I just want God to know every single day how thankful I am for her. I don't ever want Him to think that I am taking her for granted. It's not something that I talk about a lot, because I don't believe it's healthy to dwell on past hurts like that, but I also think God allows me to remember those hurts, so that I will love and appreciate Sadie that much more. Maybe that's why I hold her a little bit more. Maybe that's why I don't like to let her cry. Maybe that's why I long to be with her so often.

I just know that I'm so blessed to have her in my life. And, I know that I came to the point many times where I needed God to help me in my unbelief. I needed people to believe for me when I just couldn't believe anymore. There are so many people out there who are going through the same thing, and I just think it's so important to remember.

Sorry, I just felt that I needed to share my heart a bit.

Back from the Mountains

I love, love, love going to East Tennessee to visit my dad. It has to be my most favorite place, and if most of our family didn't live here in Nashville, we'd move to East TN in a heartbeat. My heart belongs there for some reason. I don't know if it's because I went to school there, or because the mountains are so beautiful, or maybe I just love the outlets that much (ha, ha), but everytime we go, the closer we get to Knoxville, the warmer my heart gets. Call me crazy. I can't explain it.

The weather is just a little cooler, the people are just a little friendlier, and the pace seems to be just a little bit slower. Do I sound like a commercial????

We had a great time. Everytime we go to my dad's, I feel like I'm on vacation. We get waited on hand and foot, we get fed until we're about to puke, and it literally just feels like a mini-vacation. Dennis and I haven't been on a "vacation" since our cruise in March of 2006. Ouch! So, these little mini-vacations that I've been taking to my dad's the past few months have been so appreciated. We just stay up late talking, get up and have big breakfasts and just enjoy all spending time together. That's what it's all about. Sadie loves it there. We spend a lot of time outside on the screened-in porch, and she just loves it. And, this time, she got to ride the horse tire swing. She was beside herself.

On our way home, Sadie's stuffy nose got the best of her again. We had stopped to grab a bite to eat, and I was trying to nurse her in the car, but she couldn't eat well, because she couldn't breathe through her nose, so she got frustrated and it was absolutely pitiful. She would eat for a second, come off, take a deep breath through her mouth...eat a little more, come off, take another deep breath, etc. For the first time that I can remember since she was born (notice I said "remember", b/c I'm sure this happened during her 1st few weeks at home, but that's all a blur) I cried with her. I just cried. I felt helpless, and I felt so sorry for her, and all I could do was cry. Gosh, have you ever just felt such an outpouring of love for someone that you just cry when they are the ones in pain? What an overwhelming feeling! And, for the first time since she was born, her daddy was the one to calm her down. Go daddy! I think she sensed my tension, sadness, weakness, anxiety, whatever it was...Once we were back on the road, she was fine again, as you can see...eating her piggies!

It's always so hard to come home from the mountains. It's like, I'm ready to get back to my regular routine, but I feel like I'm leaving something behind. Such a strange feeling, because I have Dennis and Sadie with me...

It's like I can't wait to get back into my own bed, but I miss the mountain air. Okay, enough about that. I feel like I'm starting to sound like a country song. I promise my blogs won't always be this long. Okay, now I'm starting to rhyme...I need to go to bed.

Sniffles

Sadie is experiencing her first time being a little "sick". Well, actually, I would say that I am the one experiencing it more than she is. I don't think she really even notices, but every time she sniffs, I want to fall apart. It's so pitiful! I think it's just her allergies, because she hasn't run a fever, but it's still pitiful to hear her little sniffles and sneezes all day long. We've made it 7 months without so much as a cough, so I know that I need to be thankful, but it still breaks my heart. When Dennis and I see her rubbing her eyes, we just look at each other with looks like she's on her deathbed or something. I guess we're being a little overdramatic, but when it's your baby, you just want to take every bit of discomfort away from them and take it on as your own. I never understood it when my parents used to say that they would "take my place" when I was sick, but now, I understand it completely. I literally just want to sit on the couch with her all day long and just hold her in hopes that it'll make her all better.

Nevertheless, we went on a playdate today with Sadie's friend, Olivia. I asked my friend Katie beforehand if she cared if I still brought Sadie over since she's had the sniffles, and she insisted, so I went ahead and took her. I'm so glad I did, because they had so much fun together. It's probably the first time that I felt like Sadie was actually "playing" with a friend! They took each other's toys away from one another, they stuck their fingers in each others' mouths...you know, all of that disgusting stuff that you never thought in a million years that you would ever let your child do!












