The List of Updates

Update #1:
Haircut... The cashier at Publix today told Adam and I that we had a beautiful daughter. Noah WILL have a haircut this week. I don't care what efforts it will take but Adam and I will make it to Kidzcuts before six someday this week.

Update #2:
Biff.... On the day Biff was to return to school he got in a fight on the bus(on his way to school). His parents withdrew him and his two brothers and are sending them to a Christian private school. Could be good. But I was disappointed not to see him again. I guess selfishly wanted a reunion to witness his turn around and gratitude. Maybe it is better this way.

Update #3:
The tooth..... Noah fell AGAIN at daycare knocking his tooth loose again. He went to the dentist again. X-rays look good so we are just waiting to see if it sticks.

Update #4:
Television.... I count Tivo as blessing. I am really grateful for it. I love television. I find it a source of information, inspiration and escape from reality. It is my stress reliever and I am so glad that the new season has started. If the writers could find a way to stay happy that would be great. And please quit making Alex such a jerk so I can justify how badly I want him and Izzie together. Thanks.

Update #5:
Football.... Bryant has the longest losing streak in the state of Alabama. I am not stretching the truth. You can look it up. If anyone has any inspiring words to help motivate my kids to quit bashing the team I would appreciate it. Auburn's coaches and I disagree as to who has talent and who doesn't. Why do you not use your play makers??? And I won't go into detail about how hard it will be to live in Tuscaloosa this week as an Auburn fan, esp. an Auburn fan that teaches at Paul W. Bryant (as in the "Bear") High School.

Update #6:
The biting.... Noah got bit for the third time last week. By the same kid. I am praying and contemplating what I should do. Suggestions???

Update #7:
Friends.... I am so thankful to have had the chance to reconnect even if it was briefly with some old friends this week. Lauren and Leslie, college roommates of mine, came in to town with some friends for dinner and I was able to join them. It was great to see them and laugh, remember, confess and enjoy each other. I wish I lived closer. I also got to walk around College Street shops with my best friend (besides Adam of course) Laura. We haven't seen each other in person since May. We have both been through a lot lately and despite the phone, email, text messages. blogs and other communication nothing does more good for the soul than a hug and face time with your best friend. So thanks Laura and John for taking the time out of your tailgating with friends to visit with me!
Lauren and I at Jordan Hare.
Update #8:
Birthdays.... Adam, Noah, Charlie and I got to celebrate Aunt Jenny's birthday Friday night. My mom has an amazing garden in the back. She must have lit a hundred candles. It was beautiful. We ate yummy food and sipped wine (well I did Adam, Charlie and Noah did not partake) and the weather was perfect. Jenny had some friends in from out of town and it was fun to see her with her friends and to join in on their stories. I was jealous that February is too cold for garden parties! Noah would like to give his Aunt Jenny a shout out for her birthday. We all love her and wish we could celebrate her more! Noah's First Birthday is just six weeks away! After listening to plans and ideas my brother in law Jason said it sounded like a baby wedding :) It's just a small gathering with a safari animal theme and homemade invitations and table cloths and a three tier cake to match :) That's not over the top right???



Update #10:
Coincidences.... Adam and I were walking to Toomer's Corner after the win. We have new eyes now when looking at this tradition. We used to see the college people pulling funny stunts and being crazy. This time we noticed all the children and dreamed together of the day when we will arm little Noah with a roll. We wanted to take a picture Adam wanted to do the classic do it yourself pose but I was sure we would see someone we knew. He said, "No way." And took a picture. But then who walked right up and said, "Here let me." ???? My very own little sister.In a sea of 87,000. Well not really. Not all those people hike to Toomers.

The Weekend Update

This past weekend was loaded with family, travel, and reflection!

First we were in Auburn for the LSU game. I won't go into details about what happened or didn't happen on the field but I will mention Noah's first tailgate and gameday stroll down College. I had so much watching Adam's family enjoying sharing this tradition with Noah. Auburn always makes me feel special and connected. It was great being able to share that with Noah.

Family photos at Toomer's Corner.

TailgatingGameday shopping on College Street.

Sunday Nana graciously took morning duty with Noah and Adam and I slept in. Then we ate a fantastic home cooked breakfast and visited with Robin and Chris. It didn't last nearly as long as we would like. Adam had to head back to work. Noah and I unpacked, cleaned up, and organized for the upcoming week.

Then we tried on Noah's Halloween costume. Below is a sneak peek of Noah's Halloween costume. He's the cutest giraffe I've ever seen!

At dinner time we discovered Noah's new favorite game!



Roller Chair!!!

