Not Me Monday

 

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

• I am not the proud sister of two graduates this year. One is not the valedictorian of his class and the other is not the first (real) college graduate in our family! Nope, not me!
• I did not choose two pictures w/ the princess in them to share picutres of the graduates. I would never do that!

Josh, the high school valedictorian

Mark, the LA Tech college of business graduate, who is now pursuing his MBA.
• I did not decide it would be better to wait until the last minute to bring Avery to graduation.
• I did not underestimate the huge crowd and the parking problems that could create. I did not catch a ride on a trolly w/ only a few minutes to spare before Josh led the graduates down the isle.
• It was certainly not I (Avery in tow) that pushed my way through the hundreds of people waiting in the lobby who weren't allowed to enter, since no seats were left.
• I did not push my way past the graduates into thousands of standing people who were expecting to see the young adults in cap and gowns. I did not get strange stares and "Hey, who is that?" or "What is she doing?" comments. I certainly was not on the large screen walking down the center isle just as graduation was supposed to begin. I'm sure I'm not on the video tape that all the parents will buy.
• I certainly was not relieved to make it to the front row reserved seats just in time for Pomp and Circumstance . Had Josh not been #1, there is NO way Avery and I would've been able to watch!
• I did not just use one story to create an entire Not Me Monday post, but it was just that embarrassing!

Ok so...

After I posted that precious video of our little preemie and her sweet daddy, I watched it from my blog. I noticed at the end, it showed two other videos with "Avery" titles. These are just pubic videos in Photobucket, not at all related to me. This cracked me UP. And made me thankful. Thank God I'm not in the dating scene, that I married my high school sweetheart and settled down. Thank God I don't get corny videos like this waiting in my email after a hard day at work and a good belly button piercing. Yikes.



Is it just me or was that brutal? Ok, so I know I'm wrong for basically stealing that guys video and putting it on my blog, but he should really make those intimate videos to his sweet Avery PRIVATE! Hope it made ya laugh!

Forever Thankful

I've been watching The Duggars lately and all the episodes about their preemie, Josie, remind me of so many NICU memories. I thought about this video, one of the first ever taken of our 2 lb miracle. Sometimes, you just need to be reminded of the miracles you've watched, the trials you've gone through and the faith that got you through them. Forever we will be thankful.



Can you tell that sweet little girl already had her daddy wrapped around her finger!

You Deserve It!

Being a woman is hard. I don't care who you are. There is just more pressure. And God forbid you can't have, or don't want to have, a baby. I guess I can be cynical about it, without coming off as bitter, because I'm not exactly in that category. But I will never forget the Mother's Day I spent when I was. Standing in a  church full of women with their motherly glow. Celebrating them, and of course my mom, but I was not one of 'them'. Why did that feel so bad? I'm not sure. But I do know that it shouldn't. I know that God values us whether we are a mom and a wife, or not.

There are daily reminders of being a woman vs a man - the fact that we have to spend way too long blow drying, straightening or curling and styling our hair. And that most of us wouldn't dare go to work without full makeup on! There is the monthly reminder, that I won't go into. But that is NO fun at all. Then there are society's reminders - the magazines at the grocery stores - when is the last time they all had cute guys on the cover? Friends and family tend to remind you often, especially babyless women - "So aren't you ready for a baaaaby?!?" or "Isn't it time for another baby!?!". I'm telling you, women deserve their own day each month! But at this point, we'll take what we can get. I looked back at last years post and it's basically the same. Maybe I haven't had enough Mother's Days to forget about the one that wasn't very fun. I hope you're not having that kind of day today, and if you are, you should celebrate you. Mother or not! Treat yourself to a pedicure, or your favorite meal, just because you know you deserve it!

Please don't get me wrong: Avery Grace is more than I can type or explain. She makes me want to celebrate my womanhood. The fact that God chose the female sex to bring precious little lives into the world is overwhelming.

I hope you and yours have a wonderful day as I celebrate my mom, the best mom God ever made. And I will treat myself, because I deserve it. That's right, I said it! ;)

Flashback Friday: Father of the Bride

I looked out of the window the other day while cleaning and saw this. I had to snap some blurry, far away pics. It so reminded me of that scene in Father of the Bride when the dad is remembering playing basketball w/ the bride. (Btw, Amanda W. - has anyone ever told you that you look just like her!)

Faster Daddy, Faster!

