La La La La

My little one loves to sing. Recently we have gotten some video of her displaying her love of song. In this clip she is singing the alphabet song - Super Why style. Enjoy!


I have Alpha Pig to thank for teaching my daughter that incredible rendition of the Alphabet Song. We like to keep it real around here. Thanks Alpha Pig!

Can't you just hear him reply: "your welcome Ma'am - I do what I can to enrich children's minds". Ha!

The other song she has been singing a lot of is a song she has learned from the Leap Frog Movie "The Letter Factory".
She has been walking around the house singing "the S says sssssssss, the S says ssssssssssssssss, every letter makes a sound the S says ssssssssss and on and on it goes with each letter of the alphabet. You can pretty much ask her what each letter says and she can tell you. She can even pick letters out of a group now too. Whoever said all TV was bad clearly didn't own this dvd. I think it's amazing what it's taught her.

As promised....my thoughts on the other chapter....

The last chapter in this book entitled "I Have a Long Way to Go" was an incredible closing chapter. Immediately after reading the first sentence I thought to myself "now, this chapter would apply to anyone and everyone because I KNOW we've all been there at some point in time or another."

The chapter is basically about how we are all waiting on something....a baby, a better job, a bigger house, a move, a newer car, nicer furniture, to lose that last 10 lbs, etc. etc. etc. And we think to ourselves: "once xyz happens, we will have arrived - all will be well." Then....when it arrives and we aren't we wonder why or we think, "now I just need xyz to feel better, to take a deep breath or whatever the case may be".

Aughtmon describes it as follows: "Aha! This is it! Everything has fallen into place. Life is all that it is meant to be and I have become all I was ever meant to be!"

I mean - really!? Wouldn't we all love to feel that way and be able to utter those words?

She talks about how the devil loves that we doubt ourselves in all situations - doubt that we will ever get "there" to that place of contentment. In fact, he cheers us on in all ways possible - affirming in our minds that we just can't improve, can't be better and do better in all ares of our lives.

She goes on to give examples of how the devil is right - we can't improve and be better/do better alone. We can't exist apart from the One who gave us life. We NEED Jesus.

I love the scripture she uses to illustrate this need: "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing." excerpt from John 15

The chapter goes on to encourage us and basically say we aren't alone in our walk, there is abundant grace and with perseverance we will one day be able to have "that moment" where the Lord says "well done my good and faithful servant".

Ahhhh....doesn't that sound ahhhmazing, encouraging, refreshing and just, well....INCREDIBLE????

I'm telling you - it's a good read people. You can get it here for only $1.40 - seriously? Glad I could share it with you!

My Ahhhhmazing book part one

So...remember how I was telling y'all about the Ahhhhhmazing book I had been reading (but have now completed) in this post. Well, the title of the book is All I need is Jesus and a Good Pair of Jeans. The title alone just sounds like it be a good read, right? Well, that's what I thought - so I ordered it. Actually I went online to order a book my friend in MOPS told me about called Life on Planet Mom and the jeans book (we'll call it) I am so impressed with and must gush about popped up on Amazons little "people who liked this book also liked xyz" section and there it was. The title caught my attention and after reading the description and ratings I had to have it.
The authors name is Susanna Foth Aughtmon - say that 7 times fast. Dare ya! Ha. Anyhow - I just want to meet this gal. You know how sometimes you read something and you think to yourself - me and that girl could be friends. That's how I felt when I read SO MANY things in this book. I think my favorite thing about the book in general is just how raw and honest she is. She isn't afraid to expose her "flaws" and what she has learned about them and what the Bible has to say about said flaws. I just really related in a BIG way.

There were two chapters in particular that I really identified with and really learned something from - chapter 19 titled I cry a lot and chapter 23 titled I have a Long Way to Go.

Now.....let me precede what is to follow with a big fat I am not trying to break some kind of plagiarizing rule here or something, but I do want to share some of my favorite snippets from those two chapters to tempt y'all cause girlfriends - you need this book! Onward....