I will save this for another blog, but I have learned that almost every single thing that I said I would NEVER do when I had a child, I've done it! I've done it all! It's funny how our words come back to haunt us!

Why Is It????

I feel that I will start most of my blogs with this title..."why is it"? because I ask myself that quite often.

Today, my question is:

Why is it that when you have specific plans, when you have to be somewhere at a certain time, your child always seems to pick that particular day to not take a nap???? Is it Murphy's Law? I used to be so confused by Murphy's Law. I used to never understand it when people would say "oh, that happened because of Murphy's Law", or "Murphy's Law this..." or Murphy's Law that"... I mean, who in the world is Murphy anyways?

I said all of that to say...Sadie has finally been sleeping good. The past few days, she's been napping great and sleeping good at night. This morning, she woke up fairly early, but took a great morning nap. Our day was going so great. I kept holding my breath all day because I knew we had to be at Ella Claire Fontenot's birthday party at 4:00. But, the day started out so perfectly. I was actually thanking God silently all day for letting Sadie wake up this morning when she did, even if it was a little earlier than I would've liked. I thanked Him for letting her take such a great morning nap. I thanked Him that she was such a good girl when we ran some errands. I thanked Him right after I put her down for her afternoon nap. She went down so good! Then, I should've known...after about an hour she woke up crying. Which, is fairly normal, I suppose. I usually can go up there and get her, rock her for about 5 minutes, and she'll go back to sleep for another hour, sometimes longer. This has gone on for weeks. She's been taking 2 and 1/2 to 3 hour naps in the afternoons. Praise Jesus! But, of course, today, she decided she didn't want to go back to sleep. I rocked, and I rocked, and I rocked, and I rocked...well, you get the point. Then, she went from sweetly staring at me while I rocked her to absolutely screaming her lungs out at me, because I guess she thought (knew) I was trying to make her sleep.

So, inside, I start to panic...I'm thinking...why today, Lord? You know we have to leave in a little while to go to this party! So, after about 40 minutes, I gave up.

She won the battle.

Sadie = one point
Mommy = zero

So, we go to the party, and although she was attached to my hip as usual, she seemed to have a good time watching everyone and swinging on the dolphin swing. She was doing great until I put her in the zip-line swing and knocked her head on it. Go mom!

Doesn't it always happen that way? It's always on a day that you have something you have to do. If we had nothing to do today, she probably would've slept for hours! So, THANKS A LOT Murphy...whoever you are!

I said all of that to say that in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? When I held her in my arms tonight, and my heart was filled with joy, I completely forgot the happenings of earlier this afternoon during "naptime". I am learning to not let myself get so upset over the small things. It's hard, because I'm a huge planner-type A-freak. But, I'm learning everyday.

Giving In to the "Wonderful World of Blogging"

Well, I am finally "giving in". Giving in to the wonderful world of "blogging". I learned of this word (blog) about 3 years ago when Dennis and I were working with the Youth Group at Brentwood Baptist. All of the youth were "blogging", and I had no idea what it was. Now, it seems as though blogging is the new "email". My friends are blogging, our church pastor is blogging, family members are blogging. etc. I sure don't want to be left out!

To be honest, for the past few years, I thought blogging was a little ridiculous. I mean, honestly, who really wants to read my thoughts every day? Who wants to know what my crazy mind is thinking on a daily basis? Do I really want to put my deepest thoughts on a computer for everyone to see? Even more so, who has the time to blog? Who has the time to read my blog?
Then, I realized...I'm not doing it for everyone else. I'm doing it for myself. I've always been one to "journal". I started a serious journal from the day that Dennis and I started trying to have a baby, and continued it all the way up until the day before Sadie was born. Then, I just quit...
So, I feel as though I need a way to put my thoughts on paper, or put them on a computer. I am hoping it will be somewhat therapeutic and I hope that I can get some of my friends to join in!

So, feel free to read if/when you have time. I am hoping to use this as well to keep everyone up to date on how Sadie is doing as well. I will love to go back and read these as she continues to grow, and this seems to be the easiest way to jot all of these things down.

Here goes nothin!!!!! Let the journey begin!