Avery has one of the funnest dads I've ever known. He is always ready to play! She is one blessed little girl :) Their new game is where he basically serves as a horse, lol. She loves this one. For a while I couldn't take pictures because I would hold onto her and go around the house with them (man, our neighbors probably think we're nuts!) But now, Avery knows how to hold on! It is so cute. She even gives him a little kick when she wants to go faster. I love watching them together, she sure loves her daddy and has him wrapped around her little finger!

Wordless Wednesday

Plan D

Nonna came for a visit one Saturday to attend the Beth Moore Simulcast and that afternoon, before she left, we decided to take Avery to the Children's Museum. The same one we wanted to go to on the day we settled for Jungle Gym. So, off we went! We walked in and Avery was already excited. Unfortunately, the lady told us they were closing in 20 minutes and we would still have to pay $15 admission, for 20 minutes. Ughh! Avery threw a fit, but it probably would've been worse if we could've only stayed for 20 minutes. We tried to think of somewhere fun and decided on the park. My little heartbroken toddler wasn't too happy! I kept saying, "Avery, do you want to go to the park!?!" and she would reply with an emphatic "NO, MAMA!" Nonna mentioned cupcakes and Avery seemed happy with that idea. I mean, who turns down a cupcake? Off we went to the best little cupcake cafe - Curl's. Of course, Curl's had closed an hour ago. I wasn't about to go home without getting her that cupcake! So, plan D was another little Coffee Shop in town that sells gourmet cupcakes. Avery didn't seem to notice the difference! Can't wait until we get to attend a birthday party soon at the Children's Museum - I know she is going to love it!

I Am Who He Says I Am!

On April 24th, I had the opportunity to go to my first Beth Moore simulcast with a blog buddy, Laura and my sweet mom. I see many more of those in my future! Meeting together with a group of believers and being reminded of how much God loves us and the things that He wants for our life is really life-changing. For me it was anyway. Beth wrote a new book, So Long, Insecurity, and the simulcast was about the insecurity many women face. No one talks about it very much because they’re too insecure to admit it! 300,000 other women attended the event. Yes, three hundred THOUSAND women. Tell me that’s not an epidemic! Maybe it’s because this generation of women is expected to graduate college, marry well, have a successful career, then have beautiful children and keep everyone happy. That’s a lot of pressure, girls! The one thing that stuck out the most for me during the simulcast is that I’m not just making the decision for myself. Deciding to be secure won’t only affect me. It will affect Avery. I am her biggest female influence and I will be for a while. I can’t waste one second of this precious time in her life. How could I expect her to have self-confidence and security if I am lacking? They learn by example.

After the simulcast, I continued to read the book that I had been reading for a few weeks. One morning one sentence jumped out at me so much that I immediately felt tears. It simply stated, “I am who He says I am.” Maybe that doesn’t do for you what it did for me. Maybe you should read it again, slower. I.AM.WHO.HE.SAYS.I.AM! And that’s all I need to be! He says in Proverbs 31 “She is clothed with strength and dignity.” Isn't that all we need to know to not second guess everything that we do? To not stress when we can't juggle all of our balls in perfect motion? It is still a daily struggle. In fact, the night of the simulcast we were invited to a friend’s birthday party. As I walked up I realized I was the only one without a boob job (oh and tan legs and not wearing a sundress). I knew it was my first test and I think I passed! I don’t need a boob job, or tan legs or a sundress to be who He says I am. There is such freedom in that. Knowing that I’m clothed in strength and dignity, whether or not I’m physically clothed in the cutest outfit, makes life so much easier. Thank God there isn’t a scripture in the Bible that says we need to look a certain way to be who He wants us to be. Beth went on to say that 300,000 women is a lot. Maybe we won’t change society. I doubt I’ll ever checkout my groceries next to a People magazine without someone who’s a size 0 and airbrushed to look perfect. But maybe we could change the Christian culture of women. And maybe not. Maybe I’ll just change the way that Avery looks at herself in twenty years. For me, that’s enough. I am who He says I am. And that is all that I am. And that is all that I have to be! Thank you, Jesus!

Jungle Gym Fun

One Saturday while Gigi was in town to babysit Sebastian, my cousin, I decided it would be fun to head to the Children's Museum. Just before we were about to leave, I went to their website and discovered they were having an event that day and wouldn't be opening. It was a tour of homes and a luncheon to follow, so I didn't think Avery or Sebastian would be too interested :) So, Plan B became Jungle Gym. I wasn't too impressed, but Avery and Sebastian seemed to enjoy it. And you can't really beat it for $1.50 admission!