Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Ileeta Believed God

I left you hanging at 3 p.m. on Sunday. I guess I should backtrack and say that on Saturday afternoon I had a chance to glance at my email and see if there were any updates on our friend Kristi. (*There's an update at the bottom of this post.) It was then that I saw an email from Janelle that said "Ileeta's funeral." Oh man. Then I remembered seeing an email in my inbox from Janelle that said "Ileeta" sometime in the last 48 hours. Somehow it got marked as read even though I never read it. Weird how that happened. Curtis even knew what had happened on Thursday night, but chose not to tell me because I was already a mess. Maybe he was afraid I wouldn't go on my trip.

The emails said that our friend and former co-worker from FBC Irving, Ileeta Watson, had gone home to be with Jesus late Thursday night. Ileeta was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer over five years ago. When our pastor first introduced us to her after we moved to Irving, he boldly said, "Ileeta is a miracle." Indeed. She'd recently had to battle the cancer again but was doing well. I got to visit with her briefly when she was here in Houston getting treatment at MD Anderson. Janelle (one of Ileeta's fellow church secretaries) had come to town to be with her and Jackson and I met them for cupcakes. I'm so glad I had that chance to see her one last time.

Ileeta was strikingly beautiful on the outside and abounded with love and kindness on the inside. She had many tough trials during the last several years, but she clung to Christ. Her story is not mine to tell, but the Lord was glorified in her life and in her death. In fact, I shared with my mom on Friday night that I was really struggling to pray in faith for my friend Kristi. It was like I didn't want to pump myself up to believe God if He was going to disappoint me. My heart was already broken. I know that's not a great thing to admit, but such was the state of my heart. Then when I heard about God's AMAZING faithfulness to Ileeta over the past few months, working miracle upon miracle on her behalf in His sovereign timing, my faith was given a huge boost. Now I can pray sincerely again for what seems impossible.

Please pray for Ileeta's precious family. She has two daughters in their twenties and three little grandsons. I rejoice that Ileeta is with her Savior but my heart is so sad that her daughters will miss her for a lifetime. There's just never a good time to say goodbye to your mom, is there?

Mom dropped me off at my house at 3 p.m. on Sunday and Curt, Jackson, and I were on the road by 4. Sunni and her family were so gracious to let us crash in on them that night. By the time we got to the door, Jackson was squealing and laughing because he was so excited to see his friend Ava. I nearly fell over when I heard her talk. She was like a 6-year-old in a petite 2-year-old's frame! She was so precious, especially in her mermaid costume that she had on from their church's fall festival. We stayed up until midnight catching up with Sunni and Xavier. They are so much fun.

The next morning we dropped off Jackson at Janelle's mom's house and he got to spend the day with Ella. Janelle's mama was so generous to keep him. I think our trip was the happiest 24 hours of Jackson's life. I got to see some pictures of his time with Ella and it was one huge smile after another.

Ileeta's funeral was absolutely wonderful. She was a lifetime member of the church and a beloved member of the choir. The whole choir was there to sing her favorite songs. She had a very close group of girlfriends (who were all with her when she passed away) and several of their husbands shared stories about Ileeta's life. I thought that was really special. Pastor John also spoke and he shared that when he asked his young daughter Hannah to tell him something she loved about Ileeta, Hannah said "Her beautiful hair." She did have the most lovely hair! She reminded me so much of my mom in the way she was always so pretty and put together. I also found out that she used to teach aerobics at the church, which my mom did for 12 years.

After the graveside service, Ileeta's eldest daughter introduced herself to me and shared that she and her mom had been doing The Patriarchs study together this fall. She shared that, like Abraham, she knew her mother "had believed God and it was credited to (her) as righteousness." Yes. Amen. Thank you, Ileeta, for leaving a heritage for your daughters and for the younger women in your realm of influence of believing God and persevering until He called you to a better country.