We had a great weekend instilling and sharing Auburn traditions and enjoying family time.

This past weekend we spent a lot of time in the car. I had a lot of time to reflect on things I've been sorting out emotionally and spiritually. This reflection was partly spurred by the song, "By My Side" by Tenth Avenue North. Since school started I've been kind of down in the dumps. I keep thinking there would be certain things that would make me feel happier or better about the stress I face balancing all my roles. These are the lyrics that helped me reflect and adjust my attitude.

Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I want to give you life

I thought about how I have been fighting God's hands in my life by being unsatisfied with my current circumstances. He has me here and now for a purpose and by striving for another situation I have been ignoring His desires for my life and service. I am missing opportunities to glorify him. He knows me in and out. Maybe I can't seem to cross off all my to do's because He knew I wouldn't turn to Him in my overwhelm. Maybe I feel stress and out of control so I will turn to him in weakness instead of attempting to do it on my own. Maybe I don't see the fruition of my labor because it would cause me undue pride. I confess fighting his will in my life. I am praying for clarity and the ability to recognize God's wisdom and desires for me. I am thankful that he acts on my behalf by blessing me when I don't deserve it. I am thankful for his timing even when I don't see it. I am thankful for his comfort when I feel loss of unknown blessings and when I blame myself for the loss of them. I am thankful for finding satisfaction in the here and now!

The Tooth

It is becoming more and more evident that we have a rough and tough little boy. Today Adam got the call that Noah had had an accident at daycare. He had hit his head on his crib and knocked his top tooth loose. He was bleeding pretty badly and very upset. By the time Adam got there though he was sleeping soundly. Not wanting to wake him up Adam consulted the pediatrician and dentist. When Noah woke up I went and got him and took him to the pediatric dentist. These next two weeks we are to limit Noah to soft foods only and try to keep things out of his mouth. The dentist laughed as he told me that, he has a ten month old at home and knew that request was virtually impossible to complete. If the tooth is still loose in two weeks they will have to remove it. So please pray for it to reset on its own!!! I was thankful to have been home sick from work. And even though I needed a day to get better I was glad to be able to be the one to take him to the doctor for once. I was also once again reminded of what an amazing husband I have. He reacted to crisis calmly and before I even knew about it he had it under control. But I am considering making Noah live in a bubble or least wrapping him up in bubble wrap!

The Ten Month Birthday

10- months little man has warmed our hearts
9- Gerber puffs that miss the target during any given meal
8- times a toy gets purposely dropped before I quit picking it back up
7- miles per hour Noah crawls
6- teeth in his mouth
5- pieces of fruit Noah keeps in his mouth until he swallows
4- stories at bedtime
3- "Spots" just in case one gets lost
2- people need to change a diaper on wiggly
1- amazing baby boy

The Entertainer

Adam is many things. He is a great dad. He is a fabulous writer. He is a patient husband. He is a loyal friend. But did you know that he is also a funny entertainer?



Sometimes you need a little laughter at the dinner table!