Chapter 19 - I Cry A lot
The basis of this chapter (or as I read it) is to think about/talk about why it is that we women think we must be Sheera 24/7 - keep it all under lock and not share our struggles, heartaches and pain with others! Amen sister! I mean, how often have you guarded your emotions from your friends? How often have you felt others guarding theirs from you? Is it because they don't trust you? Is it because they think you will judge them? Is it because they are afraid they will look less than perfect? What is it and why do we do it? It inhibits true, deep and meaningful friendship!

Aughtmon says the following: "There are few things more soul baring than sitting with someone while you sob. While you cry over a job interview gone awry or a boyfriend who cheated on you. While you grieve over a loved one or the death of a dream. While you mourn your first speeding ticket or buckle under a month's worth of stress. Crying with someone is intimate and soul baring. Why is it that we supergirls have trouble showing who we truly are? Why are we so afraid to share with others, even the ones who love us most, what touches our hearts and crushes our souls? We fight back the big lumps in our throats and blink 50 times per second to keep the tears corralled. Why do we choose to cry alone? Well, for one thing, very few of us cry pretty. There are the puffy eyes, splotchy cheeks, pink faces, runny noses, various squawks, hiccups, the after-crying shudders, crumpled foreheads, and do I really need to go on?
..........
We supergirls really would like to cry, but we feel that crying belies a weakness in us. It hurts to let people know we are hurting. The vulnerability costs us too much. We want to be strong. We think if we cry, we give our strength away to whoever or whatever causes our tears."

Isn't it so true y'all? I LOVE the honesty just steeped all through this book. It's just one of those books that has you saying "Amen, preach it sister" as you read. It makes you look at yourself...hard....in a good way though. For every chapter there is scripture and tons of God's grace imparted (Praise the Lord) but it's just nice to hear the "me too" in this book, you know?

Food for thought........my thoughts on the other chapter to come......

You have to see this....

Thanks to my friend Courtney for sharing this video with me. How humbling....please watch!

Anniversary Date and a special house guest

As you know, last Thursday was mine and Tim's 4th anniversary. He did something really neat as an anniversary gift. He gave me four days of flowers and each signified a year. Cool, huh? Getting flowers never gets old to a girl, does it? Without further ado....I present the flowers:

On Monday I received one Orchid. I have never had an orchid before and I am excited that I have one now! Isn't it so pretty?

On Tuesday I received two pansies. Aren't they cute?

On Wednesday I received Hyacinth - three stalks in one pot.

On Thursday I received these beautiful roses - 4 to be exact and they are gorgeous!


Tim took care of getting Sara Beth lined up to babysit for Kennedy and he and I went out for dinner and a movie. We went to Three Suns Bistro which is one of my favorite places but we don't eat there often because it can be pricey. It was delicous! We went to the movies after dinner and saw It's Complicated. The storyline - kinda crazy but it was super funny. It was nice just to go out and I don't know why we don't do it more often. Hopefully in 2010 we can prioritize our dating life a little better because we really had fun and we got to reflect some as well as talk about our future - it was nice!

Abby and Jonathan were out of town this weekend so we had a little visitor.
Here he is admiring how well Kennedy can line up her Little People. She isn't OCD at all is she? Wherever on earth did she get that from? Who knows! Ha! He was so good - just watching and not taking. It may have had to do with the fact that I pinned him down with a pillow the night prior to retreive a cat toy from his teetch while he growled at me=). I'm really not certain but I thought it was too stinkin' cute not to snap a picture!

She made sure to call out each item as if it were an attendance tracking of sorts. So funny!

One, Two, Three, Four......

Get your woman on the floor, gotta gotta get up to get down, gotta gotta get up to get down....psych! J/K - your singing it now though aren't you? Ha!

Today is mine and Tim's anniversary. It has been a glorious four years since my betrothed and I were married. In some ways I find that hard to believe and in other ways I feel like, "man - it's only been five years"!