God gave us the sweet gift of getting to have lunch with a bunch of our First Irving friends before we headed back home. Ileeta and Janelle's husband, Heath, both worked at a really nice steak restaurant in town. Heath hosted all of us at the restaurant and we got to fellowship there together. I wish it had been under different circumstances, but what a joy to get to visit with some of our favorite people in the world. Truly, if we get to have any treasures here on this earth, they are the people we do life with.


*I got an update from Amy today about Kristi. She had her first treatment with no reaction so far and she gets to go home to her mom's house! Her whole family will be staying there. She will be in bed, but they will all be together. Praise God. Pray for peace in that wonderfully full home and for continued healing of Kristi's c-section wound. The cancer medicine is causing it to heal slowly. Amy said she was amazed by all of your comments and connections from my previous post. Thank you so much for praying!

On Voting

I haven't voted yet but I definitely plan to. I am so glad that this election season is almost over. Praise the Lord. I have a great aversion to conflict and it hacks away at my sense of well being to read or listen to political news. (Many thanks to the phlegmatic half of my personality.) It's like our nation is in a huge fight. It's funny because I don't mind having conflict with people in my family, but that's because we can talk it out and work through it. I know that we will still love each other afterward. The rest of my family apparently loves to discuss politics, so I just have to leave the room or put my fingers in my ears and hum, "We are the world, we are the children..." Do I sound pathetic? Sorry. I did vote in the primaries and I may be the only one in my family besides my mom who did. I take action, I just don't like to talk about it.

Curt told me about an article by John Piper and said I should read it. I hadn't gotten around to it yet, but then I saw that The Preacher's Wife had linked to it on her blog. I just read it and it's great. Here's the link: "Let Christians Vote as Though They Were Not Voting." God definitely used it to pour peace into my heart this morning. I hope it will bless.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Mother-Daughter Getaway

Mom and I had such a fun girls weekend. Early Friday morning we got on a plane and headed to Santa Monica, California. We landed and then had lunch at the City Market in Brentwood. After that we just played around and had dinner on the veranda at our hotel. From there we got to watch the sunset and enjoy the cool evening temperature. We rented a movie in our room but we were both so tired that we had to pause it and watch the rest in the morning. The 2 hour time change and waking up at 4:30 made us weak!

Saturday morning we woke up at the crack of dawn because our bodies were on Texas time. Mom got up way before me, went for a walk on the beach, and had her quiet time. We ordered French toast and the best huevos rancheros known to man. Then we went shopping at the promenade, which is an outdoor mall. We walked briefly through a farmers market while we waited for the shops to open and I had to laugh at the booth that advertised eggs from "sprout fed chickens." Let me just say that if someone who had only ever lived in LA moved to Texas, they would be in HUGE culture shock. And vice versa. It is very fun to visit California but I don't think I would fit in there at all!

When the shops opened, we darted into the Pottery Barn. I bought a little something for my sister that I'll give her next week. Then we spent a few minutes in J. Crew before moving on to Old Navy. Outside the Old Navy they had one of their employees dressed like a fairy and handing out Halloween gift bags. She handed us each a bag as we walked in and said there was a surprise inside. I was a little annoyed because what would I want with some stupid Halloween stickers, a pencil and a rubber ball? I'd rather not even have to carry it. I did not look inside to see what was there. We grabbed a few maternity things for me and headed into the dressing rooms. At that point Mom and I decided we should see what was in our gift bags. Mom's had a peel-away coupon that was $5 off any purchase. I thought that was great because I could get a cami for $7. Then she told me to open mine and see what it was. I did and, holy cow, my coupon was for my entire purchase up to $150! Isn't that crazy? Lori/Bargain Shopper Lady, I totally thought of you.

Then I completely switched gears and thought I need to get stuff for my kids! (It's so fun to say "kids" plural now.) Jackson got two pairs of pants and a fleece sweatsuit. Baby Girl got a few cute things too. Of course I got some maternity tees. Everything was on sale, so we even had a hard time making the $150 total once we were at the register. I had to send my mom over to the pajamas to pick out a couple things for herself. Come to find out, I was the grand prize winner for the day. There was only one such coupon and somehow I managed to get it. Thank You, Lord, for blessing me wildly!

