In This Year

I almost made a liar of myself and skipped blogging tonight. Greta woke up from her nap screaming and pulling her ears. Jeremy fed her while I got ready to take her to MedCenter. I had some Benzocaine ear drops left over from when Ava had an ear infection so I was able to help Greta with the pain a little bit. I drove to MedCenter and realized that they were closed. Then I drove a few miles down to Urgent Care. They were closed too :( Poor baby! A friend of mine, who is a nurse, was able to give me a few tips about how to relieve the pain until I can get her in with the pediatrician. So, before bedtime, I gave Greta some Infant Tylenol and some Infant Motrin along with Hyland's Homeopathic Cold Tablets and more ear drops. I am hoping that she will be able to sleep through the night.

Anyway, that's why I almost did not post in the blog tonight.

Greta and Ava are now snoozing peacefully in their bedroom, so I wanted to write my last post of 2012.

I don't want to come across as arrogant, but my life is very simple and good. It isn't because I am anyone special. It isn't anything that I have done. It isn't because I am smart and have made good decisions. I give all the glory to God. For whatever reason, He has blessed me beyond measure. I continue to ask myself why He continues to shower His blessings on me. I don't understand it. I don't believe that I ever will. Every trial that I go through, He shows me a way out. Not only that, but when that trial is over, I am ALWAYS able to look back and realize what He was trying to teach me. In 28 years, there has never been an exception. 2012 has been no different.

In this year, I saw the birth of my second baby girl: a blonde haired, blue-eyed, Jeremy Pate look alike, with my personality. Greta has the sweetest grin that extends all the way up to her eyes. I think of Jeremy every time she smiles because his smile was one of the biggest reasons why I fell in love with him. I truly believe that the Lord gave her to me so that I would always remember why I am in love with Jeremy. Her smile reminds me of that love every day. 

I am so in love with Greta too! She is such a precious child. She is so happy ALL the time (until she isn't) :) She has the most infectious laughter. When she gets really giddy, she squeals. In fact, I have started calling her Joyful. One of the first things I say to her every morning is, "Good morning Joyful!" She has been such a blessing to our family. Having two children has been a change, but her sweet disposition has made the transition so much easier.

In this year, I saw my Ava turn into a toddler. Although I still refer to her as a baby, she isn't. She is starting to look and act more like a child. I am able to have conversations with her. It is so CRAZY to watch my first child develop and reach each new milestone with eagerness and excitement. She isn't afraid of anything! She is so beautiful and sweet. She loves people and remembers their names. She will hug almost anyone. She does not show favoritism when playing with friends. She wants to play with EVERYBODY! I am so proud of her and the person that she is becoming. Do I believe that Ava is perfect? No, she is a human being. She has imperfect parents who influence her and teach her. But, I can tell that she is growing into a very loving and caring little girl who will one day be a loving and caring mother and wife (if the Lord wills) I am so in love with her too!

How can a person be so in love with so many people and still have room in their heart? I don't understand it, but God makes it possible.

In this year, Jeremy and I have grown even closer as a couple. Having children puts strains on a marriage. That is not me being negative, that is just how it works. I have been blessed, though, with a God-fearing man as a husband. Yes, there have been times this year when I have felt all used up from taking care of children. And yes, there have been times when Jeremy has been so overwhelmed with his job that I have felt like he has had very little to offer me. But Jeremy is a good man who is always able to help redirect our marriage. I am so proud to have him as the leader of our household. He is such a great example of what a Christian husband should be. He is thoughtful (he will just bring home flowers for no other reason than he loves me) he is kind (he does nice things for people and expects nothing in return) he is considerate (he always makes sure that I am okay with the girls before he leaves our house) and he is generous (he would give his entire paycheck to me if he could) There are so many more things that I could say about him, but I will stop for fear of being perceived as a braggart. :) 

Anyway, Jeremy and I have become so much closer in this year because we have learned how to take care of our family together. Jeremy is able to take care of our children the same way that I would. He knows the "rules" for when to wake up Greta from a nap to eat and when to let her continue sleeping. He knows how to calm our children down when they are fussy and irritable. He just knows. He isn't afraid to communicate with me about something that he doesn't know. I feel secure knowing that he is capable of caring for our children.

