A Quick (Haha!--yeah Right) Catch Up =)

My sweet kiddos=)

So, let's see. Weston is still my happy-go-lucky little man. He smiles at everyone and everything, all the time--even when he has a nasty ear infection. The doctor told me the other day he was the happiest, sickest baby she'd ever seen with an ear infection. Oh well. I'm not complaining, just glad I listened to the Holy Spirit when He prompted me to get one last doctor's appointment before we left town for DC. Other than that, he's just the best little boy. He started rolling over from front to back about mid-January, and now it's his favorite thing to do. He also has discovered his voice and loves to squeal, squeak, and screech at the top of his lungs for no apparent reason other than to hear himself. He's working on those sitting up muscles, and I'm praying that's not far away from happening because he is a hefty 22lbs. right now!

(This picture cracks me up 'cause it shows his little about-to-cry pouty lip. Ha!)

Savannah is her same exuberant self. The apple of every eye and joy of life. She is daily growing and changing into more of a little girl and less of a toddler. Every day she wakes up, and I discover she is capable of saying or doing something new. I wonder if she even realizes these things? I love her to pieces, but I pray this cold weather lets up soon because she needs to go play at the park! Cabin fever is wearing on this crew.

January dragged by but as usual with preparations for Chick-fil-A Seminar, February flew. We did manage to enjoy the brief two days of snow that fell, and our trip to Washington, DC for seminar went off without a hitch, a much needed break for me.

(Savannah would have absolutely nothing to do with the snow. As a matter of fact, every time we tried to put her in it or play with her she would just cry incessantly, so I have no fun or cute pics of her in the snow like the rest of my friends=( The best I could do was get her to take a walk down the street, which she decided would be fun to eat...ick.)

(This is the only picture I have of her actually in the snow...she was furious with me for putting her there, and as you can see made a bee-line for the driveway.)

(Joey desperately wanted someone to have a snowball fight with him, but the best he got was the opportunity to toss snowballs at Savannah's feet. I attempted, but after he fast-pitched an iceball into my lower back, I fumed back inside and told him he could snowball fight himself.)

(Notice the frozen reflecting pool behind us...you know, the one located between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial....well...)

(...We decided we needed to join the 100 other people talking a walk across the frozen water...it was a little slushy and cracking in places, but still very solid...my first time a real frozen body of water....)

(....Near the end of our walk, I was getting a little leery of the slushy ice, so I made my way to the edge to hop off. I stopped short when I realized the entire edge around the reflecting pool was completely melted. Everyone was literally walking on an enormous sheet of floating--now melting--ice. I stopped a little too long before hopping off because I was enamored by the fact you could actually feel yourself bobbing up and down this close to the edge of the ice. Yes, too close indeed...I fell right through! Thank goodness the reflecting pool is only about two feet deep!)

From hear on out, life seems to pick up the pace. It will be August before I can blink and time for Weston's one year birthday party...sigh...they really do grow up too fast. For now, I am reveling in this month and claiming it as my own because this year on March 26th I turn 30!! Hence my "Queen for a Day" blog background=) If anyone finds one that says "Queen for a Month" let me know=) I'm sure I will have more to say in the days that come about my thoughts on turning 30, but for now I leave you with our update in pictures! I'll be back soon...hopefully=)

I Run: Lesson Three

A dear friend of mine posted this on her blog the other day:

"God does not give us overcoming life: He gives us life as we overcome. The strain is the strength. If there is no strain, there is no strength." Oswald Chambers.

I was reminded again of this truth in church this morning when the pastor incorporated an old favorite verse of mine:

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:3-5

Lesson Three: Nike said it best with their slogan years ago, "Just Do It."

Period. End of sentence. No excuses. No looking back. No second guessing.

I've been slacking lately. January is always a slightly depressing time of the year for me. I've never been able to put a finger on exactly why, but nevertheless, it is what it is. So, I've managed to do my running every other day, but I've totally not done my cross-training on the days in between, and there's even been a few times where I went two days in between runs. I don't know why...all I can tell you is it's a mental thing. The bottom line is I've just lost a little steam. I've lost some motivation. Don't get me wrong. I'm seeing results...VERY SLOWLY...but results nonetheless. The biggest motivation should be the amount of energy I get from exercising; it's like getting a shot of adrenaline for the rest of your day. But still, my motivation as waned.

