Sweet Southern Belle

I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that I’m thirty years old! However, I can’t help but feel anything but gratitude. When I was 22 years old I was told I had a large tumor on a vital organ and may need surgery to remove the tumor. I was told the surgery had only a 60 % survival rate and that without the surgery I would not eat solid food again. That diagnosis was hard and painful and still creates fear as I type this post.  However, on this day I stand healthier, stronger and more at peace than every before. I do not pretend to understand all of the ways of God or why God chose to allow me to overcome such a struggle, yet on this day I am grateful to be alive and healthy.

My twenties have been busy! I graduated college with Bachelors degree, got married, begun a career, became a mother, graduated from graduate school with a Master’s degree, said goodbye to some wonderful friends, and made some lifelong friends. I’ve had two skin cancers removed, became a better steward of the earth, struggled with anxiety, and grown a passion for being healthy. I have less “absolutes” in life than every before yet I have a stronger faith in God’s presence and grace in my life than ever before.

I begin my thirties a few pounds heavier,with a few more wrinkles and gray hairs but also with some wisdom that comes with life experience. I’m thankful that God is not finished with me yet and I look forward to what my future holds.

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Lizzie Sue is growing so fast! Here are pictures from our trip to the Atlanta Zoo last May and from this week. It’s amazing to me how much older she looks this year than last.

Yesterday marked the seventh year since I was married to my husband. There are many things I could say about the past seven years however, I’m not very poetic so I think I’ll not try. My thoughts on marriage are summed up into a phrase a friend recently said.

“Marriage is hard work but anything worth having is”

A good marriage does not just happen. It takes effort on the part of both people to make time for one another, compromise on issues, and to apologize when you are wrong.

I had a wonderful Mother’s Day with my family! I am so grateful for my grandmothers, mother, and my sweet child. Here is a fun link to determine what your monetary value as a mother should be. It allows you to add the money you make in a paying job as well. After entering my “real pay” I should be making over 200,000 per year for my services. If only………..

Being a mama is the hardest job I’ve ever had but it’s the best!

My family has been in a particularly busy season the past few weeks as we bring all our “school-year” activities to a close Little Belle’s preschool (and my job in her class), church preschool choir, Run4missions, and hand bells. So, Lizzie Sue and I have been in the road more than we’ve been home. I was excited to just “stay-home” today so I asked Lizzie Sue what she wanted to do with mama today after she woke. Her answer was “yets make a princess cake, mama”. My first thought was no, we’ll do that for your birthday. Then I thought……why not? Life’s short you don’t have to wait for your birthday to make a fun cake. So, Lizzie Sue and I whipped up a cake and pulled out the princess cake toppers. It was a fun morning….I’d say “fit for a princess”. J

I’ve once again proven to be a bad blogger but what can I say…….I’m sorry. Anyway… for those faithful few who are still coming in hopes of a post here’s an update on us. We’ve had a hectic few weeks!

I’m working a few mornings a week in Little Belle’s class at preschool. It gives us some extra cash, gets us a good discount and I really enjoy little ones so it seemed like a win/win situation. Only, I underestimated how hard it would be to teach your own two-year-old! My Little Belle is challenging at home but with others is most often angelic. She did great in mom’s morning out and does wonderful at Sunday school; however, she’s giving her mama fits at preschool. So, I‘m currently reading a book about toddler discipline in hopes of coming up with a good solution for us! All of the infant/toddler development I studied in graduate school is proving useless in the heat of the moment! On top of that Little Belle’s had a bad ear infection that makes her feel miserable and not sleep well.

And then there was this weekend……. It actually started Thursday night when we took Little Belle to the fair. She got stung and had an allergic reaction that made her hand swell to the size of a ten-year-old’s hand. We had to take her to the EMT station and get the stinger out. That was not fun for Little Belle nor mama and daddy! Then Friday night she started throwing-up and had a stomach bug until late Monday. And, as if that wasn’t enough yesterday she had a random spike of a high temperature. I’m not sure if it was related to the stomach bug or something else. We’ll just have to see how today goes!

We visited my mom this weekend and came home to two trees down in our yard. One of which landed on the back part of our house! There’s not much damage but it will take some time to get everything cleaned up!

Even in the midst of such a hectic time I’m enjoying life and thankful to be spending so much time taking care of my family.