After that we dropped off my huge bag of loot at the hotel and took a cab to a fun shopping street called Montana. We spent most of the day there and enjoyed a fun lunch together. I noticed that people in restaurants there really like to check each other out. I guess that's because everyone's looking for celebrities. We never saw any, although I kept my phone on me the entire time in case my BFF's Jennifer and Courtney called and wanted to meet up. Maybe the lines got crossed or something because I never did hear from them.

Then we got some Starbucks and took a cab back to the hotel. When we did this same shopping trip last fall, we walked back. But Pregnant Girl ruined all the fun with her braxton hicks contractions that make her walk at a snail's pace. Fun times.

After we rested a bit, we decided we'd try to find a place to get our hair washed and dried. So we did. We managed to find the most masculine hair salon I've ever been to in my life. There was a drum kit and a few guitars decorating the salon and my stylist told me they like to have impromptu jam sessions. Then we found out that the two guys who started it are from Dallas. My stylist was a native Californian. He told me he'd like to go to Texas so that he could visit Austin and Graceland. In Memphis. That would be Tennessee. I got so tickled. But if I had to take a test about the geography of the western United States I would fail miserably.

That night we got to have a super nice dinner at a restaurant in Malibu that was right over the ocean. We got to eat on the patio underneath heaters. It was too dark to see the water, but we could hear the waves crashing beneath us. It was so neat. I had to pinch myself.

Sunday morning we had life-changing blueberry pancakes (hi Travis) and then headed back to the airport. Girls weekend was coming to a close! Pregnant Girl thought she had an aisle seat on the plane, so she drank a huge cup of tea right before boarding. Then she was surprised to find herself not in an aisle seat. Oh my gosh, I was so stressed out about how many times I was going to have to ask the man next to me to let me out to go to the restroom. It ended up being twice. At one point I was about to die and he was just snoozing peacefully next to me, as though P.G.'s bladder might not burst in mid-flight. It did not burst, but I'm not exaggerating when I say it was a dern close call.

Soon mom and I hugged goodbye and agreed that we'd had a total blast. The only thing that could have made it better was if Melissa had been able to join us. Next time, hopefully! Thanks, Mom, for an amazing weekend!

That brings us to Sunday at 3 p.m. More to come in a bit.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

We're On Our Knees

Just about everyone I know is on their knees tonight for a friend named Kristi Walker. She is a 30-year-old wife and mother of three boys. Her youngest is only a week old. He was taken by c-section at 35 weeks because his sweet mommy was so sick. (He is doing fine, except for one kidney that is not working.) To make a long story short, Kristi has been diagnosed with stage four cancer that has spread throughout her entire body. It is a cancer that is very resistant to treatment. It is so aggressive that she may have only had it for two months. I can't even bring myself to type out the prognosis. Please pray for her. Kristi's husband is Chuck and her sons are Cade (4), Mason (2), and Zane (1 week). Her younger sister Amy is my very dear friend and she is pregnant with her first - a son. Please also lift up Amy.

This family is deeply connected with our community of believers in Houston and in Irving. Chuck and Kristi were youth interns at Houston's First Baptist under John Durham back in the day. They are very well known and loved by everyone there. When John Durham was called to First Baptist Irving, he took Chuck and Kristi (who were married by that time) with him as the youth pastors. Curt got to preach at their youth camp one summer and that is when we got to know the Walkers. They are a really fun, super godly, very much in love couple. In the summer of 2004 they moved to North Carolina, where Kristi's family is from. That is when Curt and I were called to Irving. We would have loved to minister alongside them rather than in their place, but God had another plan.

Shortly after, Kristi's younger sister Amy married an HFBC boy named Daniel Savage and they ended up being the high school youth pastors at our church in Irving. So we got to minister alongside Daniel and Amy for most of our time there. Eventually Daniel and Amy moved back to North Carolina, which now I'm so very thankful for. It blesses me that God brought their whole family together for a season before all this happened. And they have each other to lean on now in every way.