The Victory

I had a small moment of victory this week.
I have been feeling slightly overwhelmed lately as you can probably tell by my woe is me posts. I've a chronic sinus infection and possibly other medical things going on now being sorted out in a lab with some blood drawn this afternoon. So I have legitimate reasons to feel at the end of my rope. And God, as always has been faithful despite that my life, the love song I am supposed to be singing to him has been a quiet hum in the back of my mind.
I have grown bitter towards my job in the past few weeks. Partly due to a fore mentioned medical reasons, who can be super teacher when you feel like roadkill? I feel like I pour out my heart and soul for these kids to have it trampled on again and again. Yet I am certain this is what God is calling me to do at this moment. So I do it. Probably not with a sweet spirit. I start out each semester telling my kids that being in my room is like family, we fight and struggle but we overcome it. I care about them and I am their mom away from mom. (To some of them I am the only mom) I tell them this is a fresh start, no matter their reputation around school. I don't care. I judge them from their actions in my room. As long as they respect me, each other and attempt to do their best with their work I will stick up for them whenever they need it. Well enter Biff (Obviously not his real name given the demographics of my school.)
Biff's name has appeared on every discipline list since the day I started teaching. (Not really but you understand my point) fight, defiance, disrespect, skipping, suspected gang activity (in the non existing gangs as the ex-police chief assured the city). But Biff has decided this year to shape up and get out of school or least the ninth grade. His family is supporting him in his fight against the reputation he has built the past three years. I don't pretend it was my speech because other teachers have concurred on the turn around witnessed in Biff. But I do know that he needed an advocate. I have sung his praises to whoever would listen.
Kids came into third period all excited giving the play play reenactment of the fight in the courtyard. "Who was it?" I asked casually. "Biff and three other boys. Man they gave it to him. Ripped off his shirt and they were just pounding him." I dropped the papers on my desk asked a teacher to cover for me and asked some people still lingering around where they took Biff. I walked in the vice Principal's office and asked to speak to Biff before he was sent home. I sat down and looked into this boys eyes. I asked for the story. He told me he got jumped by these three guys. (I know he was not completely innocent.) He apologized for letting me down. Saying yes mam to every syllable I uttered. I looked at him and told him this did not take away from how proud he has made me so far and that I was there to help him. I carefully related all of Biff's actions in class to the VP. I told Biff I would go get him a textbook and some work so his grade wouldn't drop too bad. I know and saw and appreciated how hard he worked in my room to get his grade and to show respect and self control. With tears in his eyes he thanked me. This is perhaps the first time someone has stood in his defense. With tears in my eyes I told him I'd see him in a few days. I thanked God for allowing me to touch Biff. Then I was rewarded. In fourth period, Biff's class the one that makes me think about retiring at age 27, I asked them about what I said the first day of school. I reminded them. I asked a few who had seen me run across the courtyard to the office where I went. They told the class, because they had followed me. I told them what I did for Biff. Adding that I longed to do it for them if they could do what Biff had done in class. I didn't say it to brag but to show that I said I cared for them and I proved it. For the next forty minutes they worked in silence. It may have only lasted those isolated forty minutes. And that's okay. That forty minutes of quiet reflection of those twenty two crazies is why God has me here and why Noah is in daycare and why I am stressed and frazzled. It was worth it!

The Bathtub

Noah's favorite time of day is still bath time! It has definitely changed over the past few months as he has become more mobile. It can be quite an adventure. We brought the camera in to take some of those classic embarrassing baby in the bath pictures.

The Crawler

Noah started crawling at the beginning of August after a tutorial from Cohen. But it has been brought to our attention that there is no video or photos to document his new mode of transportation. We took Noah to his racetrack, "the hallway" to document his speedy ways. Charlie really hates being left out as you will see in the video. Noah thinks Charlie is funny trying to join in as you will see in the second video. Enjoy!

The Wiggly Boy

Noah has become very wiggly. He now realizes how mobile he is. He has places to go. He wiggles on the changing table, refusing to be changed or diapered. He wiggles in your lap. He wiggles when he plays. He wiggles when he eats. He wiggles at during bedtime stories. He wiggles during his night night bottle. He wiggles during his breathing treatment. And then he wiggles after we put him down in bed. He is busy discovering things around him and testing his boundaries. Most of the wiggling I can handle. The diapers get a little frustrating. The one real problem is the breathing treatment. It is impossible to keep it on his face. Especially when he takes off the mask part and then throws it across the room. This new wiggly stage gives insight into Noah's personality. He is going to be a hand full. But a cute one! In a rare still moment tonight he looked into my eyes and laughed with delight. It filled my heart and took away a week's worth of stress.
Noah has a new trick. At bedtime and nap time we have a video monitor. (Which Adam and I think is the best piece of baby equipment we own.) Noah has developed an obsession for the camera light. He will pull up on his knees, look straight into the camera, laugh, pull it to him and try to eat it. It is a funny thing to watch.Adam compares it to Blair Witch or early King Kong movies. But then it ends up in is bed or on the floor. Has anyone else had this problem? And if so any ideas?

The ER Trip

Noah and I went with Papa to visit my Granny this weekend. Noah is a firecracker on the floor. He moves so fast and nothing gets in his way. Before we knew it he was in the face of Moses, my parents sweet 11 year old mutt. Moses has cancer and has grown grumpy. He didn't like having Noah in his face and in a flash Noah had two scratches. It was a complete accident and a fast one. Good thing for Doctor Papa. He cleaned out the scratches but wanted to be certain it didn't need stiches. So we cut our visit short and returned to Birmingham and spent the next six hours in the Emergency Room of Children's Hospital. Noah was a trooper and a brave boy. He did well and ended up not needing stiches just steri strips. In order to ensure they stay on he is staying out of daycare for the week and is being cared for by Mimi and Papa in Birmingham. It has been a tough week being away from Noah and not being able to care for his boo boos. But he is doing well and healing fast. I am praying for Noah to be scar free!! I knew when they told me we were having a boy that the ER would become familiar with sports, bikes, climbing and all kinds of boy stunts. And being there put life into perspective. What is a tiny scar compared to terminal cancer?