Marriage has been fun, it has been hard, it has been stressful, it has been a blessing, things about it have been unexpected and there is a lot about it that is wonderful. There are days that I am hard on us - about where we need to be better, about things that we do that aren't kind and loving, etc. I have had the benefit of having some really recent reflection on our early years because my sister was recently married. She and I talk alot about "do you remember this and or what did you do about that?" It makes me laugh to think about some of the things were a big deal when Tim and I began sharing a house and now we are comfortable....we are used to things and there is a general understanding about stuff - those big deals aren't so big now. There are other things that we still do to irritate the fire out of each other too...ha ha. That's normal though, right? I think so! Anyhow, in talking to my sister I realize that with the Lord as our guide we have come a really long way. We have had some high highs and some low lows but ultimately (Praise the Lord) we know neither of us are going anywhere and we want to make the best of this life together.

Having Kennedy has taught us alot about each other and made us love each other in whole new ways. It's been a really amazing thing. It's just neat to go from two to a little family, you know?

Anyhow, as hard as marriage is and I am here to be real about the fact that it IS hard - it is so rewarding. It's such a blessing. I know I have someone praying for me, loving me, cheering for me, supporting me, wanting time with me, being proud of me, and just well - being there . Most importantly I know he is here because the Lord gave him to me. A girl from South Carolina and a boy from West Virginia and the Lord brought us together in Kentucky.....nothing short of a "God thing".

I am looking forward to many more years of enjoying my favorite thing about us - laughter. I love that we laugh together - we get each others sense of humor - it's priceless!

I love you Tim ~ Happy 4th Anniversary!

It happens.....when you least expect it

So you know how when you were in middle school your parents were like the uncoolest people EVER? You know how they would do stuff and you would think - I will NEVER do that, I will never be like that. For example,

I remember it used to drive me INSANE that my Mom would listen to WKCL non stop in her car. As if it wasn't bad enough (or so I thought back then) that we had to listen to that radio station 24/7, it was accompanied with her vibrato soprano aka "choir voice" as I affectionately refer to it as. If Id change the radio station to anything, (like oldies for example) she'd be like "Lindsy Kay turn that stuff off, my ears just can't handle it - it's too much". She would react like it was heavy metal for crying out loud. It literally drove me nuts. I was your typical teenager and we would agree to listen to no radio at all since we couldn't agree on a station. Ha! Makes me snicker now.

I also remember that whenever we would travel, my Mom would read the ENTIRE trip. Seriously! Like - no talking, just reading, reading and more reading. I used to think she'd rather read than ANYTHING else. Even if people were playing a game - she'd rather read. I used to think it looked so boring and just frankly didn't understand it.

Lastly, on Christmas Day growing up when we would open presents she would get these funny looks on her face at random moments and we (my sisters and I) would automatically know - she's forgot something somewhere. It's like seeing a specific present would remind her that she'd forgotten an accompanying present somewhere. Somewhere indeed - she rarely could remember where. It could be hours later on in the day before she would remember and go looking for it. It was just the normal thing for us but when my sister Catina got married and Kevin joined us for holidays I remember him thinking it was hysterical that she would actually forget stuff and not remember where she'd put it. It just makes me laugh. So funny......so my Mother.

There are so many, many, many more things that I could tell you about my Mom that are her own little "quirks" that just tickle me but those things above - sadly bring me to the following point:

It happens when you least expect it - I am convinced we all turn in to our Mothers at some point - it's only a matter of time and I am here to tell you, I have officially turned.

I pretty much solely listen to either Air 1 or KLove while driving in my car. I belt it out too y'all. I figure - what the heck it's just me and Jesus! I like to tell myself it is not a "choir voice", however, if my daughter could articulate that - she may beg to differ. When I picked her up from daycare yesterday and we got in the car I had forgotten that before getting out of the car Brandon Heath and I had been singing an incredible duet right before I killed the engine. Needless to say the volume was turned up way louder than when it's she and I in the car and she said "Mommy, LOUD!" I replied "I know, Mommy was singing to Jesus" and then I thought - Oh my word did I just sound like my Mom or did I just sound like my Mom. It made me smile as we were driving out of the parking lot though. Turning into your Mom's not such a bad thing in this sense, huh?