I have a whole shpiel about motivation and where and how it comes from, etc., but the bottom line for all people is motivation comes from the Lord and from Him only. Whether intrinsically motivated or externally motivated, everyone is motivated by a means that God chooses. I have found that actually taking the time to have my quiet time is equivalent to exercising for the day--an adrenaline rush for your spiritual life, which overflows into all other areas of your life.

That being said, I've discovered that doing your quiet time, just like completing any other task in life that is good and right, just has to be done. Just do it. Why don't we do the things we know we are suppose to do? I guess it's just an age old battle that will keep going until our bodies return to the dust they came from. Paul said it best: Romans 7:15 "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." It's a daily battle that can only be overcome with prayer and petition and time spent with our Lord. The heart, the mind, and the soul--the spiritual--is the real source of our daily power. We can truly only go so long without plugging into that Source of Power before we just can't operate anymore.

So for now...I press on. "The strength is in the strain." "Perseverance produces proven character." "Faith lies on the other side of fear." All of these quotes I know to be true. I've lived experiences that prove them. "Lord, fill me with Yourself in such a way that there is nothing left of me to get in my own way. May I not be content until I have stopped to hear Your voice speak into my life and feel Your hand take mine to guide me along the way. Run with me, Lord. I can't do this life without You."

By the way, the 5K I was suppose to run at seminar got canceled this week, so I am looking for a good one to run in--SOON--back home. It's hard to wrap my head around training for a 10K until I've completed a 5K. I don't know why...it just is. Me and my type-A self must accomplish tasks=) Please pray that I can stay the course. I'm at a point where these personal goals are more important than just losing weight. It's about completing what I believe God has set before me. A challenge I must trust Him to help me through. It keeps the monotony of wifely duties from consuming my soul, which helps me appreciate those duties on a different level with a focus that is more sharpening and attuned to the needs of my family. I don't really understand why this works this way right now in my life. I just know it to be true, so please pray that I will stay the course. May you all be encouraged to just stay the course too!

I Love...

(Sorry, no pics=( Still working on getting those off my camera! But soon to come=) Enjoy my little tidbits of my kiddos though.)

I Love...

....when Weston cuddles his little face into my neck when he's shy or tired or just being sweet.

....shrimp cocktails.

....Savannah peeks around the corner of Weston's dresser while I'm putting him to bed with a sheepish grin on her face and does her hand in the "I Love You" sign.

....fuzzy socks, blankets, shoes, scarves, stuffed animals--fuzzy anything. I would be the perfect spokesperson for a Snuggie comercial if I had one=) But I would prefer the Brookstone NAP blanket.

....when my hubby brings me home Baskin Robbins chocolate icecream "just because" 'cause he knows it's one of my absolute favorite things ever.

....when an old friend calls, texts, writes, or emails out of the blue. Nice to know people still think you even after time has passed.

....when Savannah squeals at the doorway when I come in from a run, "My Mommy! My Mommy's home!", or when the garage door opens when Joey comes home from work, "My Daddy! My Daddy, Mommy! My Daddy's home from wook!"

....eating at new restaurants. I'm not one to be a "regular" anywhere.

....watching Joey sit and play with Savannah. She absolutely adores him, and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual =)

....blogging. I really do. Writing in general actually. Wish I had more time to just sit and type.

.....when any of my family decides to use my house as a crash pad for just doing nothing, playing Wii, hanging out until midnight, or gathering around a warm meal.

....traveling. Anywhere and everywhere.

.....the way Weston is always waiting quietly awake when I go to get him up from his naps, and when his smile at seeing me spreads so sweetly from ear to ear.

....that Savannah calls a football a "hootball gane" =)

....when Savannah goes to the bathroom to use the potty then peeks her head around the door to say, "I be back shortly." This kid!

....a real fire in a fireplace. No gas logs in this house! Not sure I ever want gas logs.