Little Belle looks more like her dad by 3%! Below is a fun site that lets you upload pictures of your family to determine who you or your child looks more like. I did this when Little Belle was much younger and it said she looked equally like both of her parents. It’s fun to play with!

Here’s the look alike meter from a picture of me and my parents when I was about three.

http://www.myheritage.com/look-alike-meter

Before becoming a mom I prided myself in my neat and clean home. Even with a house pet my home was always ready for company with a quick vacuuming of the rugs. I don’t particularly like to clean but I LOVE to have things clean. For a while I had someone who I paid to-do major cleaning every two weeks and I could just keep up the everyday stuff. It was great. Life was in order. My house was tidy.

And even, for the first 10 months of Little Belle’s life I keep a pretty clean home. I had a cleaning schedule and did some major cleaning every day. It never pilled up and was most often very clean.

Now I’m lucky to keep the toys picked up, the clothes clean, the dishes put away and the floor sweep. My bathrooms don’t get deep cleaned as often as they should and lets don’t even mention dusting. I’m embarrassed to report I can’t even remember the last time my house was dusted. I try. I really do, but I always seem to fall behind. My current cleaning schedule is A) clean when it’s so filthy you can’t stand anymore B) clean furiously an hour before company is coming over.

It’s very hard to clean with a toddler because as soon as it’s put away it’s out again. And, just as soon as I start a major project she has a melt down and I have to stop in the middle. Honestly, I’m trying to come to terms with the mess. I keep reminding myself that Little Belle won’t be little forever and my house will be clean again. When it’s messy it drives me crazy but when it’s clean again I’m sure I’ll long for the days of a toddler mess. Life is just that way, isn’t it?

Before putting Little Belle to bed tonight I read one of her favorite books, The Five Little Ducks. Quite honestly, this book has always bothered me. It’s a simple story about a mama and her five little ducklings who wander away. She starts with five, then only four come back, they leave again, then only three come back and this goes on until she’s left with no little ducklings. When none of the ducklings come back she goes to find them and eventually they all come home with their mama. The part that bothers me is that she doesn’t go looking for them until none of the little ducklings come back.

As an only child and a mama of only one child I don’t know a lot about loving multiple children but I think I’ve observed enough mamas to know that you do.  I think the mama duck should be disturbed when the first little duckling is missing. And, yes I know it makes the book flow and it is just story, but I want her to go find her first little ducking when he/she goes missing. So, from now on I will tell the story my way! Mama duck will go find each of her ducklings as they go missing because she loves them all sooo much!

When it comes to most things in life I’m a great Indian but I’m almost never a Chief. It’s just not my nature and I’m ok with that. I love to help and be apart of most groups but I don’t like being in charge. This week was my church’s Vacation Bible School and I taught the 3- year- old class. Many months ago when people began volunteering for various positions I told the director (who happened to be one of my best friends) that I would be happy to help with anything she needed. My only stipulation was that I didn’t want to teach a class or be in-charge of a project. I simply wanted to assist someone else. As the months passed I learned through several conversions with Monica that she still needed preschool teachers. After several reminders that I would be happy to be the assistant in any class I began to feel that maybe I should volunteer to teach a class. I finally told Monica that I was completely unqualified but would be willing to teach the 3- year- old class. I went on to tell her that I had never taught little ones. I was just sure that she would say, “oh no, I have a perfect spot for you to help somewhere else.” I was especially sure of this since her child would be in the class. Surely she wouldn’t want someone as ill prepared as me to teach her child?!?! Well, low and behold I was wrong. Monica said, “Great, I’ll put you down”.

After that I spent weeks fretting over just the right games to play and how to tell the bible stories in ways that they would understand. I also recruited the help of my mother for decorations and age appropriate activities since she taught little ones for many years.

I am happy to report that the week went very well and I enjoyed teaching the little ones a great deal. I’ll admit the being in-charge part (meaning…being responsible for everyone’s well being and planning) still isn’t my favorite but I loved getting to be with the 3-year-olds. They are so spongy. They just absorb everything you say. I was amazed each day that the little ones could tell me the main idea of the bible story we read the day before. This is such a fun age because everything you do is sooo cool! They were so excited with each new craft, song and story. And, at that age they still love to give hugs and kisses. My dear friend Queen Kelley’s little one, Butterfly, gave me several hugs and kisses each night. Moments like that are priceless!

God took me out of my comfort zone and with his help I was able to-do something that seemed overwhelming at first thought. And, like all things God is a part of, I was richly blessed by the experience.