I prayed so hard for this family all week as emails and text messages were being sent out to the multitudes. Each day the news got worse and worse. Tonight, after hearing the latest, I am at the "groans that words cannot express" stage. I'm sure we all are. I feel like I could go throw up. Please, please lift up Kristi and her whole family. I cannot even imagine what they are feeling tonight. Thank you, friends.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

P.S. - I am going out of town for a couple of days and won't be able to get online.

Blessings in the Mail

I got a fun package in the mail yesterday from my friend Vicki Courtney and her daughter Paige. Yeah! I love packages!

I waited to open it until Jackson was asleep because I didn't want to upset him. He doesn't understand why every present isn't for him. Bless his heart. But look! There was a toy for Jackson! How thoughtful!


Next I pulled out Vicki's newest "baby" - Five Conversations You Must Have With Your Daughter. I'm so excited that I qualify to read this!


A pocket Bible for Baby Girl when she's a tween!


And, BEHOLD, tiny pink ballet slippers!


They even have the ballet shoe smell - I mean fragrance. It takes me back to Miss Libby's class in first grade. I love it! Vicki and Paige, these shoes are the cutest things I've ever seen! I squealed when I saw them in the box. Thank you, sweet sisters! Baby Girl will be so cute in them!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Unplanned Fun

I know it's Tuesday, but I have to go back and talk about our fun weekend. We had absolutely nothing planned beside the farm trip, but ended up doing several fun things on the spur of the moment.

On Friday afternoon I started really wishing I had someone to go see The Secret Life of Bees with. There was no way Hubs would see that movie with me and we didn't want to get a babysitter. So I asked Curt if I could go with girlfriends after Jackson was in bed and he blessed me to do so. (That's a great way to get your chick flicks in, ladies!) So I found two friends in my neighborhood - Jen and Tammie - to go with me. Fun! Then we decided to get all our families together for dinner beforehand. We went to a restaurant where we could eat on the patio and enjoy the fall weather. It was so wonderful! There was a train track nearby that gave Jackson and Nathan lots of happiness. After that we went over to Cold Stone Creamery. Jackson had some funky blue flavor of ice cream and I held out for some popcorn. Then we went home and us girls changed into our comfy clothes and headed to see the movie. I personally thought it was great but I think it was a little sad for my friends.

Saturday morning we went to Dewberry Farm. Then after naps we ended up meeting the Altics for dinner at - where else - DoubleDave's! We were happy to initiate them into one of our favorite places. Jayk and Jackson spent a lot of time sitting at the car games.

Sunday morning we had church. In Sunday school the class director announced that he had four tickets to that day's Texans game, along with a parking pass, and they were free to anyone who wanted them. Curt looked at me and I said, "Do it babe!" So he took two of the tickets. He didn't ever find anyone to join him, but he ended up going anyway and had a great time. I love that men can do that. We had lunch with my parents at Tia Maria's and it was yummy yummy. However, due to my pregnancy indigestion I will be limiting my intake of Mexican food from this point on. It is not that fun to taste Mexican food for 24 hours. Disgusting, really. Curt went on to the game from there and Jackson and I went home with my parents. We had such a nice afternoon there. We just napped and hung out. Things have been very busy lately and we'd hardly had any time together, so it was great.

Monday was really fun too but I will talk about it later. That's all for now!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Amanda Bitter Jones

If you were/are a New Kids fan, you might enjoy reading this recap of their recent concert in Houston. I was laughing so hard by myself in my living room that my eyes were watering. Just wanted to share. I'm so ticked that none of my old NKOTB pals could go. I promise I'm not bitter though. (If any of my friends DID go, it would be best not to tell me.)

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Dewberry Farm

We went to this awesome place called Dewberry Farm this morning and had a blast. That has got to be one of the neatest places in town. We got there right when it opened. Very good move on our part. If you're in the Houston area and you have kids, you have to go! They have way more to do than I was able to capture on camera. I did the best I could to document our time, considering that my child will only look at the camera once every 100 shots. I love him though!