In this year, my sister got married and found out two months later that she was expecting her first child. Kate Meischelle Lassiter was born on November 27th 2012. She is beautiful (just like her mother) I didn't understand how my sister having a child would affect me, but it has! I feel like Kate is my child! When I held her for the first time, I almost cried. I LOVE her! I felt an instant connection and bond with her. It makes me sad that there is so much distance between us and her. Maybe that will change one day.

In this year, we laid Granny to rest. Granny was Jeremy's grandmother, but she became mine even before Jeremy and I got married. I remember meeting her for the first time in the Wal-Mart gardening center. Jeremy and I had driven to Tennessee so that I could meet his family. We surprised Granny at work. She walked up and gave me a hug right off the bat. Then she turned me around so that she could look at my hips (she wanted to make sure I had child-bearing hips) :) She must have approved because later that afternoon she bought me a very heavy (and very expensive) wooden elephant at Hobby Lobby. My decor may change but that elephant will always have a place in my home.

In this year, I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism. As my endocrinologist states it, "if you are going to have a chronic disease, thyroid disease is the one to have." I can't say that I disagree. I will be on Synthroid for the rest of my life, but taking a tiny pill every morning is a piece of cake compared to so many other diseases an disorders.

In this year, I set a lofty goal of losing 70 pounds. I am over halfway there thanks to Bariatric Health & Wellness. My friend, Alisha, gave me a really cute black and white houndstooth skirt in a size 6. It is hanging in my closet to remind me of my goal. I call it my "goal skirt." :)

And in this year, I worked on my resolution. I said at the beginning of the year that I wanted to better understand how God loves me. I said that I wanted to understand his love for me through my children. I don't have it all worked out, but I can honestly say that I have a clue. A tiny glimmer of what it must be like to unconditionally love people who do not always follow your directions. My children teach me about that every day. :) Instead of coming up with a resolution for 2013, I am going to continue to focus on understanding God's love for me. That may not make sense to anyone, but I just really need to understand it. So, maybe in this NEXT year I will finally put to rest the belief that I will never measure up. Maybe I will learn that it isn't about measuring up. Maybe my head will explain it to my heart :)

Negligence...

I am so behind!!! I almost decided to quit blogging because I feel like I can't keep up my normal pace. I am an all or nothing kind of person (just ask my husband if you don't believe me) :) If I can't blog EVERYTHING, then I want to blog nothing. Jeremy encouraged me to keep going so here I am :) 

I would love to say that I have had noble reasons for not blogging: a fast from media, time spent in Bible study and prayer, or re-focusing my time and energy on family. The answer, though, is none of the above. I just haven't done it. I haven't felt like it. When the girls take a nap, all I want to do is clean my house. :) (Not really, but that will make my husband happy) :) 

Okay, enough jibber-jabber. My last post of 2012 is coming right up... (for real this time)

The Truth

The truth is that I will not be catching up after all. I guess all my stuff will just have to be posted after the new year! I usually set unattainable goals that I can never reach. Blogging 40-50 events in a week was not a reasonable goal with Christmas just around the corner. I wish I could learn from this experience to set more attainable goals, but I probably won't :) So, I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! (And a Happy New Year!)

Catching Up...

Well, I really don't know why I chose today to get back to blogging. It has been almost two months since my last post. Why not wait another two months? :) I guess I have a lot on my mind and just need to write.

Today will go down in the history books. Details are still emerging about everything that happened in the elementary school in Connecticut. A gunman walked into an elementary school where his mother taught kindergarten. He walked into her classroom and killed her and several of her students. He then killed himself. I am so saddened and angered by this, but I know who my God is.

My purpose of this post is not to re-hash everything that happened in that classroom, but to catch up on the life that we have been living since my last post.