I also read whenever I get the chance. My friend Abby has largely contributed to my reading selection since getting married. I love Karen Kingsbury and Kristen Billerbeck for Christian Fiction but my most sought after books and the ones you see my nose in most often are self-help books. It can be instructional on how to be a better Mom, a better runner, how to have a more cohesive Veterinary staff, how to be a more efficient cook, etc - I just can't get enough! I especially like Christian self-help books (or so I call them). They aren't necessarily devotionals or fiction but more or less about how certain Christians "do life", you know? Like - The Five Love Languages, The Birth Order Book, Feathers from My Nest, The Power of a Praying Wife, Blue Like Play Dough to mention some of my most recent and poignant books of this nature. The one I am reading now is AHHHMAZING - more on that later. Anyways - there are times (often) when I think "I wish I was just anywhere right now with a good book".

Lastly, Tim's parents had been in a few weeks before Christmas and since we were going to be going through WV on our way to NC for the holidays I sent some of our presents with them so we would have less of a load when we packed up. She was generous enough to wrap and label some of the presents I sent with her...because she's just that nice to be quite honest. I had taken care not to send them with any of their items because non of them were wrapped. Whenever we exchanged stockings between the four of us and they started to unload their stockings I thought "hmmm that item he just opened should have been in her stocking and that item she just opened should have been in his". There weren't one or two things in the wrong stocking - more like three or four. Embarrassing? Yes! I had to laugh though - I said "that is so something my Mom would have done - I came by it naturally". As if that wasn't proof enough that I was on my way to a complete turn into my Mother's "Christmas behavior" we'll call it - after we had finished with stockings and presents I started to look through the items she had wrapped for me and there in the bag was a little package labeled "spatula". Aha! "There is your other stocking item - you wrapped one of your own stocking stuffers". Ha Ha Ha!

So ladies - if it hasn't happened yet...it will happen when you least expect it!

It just cracked me up

I know, I know she'll kill me for this when she is older but for now it's cute and frankly - quite funny. She was so busy - she never saw me coming.

And then....in an instant it was over - "Mommy, what are you doing back there?"

Hope I made you giggle!

Snow Fun!!

The snow is still around but it's melting. I finally convinced Kennedy to get out and play in it today and oh my what fun we had.

Most of our fun was caught on video:
First off - Kennedy wanted to eat snow more than anything else. *Please excuse our dogs which happen to sound rabid in this clip - they are enjoying the snow a little too much!


Notice how she uses her tongue to ensure EVERY last snowflake gets in her mouth.


Who needs to play when there is clearly so much snow to be eaten?! Ha!


Maybe there was a little time for play (as long as it included dumping snow down daddy's shirt). Ha Ha Ha!


And we ended our fun afternoon out with making snow angels.


We had a good weekend. We took the next step with our new church and became members yesterday. We are finding lots of areas to be involved and feel a part and it's a really cool thing.

Courtney and I got in two runs which was SO super nice since Tim was gone all last week and I had been without a run. I feel like a different person when I can get those in - truly, I do. We got to try out our yaktrax on Saturday and for anyone dealing with snow right now - I highly recommend them. Today was pretty clear although still very chilly. Brrrrr!

Dinner with my best buddy

Tim has been out of town this week so it's just been me and my sweet pea hanging out together each night. We got a "winter storm" (according to the news) which = some snow. 2.7 inches to be exact. I love the snow because I grew up in SC where snow NEVER happened but I hate the way everything comes to a screeching halt when it snows. Everything is on a delay - like daycare (which is why I am typing this post right now). Anyhow - here is a look out our back window after the snow had stopped yesterday afternoon. So pretty! I just knew Kennedy would want to get all geared up and go play in it, but I was wrong - she wasn't interested in the least. You never know!