Fort Dew Hickey




Roller slide


Hay ride to the pumpkin patch.


Looking for a pumpkin.


This is the best pose we could do.






Proud of our pumpkin!










I've never seen freeway ramps for goats.


Checking out the baby chickens.


In honor of Cupsy and Brother Chicken.


Rubber ducky races




Jackson's favorite part: the giant hay pile!












One of Jackson's nicknames is Turkey.


Munching some kettle corn on the way home.


We heard Curt and Jackson's song - George Strait's "The Best Day" - when we got in the car. So fitting!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Tea for Two?

One of the most thrilling things about my husband's return from India was his announcement that he had been drinking hot tea every day and wanted to keep up the habit. Hello! Music to my ears! So every morning for a week I made two cups of tea. Call me Mrs. Happy To Serve. On the first day I pulled up a place for him at the table where Jackson and I enjoy our breakfast. Jackson happily pointed out "Mommy's teaf!" and "Daddy's teaf!" How precious. That turned out to be a one time only event. Hubs' mornings are too rushed for that.

It was not long before my rose colored glasses started hurting my head and I began recognizing the truth. Each morning I found two thirds of the tea still remaining when I dumped out his cup. I tried not to be bothered, but it pained me! One third of a cup = not worth the tea bag. I was sharing my precious imported tea bags with someone who clearly did not appreciate them. So I gently confronted my husband about it.

Babe, do you not like your tea? Are you afraid to tell me?

No, Prin. I like the tea. Thank you for making it. I guess if you could add a little bit more sugar that would be good.


Great. Adjustment made.

Still, I kept finding mostly full cups of tea lying around my house each morning.

Hubs, seriously, I think your problem is that you're waiting too long to drink it and then it doesn't taste good.

No, babe, I like the tea.


After a week I felt that my tea efforts were not justifiable. Something was off but I couldn't figure out what the problem was. Convinced that Hubs was lying to me about liking the tea, I announced that I would no longer be making him tea unless he asked me for it.

Why, babe? Do you think I don't like it?

Um, YES!


This morning Curt walked into the kitchen just as I was getting my tea cup out of the cupboard. A wave of generosity crashed into me and I offered him some tea. He said yes. I was happy. I made the tea, took it to him in the bathroom where he gets ready, and went back to the table to enjoy my own. Twenty-something minutes later he walks back into the kitchen with the cup, just now drinking it. I'm not sure what my face looked like exactly, but it was probably similar to how it would have looked if I had caught Beckham red-handed when he ate Missy's chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. He saw my shock and dismay. Then I got the confession.

Babe, this is how I drink it. I like to let it get lukewarm and then I can gulp it down.

My fellow tea drinkers, is that not a sacrilege? What, does he think this is iced tea? If I were dead I'd be rolling in my grave.

Birthday Blog Hiatus

I can't believe I haven't blogged in a week! There have definitely been some blogable moments, too. Here are my excuses: I've been super busy. I've wanted to say something profound about turning 29, but I just haven't had the energy to do it right. And I've had some computer issues that are finally better.

So here's what I've been up to since my brilliant post last Friday. Our church's women's retreat last weekend and Jerrell Altic's 30th birthday party. Curt preached at a church in Humble, TX, on Sunday. Dinner with Daniel and Amy, who were in town from N.C., that night. Monday night Hubs took me on a birthday date to Taste of Texas. Tuesday morning Jacks went to MDO, I got a pedicure, and joined my LPM sisters for a birthday lunch at a tea room. So fun. That night Curt taught Bible study. Wednesday night Bible study and dinner at church. Thursday held an OB appointment for me, Boss's Day lunch with LPM for Sabrina, and then I made enchiladas last night. This morning was MOPS.