I now have a 2 year old and a 6 month old. My living room, kitchen, and dining room look completely different than they did 2 months ago. We have laid Granny to rest. Ava and Greta now share the same bedroom (Officially!) We have a new niece (Kate) And I have lost 25 lbs. :)

Our lives are flying by faster than I can keep a record of. Blogging has become really difficult as of late. Chasing a 2 year old around the house and keeping a 6 month old occupied takes up most of my time. My house stays in disaster mode most of the time. When the girls take a nap, I either clean the house or take a bubble bath. Blogging has not been put on the back burner, it isn't even on the stove. Now that I am on thyroid medicine, I am hoping to have more energy and not feel so drained. Hopefully, blogging will get back on the stove :)

I guess that's it for now. I have a blog list of about 40-50 things that need to go on here before the new year. Expect to see about 10 posts a day. :)

Bella Rustica

Bella Rustica is a vintage, shabby chic, flea market in an old barn, in Pulaski, TN. Need I say more? Well, if you know me, then you know that I am very verbose, so I will say more :) 

When I was in Tennessee for Jeremy's reunion, I had the chance to go to Bella Rustica with my Mom-In-Law (Linda Jo) and my Sister-In-Law (Berrie) Linda Jo had heard of it and thought that it might be fun. It was! Jeremy watched the kids for me (isn't he amazing?) so that I could spend the day with the girls. I did have a little bit of dough in my wallet that day and expected to walk away with a few items, but I ended up looking and not purchasing (even though the prices were extremely affordable) What I did walk away with was a full stomach! I think we ate the whole time we were there!

Bella Rustica is not huge. The booths have to be juried in (not just any vendor can set up shop) Many vendors had Pinterest type crafts, and others had shabby chic furniture. A vendor from Nashville (Rew Elliott) buys vintage jewelry and resets the jewels in contemporary settings (stunning!) Another vendor makes jewelry entirely out of guitar strings (sound hokey, but isn't) If you think you might be interested in attending next year, see their webpage (Google it) This was only the second year that Bella Rustica has been in existence, so I think it will probably be bigger and better every year that it takes place. :)

Northwood Lake Playground

To Nana And Poppy's House We Went...

Our family recently traveled to Nana and Poppy's house to stay for a few days while Jeremy's 20 year high school reunion was taking place (I know, 20 years, right?) We drove in on a Thursday afternoon and had dinner together before putting the kids to bed. It was a sweet afternoon because Poppy took Ava all over the front yard looking for bunnies (there was a small family of rabbits living in their front yard) She didn't really know what she was looking for, she just enjoyed getting out of the car and running around! It was also the perfect time for Nana to cuddle with Greta!

God Gives Growth...

Part of Jeremy's job as Family Minister, is visiting families from our congregation and having bible studies and devotionals within their home. Two weeks ago, we visited the home of Nathan and Maggie Moore. Nathan and Maggie have two small children and so Jeremy tried to plan a devotional that would be age appropriate. He talked about how only God can give growth. To illustrate, he brought supplies to make terrariums. The Moore's kept the one that Avery made, and we kept the one that Ava made. Every day, I pull the cup off the ledge in our kitchen and show Ava how her plant is growing. I tell her, "God is making that plant grow!" 

Salt...

The pictures don't do justice.

While I was feeding Greta one day, I heard a "SHSSHSHSHSHSH" sprinkling sound coming from the dining room. I didn't think much of it because I was completely exhausted and just didn't want to get up and see what it was. I continued to feed Greta. As my mind began to clear a little bit, I thought, "I really need to see what that is. Ava is being too quiet and hasn't come back into the living room." I stood up and saw her standing in one of the dining chairs, salt shaker in hand. She looked up at me, blue eyes round as could be. She had decided to "decorate" the table with salt. :) It doesn't look like much, but you can see that the salt shaker is half full (or half empty, depending on how you look at it) It was filled to the brim with salt BEFORE she got hold of it.

Salt was EVERYWHERE! She poured it all over the dining room chairs, the table, the tray centerpiece, the candles in the centerpiece, and the floor. :) It was so much fun to clean up!