She was content to stay inside and play with her new flashlight from Nana. It makes a shadow of Tinkerbell on the wall and folks - it's big time entertainment in this house.
Speaking of Nana - she was going to come into town today to keep Kennedy for us tomorrow while we went to the 1st membership class at our new church. Because of the "winter storm" she won't be able to come. WV actually got a winter storm - they were expecting 6 inches. Anyhow - I was planning to make some pizzas for us tonight but since I knew she wasn't coming I decided to make one for Kennedy and myself last night. I started with one of those boxed pizzas that you can buy in the deli section. I had no idea until this week that those pizzas are cheaper than the ones in the freezer section - what?!?! Who knew?

Then I added some spinach, because it's good to get it in when you can (especially with a toddler).

I also added some pepperoni. My sister got me hooked on Boars Head deli pepperoni while I was there over Christmas. I typically buy turkey pepperoni but almost all turkey products have seriously high sodium content. Almost all nutrition gurus will tell you regular bacon is better than turkey bacon because of it. I figure pepperoni is possibly the same, plus turkey pepperoni is insanely spicy. This Boars Head pepperoni is DELICIOUS! Seriously - it's so good. You just have them slice it for you in the deli like you would sandwich meat. It was on sale this week too! Behold...the pepperoni:

Then I added a little more cheese to hold it all down before baking as the box instructed.

How yummy does this look?? MMMMMMM.......

Then my little buddy and I got all set up in the comfy living room for some pizza together. She loves this little table my sister got her for her birthday. It's just her height. Don't miss her fancy Starbucks cup Chelsea's sister Rhylie got her too - she LOVES it. We watched cartoons and ate our yummy pizza. I highly recommend you try it when you need a quick and easy meal! Although we miss Tim, I cherish all our little sweet moments like this one together.

Don't you like her clenched jaw expression? This is what I get from her when I say "say cheese honey!". Too funny.

Truth

One of my sisters (Melissa) receives Proverbs 31 Woman Devotions everyday via email. She has forwarded them on to me from time to time when she thought them profound. Every now and then when I wake up early I will go to their website and use that as part of my quiet time.

My oldest sister (Angel) and I have been working our way through the book Power of a Praying Wife together (*if you haven't read it - read it: it has changed the way I view and treat my husband!) but we are just about done so I hopped onto Proverbs 31 this morning. I read the devotion from today and yesterday. Both were good but yesterdays spoke to me where I am.

God has really been working in me and with me where relationships are concerned in my life. I feel like as a people person and true people lover I am constantly learning about the characteristics that make up a "true friend". Some of the realizations I have had in this area have been beneficial and some really tough to deal with, but either way I am thankful that I am growing in that area of my life and that God is teaching me things. This devotion just re-iterated some of what I have been feeling and I thought who better to share it with than friends and those I love. Enjoy!

Click here to read for yourself.

Say it ain't so Installment Numero Dos

As I stated in my previous post - our Christmas started out at the Taylors in West Virginia. One of my favorite parts of that visit was seeing Kennedy interact with her Great Grandma and Great Grandpa on Christmas eve morning/afternoon prior to our departure to NC. It's just neat watching her develop into a little person, you know? She took a few minutes to warm up to them but once that was over she was sweet as pie and it makes me really proud of her.