Y'all, I am TIRED! Seriously! I was asleep by 9:45 last night and today I am even more tired. The thought crossed my mind that I might have mono, but I have no other symptoms. So I must be pregnant. Oh yeah - 23 weeks! I've been pretty achy this week, which totally makes me feel like an old woman. (Have you ever spent 12 hours horseback riding? That's what I feel like.) I guess that's fitting for just having had a birthday. While I could carry on this lovely conversation about how busy and pregnant I've been, I am going to join Jackson and take a nap. I really want to share some thoughts about my 28th year, so hopefully I'll be able to write that out this weekend. We have no plans for the next 72 hours, which is glorious. Thank You, Jesus. I'm just going to enjoy my guys and hope that we make it to a pumpkin patch at some point. Happy Friday, y'all!

PS - Thanks for the sweet birthday messages! It was a great day!

Friday, October 10, 2008

It's Friday. That's My Creative Title.

*UPDATED with recipes*

Well, it's been a good week but I haven't had much to say. Tuesday I got my hair highlighted. I had Becky add some lowlights for fall and I think it was a good choice. I also found out she is retiring on January 1! So before long I'll have a new person. This is sad because Becky was the first person to ever put color on my hair and I was thrilled to return to her when we moved home. But she has worked her tail off for years and I'm really happy for her. I already have my next two appointments planned out to give me the best timing before baby comes. Basically, I need to walk in there as close to labor as possible so I won't have to go in when I'm nursing a baby 24/7. It's so hard right at first! It's weird to already be planning stuff out like that. After my hair appointment I ran over to my favorite maternity store, Pickles and Ice Cream, and got a new dress and a new shirt. That was a treat from my mom. That night we had Bible study. I have enjoyed getting to be there so much. I attend Curt's class and I think he's doing a great job.

On Wednesday we met up with Courtney and Moriah and Lauren and Noah at Rice University. (Lauren and her hubs are Rice Owls.) We strolled around the campus for a while and it was a nice change of scenery. You might remember me mentioning that reading Baby Noah's blog gave me serious baby fever last winter. They live in Boston and I'd not yet had the pleasure of meeting that cute little man. He is as sweet as can be! And that Moriah has some seriously good hair. She is blessed indeed.

Yesterday Jackson's MDO had a pumpkin patch thing for fall. I had forgotten to dress my child in the t-shirt he was supposed to wear for it, so I had to run back up there and bring it for his class picture. I got to stay and do the pumpkin patch with him, which was fun. We painted a leaf, made a wreath, picked out a pumpkin, raked leaves, watered gourds with a spray bottle, did a beanbag toss (Jackson really got into this), and played with playdoh. Fun times. Afterward I met up with the LPM crew for lunch and then made a mad dash to HEB before picking up Jackson. I was almost late and I'm sure my blood pressure was crazy. Last night I made a chicken pot pie (not a frozen one!) and my co-worker Susan's "addictive salad" for dinner.

Today we are missing a playdate with my MOPS group, but mall playdates seriously stress me out. I am going to our church's women's retreat tonight and I'd just like to have a calm day at home until then.

A little update on Jackson: He is doing great with his tee-tee potty training, even when we're out and about. He does not like to go in his pull ups or diapers or whatever he's wearing when we're not at home. We are making very little progress in the other department, but have had 2-3 victories at home. I decided to relax about the whole thing because, really, what can I do? He will do it when he's ready. So for now we are not as consumed with potty training as we were.

I guess we replaced that with discipline training! The Strong-Willed Child has really been helping me out. I can see where I was making some big mistakes, but thankfully Jackson is still very young and there is grace to make changes. I feel like I'm in control again and there is peace and joy between us. Dobson talks a lot about walking the line between love and control.

Jackson's current obsessions include his trains (which have edged out the monster trucks for now), a toy Air Force One plane from Auntie Michelle, and talking about dinosaurs and monsters. He is very preoccupied with monsters and it is tough to persuade him that there are no monsters when it's the month of October. Also, did I forget to mention that Jackson went through a couple days when he kept telling us his name was Thomas the Train? We're back to Tachi again.