Our new rule is: "Leave NOTHING on the table!" If we leave nothing on the table, she can't mess with it! :)

Mr. Incredible

This is silly, but it is SO Jeremy...

Jeremy teaches the Young Married/Married With Children class on Sunday mornings. On top of his bookcase sits...Mr. Incredible. :) Since Mr. Incredible cannot stand on his own two feet, Jeremy placed him in a plastic drawer and pushed it in so that Mr. Incredible won't fall. 

One of the reasons I love this class is because I believe Jeremy is a great teacher. I always learn so much from him. Another reason I love this class is because of the relationships that we have formed with everyone in our class. I feel like my bond is so much stronger with my classmates because we all feel free to share comments and struggles in an environment that is non-judgmental. But, I also love this class because I feel safe. I know that Mr. Incredible is nearby, watching out for us all...

Tebow

No, I am not talking about Tim Tebow. We don't speak the language of sports in this household. We are more artistically and musically inclined. Call us nerds. We don't mind. We are proud of it! :)

No, Tebow has actually been a mystery in our household for over a week. It is a word that Ava has said over and over in reference to movies. She will point to one movie and say, "Tebow!" and point to another movie and say, "No Tebow." We could not figure out what she was talking about!

We tried to figure it out two days ago. Jeremy got three movies that we had recently viewed and held them all up to Ava. He asked her which one was "Tebow." She pointed to Cinderella. We thought that maybe Tebow meant Cinderella, but then she said, "Cinderella." We pointed to Shrek. She said, "No Tebow." We held up the Disney documentary that we sometimes watch (and by sometimes, I mean every afternoon) She said, "Mick Mouse." What in the world was Tebow?

I solved the mystery this afternoon! After Ava's bath, I sat her on the bathroom counter to brush her teeth. She said, "Tebow!" I looked at the toothbrush, confused. I said, "toothbrush?" She said, "toothbrush." I said, "Ava, tell Momma where Tebow is." I was really excited because I felt like I was on the brink of the most important discovery of the 21st century! She pointed to her Tinkerbell cup that holds all of her dental hygiene supplies. I said, "Tinkerbell?" Ava shook her head yes and said, "Tebow!" I threw back my head and laughed so hard because all the pieces fell into place!

Tinkerbell=Tebow. I don't know why that is the way she says it, but it is what it is. The reason she said "Tebow" when we pointed to Cinderella, was because of the Disney logo immediately preceding the opening credits. There is the castle scene and Tinkerbell flies over the top. I always make a big deal of that and say, "Ava look! It's Disney! And there's Tinkerbell!" I didn't know she was paying attention to me! When I put "Shrek" in the other day, Ava looked at me and said, "Where Tebow dough?" ("Where did Tinkerbell go?") (Shrek is Dreamworks) I didn't know that she paid attention to those opening scenes! It is really amazing to me that she was able to make a distinction between a "Tebow movie" (as she calls it) and a "No Tebow movie," just by looking at the DVD cover.

So, tonight when we got home from church, I pranced around a little bit and tried to get Jeremy to guess what my big news was (seriously, figuring this mystery out IS a HUGE deal!) He couldn't guess it, so I finally told him. I would love to tell you that we found some spiritual application in all of this, but we didn't. We popped in the movie "Shrek" and taught her how to say "DreamWorks" :)

Alisha's Wedding Shower

This is a recent shower we had in our multi-purpose building at our church. Alisha and Colin will get married in just a few more weeks! We are so excited about their big day! I want to wish them the best of luck on their marriage. They have a lot of people praying for them right now as they take this HUGE step in their lives :) 

Their love story is a sweet one. Colin's mom had Alisha picked out from the moment she met her. In fact, Colin's family was so sure that Alisha was the one for him, that they asked if they could adopt her for our church's adopt-a-student program. That is really how Colin and Alisha got to know one another. The rest is history. They are such a sweet couple and such a great example of how Christians should act in a relationship. I love them both and can't wait for October 20th!