More of my favorite Christmas memories - watching the girls make and decorate sugar cookies.
We love to play games and or do puzzles when we get together as a family - check Kennedy out literally getting into it. Ha!
The girls had so much fun together - this is another shot of them playing all together doing each other's makeup. Too sweet!
Kennedy had a first over Christmas break. She went to see her first movie in a theater. We saw Princess and the Frog. It was cute and had a good message. There was some Louisiana voodoo in it which I wasn't crazy about - AT ALL, but other than that it was cute and she LOVED it.
She started out sitting between her two cousins but we quickly realized she didn't weigh enough to keep the front of the chair from popping up. Her boots were like right in front of her face - so funny. So...she sat in my lap and we sat between Catherine and Maggie. They all enjoyed the movie. At some of the "scary" parts Kennedy held their hands and it was precious.
Our Christmas vacation came to an abrupt end when we got word from my Mom that cancer had finally taken my Grandmomma's life. Although I will miss her so dearly, she had been in severely intense pain and was anxious to go and be with the Lord. I take comfort in knowing her pain is over and she is with her mother and brothers and sisters who have gone before her in heaven. We left NC and drove to Huntsville, AL where her funeral was held. Please keep my Grandaddy (pictured below with my sister Melissa) in your prayers. He has Alzheimer's and is battling with some depression as a result of losing the love of his life. Kennedy is named after him - his name is Kenneth. It is so sad to see them separated, but they have left an incredible legacy and I feel very fortunate to have witnessed it.
Since we were already in Alabama we visited with our other family members who live there (my dad and his wife, my dads parents, and my dads sister. My cousin Alicia lives about an hour and a half from Huntsville and we had been trying to coordinate a trip with her for a while. Her husband just returned from Iraq and I really wanted to see him too. So...when we left Huntsville, we drove to Ethridge, TN to see the two of them and their munchkins.
My cousin and I always have a blast together so it was good for me to have my spirits lifted. It was Pauls bday so she had a bday/New Years Eve party at her place. We played rock band on the PS2 and eventually moved on to some duets game and here we are belting out some Madonna. So fun.
From Huntsville, we travelled home on Friday and Chelsea was at our house waiting. She had been here in Lexington to help and participate in a friends wedding on New Years Eve. Pictures from our visit to come on the next posting...I need to go unpack! Days off are not just for blogging, you know? Ha!

Say it ain't so Installment Numero Uno

It is always hard to come back home after time with family. This time is no different. I feel blessed that we had the break we had and we had such a great time but it's just never long enough. Here is our holiday in review (via pictures).

First stop - Christmas with the Taylors in West Virginia. It was so neat experiencing Kennedy really be excited about present opening. We only got one night and Christmas Eve morning/afternoon with them sadly. We had planned to go back through on our way home, but plans changed. More about that later.We had a good time visiting with them, opening gifts (we finally got a GPS - hallelujah), sitting by the fire and sharing a good breakfast and lunch before heading to NC.



We are now the proud new owners of a 96 Buick Century. Isn't she a beauty? Seriously - I can't even remember the last time I saw a classic like this on the road! Everyone is all newer and bigger is better these days it seems. Well consider yourself forewarned- when you see this pimped out ride coming down the road - it's highly likely the Taylor clan is inside. She only has @ 30,000 miles on her and she was a whopping $1,500.00. You can't beat that any way you look at it folks. This car belonged to Tims Great Aunt Kathryn but since she no longer drives she planned to sell it and we got first dibs. Whaddya think? Tim will start driving her tomorrow (I guess I need a name for her huh?)


We spent the majority of the holiday at my sister Catina's house. The girls had so much fun playing together. One of the days was nice enough to go to the park and they had a blast.


Putting out reindeer food on Christmas Eve night. Apparently feeding the reindeer is just as important as feeding Santa. Who knew? Thank goodness for my uber crafty/super-mommy sisters or my little one would never experience such an exciting event.

Playing with fun and exciting new toys. This little princes blow dryer actually makes noise and it was quite the hit with not only Kennedy but my nieces too. Thank you Disney store!


Spending time with my nieces - they change so fast and the time is in one word Precious!

We love having a Christmas Birthday in the family. Catherine is 9 and I can hardly believe it! Seriously: how cool would it be to share a birthday with Jesus?!

This is a little trick Kennedy has obviously learned from her Daddy and I. This was the first time I had seen her do it and thought it was funny enough to snap a picture. They are like little sponges - they pick up good habits and not so good ones (like this one). Way to savor every last bit of that cereal milk girl - Mommy is proud. He he.

I love that we got to really relax over our break and make some sweet family memories.

More pictures to come in future installments. I took over 500 pictures people. Sadly - I am not kidding.