I have a very busy few days ahead, so I'll see y'all when it's over! Have a great weekend!

For those of you who asked...

Susan’s Addictive Salad

½ lemon (Amanda's note: I wasn't sure where this was supposed to go so I squeezed it into the dressing.)
½ cup light olive oil
3-5 minced garlic cloves
½ cup crumbled blue cheese
½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh ground pepper (to taste)
1 bag of romaine lettuce cut in small pieces

Place minced garlic in olive oil and set aside while preparing the rest of the salad. (You can strain the garlic before dressing the salad, but I leave it in.)
Add crumbled blue cheese and ½ of the Parmesan to the olive oil mixture.
Pour over lettuce, add freshly ground black pepper to taste, remaining Parmesan, toss and enjoy!

P.S. I think it needs a little salt.

The chicken pot pie recipe is here. It was good but I don't know if I'll try it again. I think I have an aversion to the taste of frozen vegetables. Does anyone have a recipe for this that totally rocks their world?

Monday, October 06, 2008

What We've Been Up To

*Warning*
This is not a man-friendly post. It discusses the pregnant body, which I promise is not something you want to read about. I'd also like to say that in no way do I think anyone cares to read about my life in this much detail, but I am writing it all down for myself so I can be amused by it later in life. Peace out.


Last Tuesday:
This was our last full day without Curtis. Kay and I put our boys in mother's day out and we went to the Trellis Spa at The Houstonian hotel for prenatal massages. It was so wonderful! It had definitely given us something to look forward to while our men were gone. Afterward, we had lunch at this neat restaurant we'd never take our kids to called Tiny Boxwood's. That name gets me tickled. The Lord gave us a table outside in the shade. I had the grilled cheese panini with pesto and it was incredible. We rounded out the afternoon with a trip to Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids. After I picked up Jackson from MDO we had the ice cream debacle at Sonic. We then went across the street to a frozen custard place and I delivered ice cream to my little man as promised. He loved it. However, the sugar high mixed with his lack of a nap that day at MDO made for an interesting evening. Bedtime arrived a little early at 6:30. But he slept till 7:30 the next morning, so he must have needed it!

Wednesday:
Curtis came home! That evening we celebrated our family togetherness with a trip to a different DoubleDave's than we'd been going to since we moved. This one was a much better experience, as I didn't find myself totally distracted and depressed about being 4 hours away from the Hartsfields, who were our DoubleDave's buddies in Irving. If you have never been to DoubleDave's, you must try it.

Thursday:
Curtis took the day off. Jackson went to MDO. Curtis and I had a really great lunch at Chuy's (a Mexican restaurant). They have some AMAZING salsa there. I like it almost as much as Pappasito's. We spent the rest of our time together shopping for Jackson's new furniture. We didn't find anything that we (I) liked. I have my heart set on a bed from PB Kids, but I wanted to exhaust the other options before we buy it. After we picked up Jackson, the three of us went to see a kids movie. We thought we were seeing a movie about monkeys in space, but we ended up seeing Fly Me to the Moon, which is about...flies. Jackson did not stop asking for the monkeys the whole time. This was a 3D film and the Mister could not really be bothered to wear his glasses. Although for the five total minutes that he did wear them, he was the cutest thing I've ever seen. The movie was so horrible and the popcorn so very average that we left before it was over. All was not lost, however, as we played video games in the foyer before leaving.

Friday:
Jacks and I were sad to say goodbye to Curtis in the morning, but this is real life and not fantasy world. Hubs was suffering some jat lag that afternoon, so we hung around the house. I made taco salad for dinner.

Saturday:
We drove out to the Woodlands to see if the PB Kids there had the bed I wanted on display. I would love to see it in person before we order it. I also needed some new support devices for my...self. Victoria's Secret is now dead to me, as their workers are not properly trained to handle desperate, slightly irrational, hormonal pregnant women who are having conflicted feelings about their changing bodies. So I tried the Soma store and I have to give major props to the saleslady there who bent over backwards to help me out. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that the worst part of dressing myself for pregnancy is not the large belly, but my other features which take on a life of their own. Help me, Lord Jesus.