....watching Weston laugh and giggle and smile and squeal from ear to ear at just about everything and anything Savannah does, especially when she's banging his toys on his high chair tray and squeal-laughing at him, "You like that noisy, Wesson?" She even says this in a little sing-songy baby voice.

....date nights with my hubby. Once a week...like clock-work. Money well invested.

....that I see God in my every day, ordinary life. The smile of my kids. The pounding of a good run. The warmth of a family dinner or playtime afterward. He never leaves or forsakes me. He has done great things for me. I love Him most of all. More than all the rest. He's what makes all the rest worth loving.

Happy Belated Valentines Day!! What do you love?

Daddy's Date Your Daughters

So, tonight (or should I say, Sunday) was a first. Joey took Savannah on her first date. She was so excited! It was only Thursday night when Joey and I were leaving for our date night that Savannah pleaded, "I wanna go date." After her recent show of cognitive development, (see my last post) and her new found success with potty training, Joey decided it was time.

So when I told Savannah that we needed to go get her ready for a date with Daddy, she couldn't have been more eager to please. She adores her Daddy and was thrilled to go with me to get ready. So I took her upstairs and let her pick out her outfit and her shoes. (I helped with the matching and layering.) She changed clothes then we went to fix her hair and do her make-up. She was precious to watch as she beamed from ear to ear, and for the first time in a while didn't shed a tear as I combed the knots out of her beautiful hair. I pretended to apply the make-up as she picked out each item from my make-up bag--a rare treat just in itself--, and she squealed with joy as she ran downstairs to go on a date with her Daddy.

This is a traditon now. A new part of our weekly routine. It may only happen once or twice a month, but Savannah will learn the way a girl is suppose to be treated from the most important male influence in her life---and guys--the few of you who might read this blog--I couldn't respect my husband more for being willing to invest his time in this way with his little girl.

I think it is so important for a father to date their daughters--from the time they are born until the time God sees fit to take them home. Sure, when that special man comes along and sweeps her off her feet, dad, you will inevitably take a backseat, but a seat that needs to be filled, neverthless. I think back to how my Granddaddy Roy use to take my mom out, just the two of them, at least once a year for a yearly outing. I can't remember if it would be for her birthday or sometime around Christmas (maybe she can enlighten me), but I do remember how my mother always beamed when she got to do this. Even with four kids, and after 15+ years of marriage, she still scooted around the house like a giddy school girl when it came time for her and her daddy to go out together--just the two of them. I know she still feels that void in her life since his passing in 1998, but at least she had all those years of "dates" to remember. Her time spent with her father didn't end when she got married; it just took on a different role.

A daughter will always hold a special place in her heart for her daddy. No matter the wrongs done, the disappointments shared, the wrongs that must be forgiven, the communication barriers that must be crossed--a daughter will still always--even if secretly and silently from afar or if only in a small dark corner of her heart--she will always adore her father and hope that he will adore her in return. Fortunately for some and unfortunately for others (depending on your relationship with your dad) he also usually ends up representing the physical form of your heavenly Father. How the two of you relate to one another is quite often how a daughter first learns to think of her relationship with the Lord. Fortunately for all you imperfect dads out there, God continues to mold us as young women and mold our perspective of a father over time into an adoring relationship with Him as Abba, but what you bring to the table from the start will always be a key part of the foundation of that relationship.

The key attributes of how I relate to the Lord as Father that my own daddy laid still influence me today. He taught me that the Lord is a God of compassion and care--that sometimes crawling up into your heavenly Father's lap and doing nothing but crying and resting for a while means more than a thousand words of prayer. My daddy taught me that my God is a Provider, a Refuge, and a Strong Tower. He also taught me some negatives that God has had to mold over the years, but that's not really for me to share for the whole world. No one's perfect, and we all need forgiveness at some point in our life. Bottom line: I still adore my daddy.

So Daddy's, date your daughters. If they're still breathing, they still need you to date them. Once a parent, always a parent. You never escape that role until the day you die. Encourage a man in your life today by passing along this blog. Let your daddy know how he's molded your relationship with the Lord.