We stopped at Baby's/Kid's First Furniture on the way home and may I just say that Curtis Jones is lucky I did not know about that place when we were buying Jackson's crib? Wow.

That night Curtis and Jackson had more taco salad while I made one of my favorite soups - roasted chicken and wild rice soup. (Curt is not a big soup eater, especially if it's not a cheesy soup.) I ate it in a bread bowl from HEB and it was divine. I took some to my friend Missy who had strep throat last week - poor thing. She blessed me in return with some chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. Oh my! If you are a baker, you should definitely make these. Thanks, Missy!

Sunday:
We went to church and were quite late because Pregnant Girl had some outfit drama. I am carrying this baby differently than I carried Jackson and it is really messing with me. Plus, I am missing three skirts and one pair of black pants from my maternity wardrobe and I now have 2 things I can wear to church besides jeans. And have I mentioned that the Boobs of Doom are taking over my life? Ugh! (Honestly, I fought a bad attitude the entire day. I'll just go ahead and admit that right now.) After church we met up with Michelle, a friend from college who was in town from DC. We also got to meet Katie, a Phi Lamb from A&M, who was delightful. I love college students and I miss being around them! After lunch at Pappasitos' we took naps. Last night we had our Dinner 8 group at my friend Allison's house. My mom is a rock star and took Jackson to Chuck E. Cheese so that we didn't have to take him with us. Later came our experience with the neti pot, which I have detailed here.

Today:
I am meeting up with Missy to go on a walk this evening. If Beckham is lucky I will take him with me. He helped himself to some of Missy's cookies the other night and his fat little behind needs to go on a walk. And after all the food I've mentioned in this post I see that I need it just as bad!

Surrendering the Secret

Melinda at Traveling the Road Home is talking about a secret that one in three Christian women reportedly have. She explains it a lot better than I can, so I will leave it to her. Please go visit her blog and see what she has to say and what she's doing about it. In 6 years married to a minister, this secret has only been shared with me one time by someone I know personally. When I think about the statistic that one in three women are holding onto it, it grieves me that so many are suffering in silence. I'm praying that God will use Melinda's blog to turn the tide and bring healing to many.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

None of This Goes Together

Okay, this is so me.

Sunni is doing the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk in honor of her mom.

Sabrina, one of my oldest friends in the world, has just opened up a new etsy store called Noodles and Milk. She's celebrating with a giveaway on her blog.

Hubby is home and doesn't have to work today. Jacks is at MDO, so I have him to myself almost all day. Joy!

Also, we've had a tiny little cool front, so I took our big, fat, white dog on a walk today and he was so happy. (Most people/animals get fat in the winter from inactivity, but I think in Houston we get fat(ter) in the summer because it is too hot to leave the house.) He was more tired at the end than Pregnant Girl, which is not a good sign for him. Bless his heart.

I bought some cocoa butter lotion from The Body Shop and it is taking me back to junior high, which is when I was a wannabe activist and was completely devoted to that store and lotion. So why was I using pregnant lady lotion in junior high? I had no idea, and my friends sure did miss an opportunity to make fun of me. Other smells that take me back are freesia, flowering herbs, and rose lotion from Bath and Body Works. (Not sure they even make them anymore. I know they don't make rose. It was VERY strong.) One whiff of those and I want to wear a sports bra every day, only allow my hair to be seen in a pony tail, and coordinate matching outfits with my BFF's. Y'all, I had it goin' on in junior high.

Sonic is very, very close to being dead to me. I visited two different Sonics in 48 hours that were closed. On the second attempt, I was given some (really great) coupons by the owner who had pity on me. On the day I tried to use the free ice cream cone coupon at a third Sonic location, they were out of ice cream. If you could have seen the fit my son proceeded to throw over their lack of ice cream, you would understand why I could make such a radical statement.

Y'all have a good day.