Caviar, Anyone?

A couple of weeks ago, my parents picked up Graham on their way from my sister's graduation in Knoxville back to Memphis. I was heading to Memphis the next day, so I thought a few hours away from him wouldn't kill me. Plus I was exhausted and could use a break! When I got to Memphis the next day, there was my little boy walking around the house with a rubber snake around his neck. He would come up to you and try to "get you" with the snake and other times he would just roam the house with the snake on his shoulders. It was a little scary looking, but he loved it, and I couldn't take away something that his Nattie had given him! A few days later we were in the car on our way to the zoo. G of course had his snake with him! One minute he was biting the snake's head and the next minute I heard a loud POW! My eyes quickly shot over to Graham, and it looked like this 16 month old had suddenly developed a refined palate for caviar. He had tiny black beads pouring out of his mouth. It took me a minute to figure out what had happened. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. The snake broke!" I yelled as my sister found a place to pull over. Graham started crying a little, but I needed to quickly dig out all the beads from his mouth! Finally I got them out, although I was sure he swallowed a few of them in the process. Thanks to phones with Internet, we quickly discovered the beads were not toxic and continued on our way to the zoo- sans the snake around Graham's neck. Lesson learned: If you have a little kid who wants to play with a rubber snake, you better watch out. Those fake snakes just might come to life! That's all I'm saying.

That's the Way She Got the Baby Bump!

*note* please sing the next 5 lines to the tune of "The Brady Bunch"

Until this one day when this lady ate some tacos
And she knew it was much more than a crunch
Her belly really started growing
And that's the way she got the baby bump!
The baby bump. The baby bump. That's the way she got the baby bump!

I know you may think it's impossible, but I already have a baby bump. I'm only 8 weeks pregnant, and I'm wearing a maternity dress today. It pretty much happened overnight. On Sunday I was absolutely starving. I was sitting in church seriously contemplating going back to the nursery to swipe some goldfish from Graham's diaper bag. It would be embarrassing, but I thought it might be necessary. I decided to hold out. I know this is bad, but I was hoping that the communion bread wasn't already broken up into little pieces. I needed some nourishment...badly! Jeff got called in to a job, so it was just Graham and me at church. The two of us left, and I stopped by the closest restaurant, Taco Bell, and ordered a burrito and a taco. I didn't think my stomach would make it the 5 extra minutes it would take to get home and fix something. I gobbled down my food and noticed that the dress that I was so recently excited about fitting back into was getting a little snug in the midsection. Then, on Wednesday something drastic happened. I was at the gym working out when of course one of the mirrors caught my eye. I don't know why they have to have so many mirrors at the gym. Who wants to see themselves looking like a fool anyway? But they do, and I couldn't help but stare at my tummy. "Oh no," I thought. "I have a baby bump."
I got home and googled "can you be showing at 8 weeks." Most of the results said you can't really show until 10 weeks, but I'm here to tell you (show you) that it can be a little sooner. My sister came in town later that day, and I could tell she was looking at my stomach. "I've got a tummy!" I cried. "Well, I wasn't going to say anything, but you do," she replied. So there...it's official. Even my sister agrees. Can't wait to see what I look like in 7 months. I mean, thay say you start showing earlier after your first child, but come on! 8 weeks? And how did it happen in just a couple of days. One day my stomach just pooched, and I've tried sucking it in, but it just won't work. So here I go. I'm embracing the lovely baby bump. If you ask me when I'm due, just know it's probably a lot further down the road than you think. Like the Christmas season, like December 8th to be exact. No pictures for now, but if you're someone who sees me on a regular basis, I thought you might want to know how I got the baby bump. Steer clear of Taco Bell, or you might get one too.

Yay for Chick-fil-a!

Last Thursday I met my friend Bekah and her son at Chick-fil-a. I went up to the counter, placed my order for some yummy food, paid for the food out of my "eating out" envelope (check out the Dave Ramsey envelope system), and placed my envelope on the tray with all of my food. We had a good time at lunch. We talked, ate, and watched the boys smile at each from one high chair to the other. The Chick-fil-a employees came by and got us refills, brought us mints, and even took away our trash. How do they find such great employees? It's just like the people at Publix who are genuinely happy and excited to help me. I don't get it, but I sure love it. Anyway, we finished our lunch, and I loaded G into the car. I glanced at the diaper bag and wondered where my envelope of money was. I began looking everywhere but couldn't find it. Then, I remembered. I had placed the envelope on my tray. If I had thrown the trash away myself, I probably would have looked down and realized it was there. But when the Chick-fil-a worker came by, I was scrambling to get it together, and never thought about the money. Regardless, it was still completely my fault. I called Jeff because I didn't know what to do. I couldn't go back in the store and dig through the trash while trying to hold on to a 1 year old who can't sit still for 2 seconds. Jeff was nearby, so he said he would come help me. I informed one of the employees of what happened, and a manager immediately sent two workers to start going through the trash in the back of the store. I hadn't thought about that...of course Chick-fil-a would not make me do the work. They are just that type of company. So they searched through chicken nuggets, Polynesian sauce, and mushy french fries and found my envelope. When the brought the money back to me, it was in a brand new Chick-fil-a envelope. The manager apologized and said she included a few coupons for my trouble. My trouble? They were the ones who had to dig through the trash due to my blunder. I thanked her again and again. I was sooo impressed. I ended up leaving with more money than I had when I walked in if you count the free combo and free kids meal coupons they gave me. Now I should say, that is customer service!

Sunday's A Comin'

This week one of my friends got some tragic news...the kind of thing you hope you nor any of the ones you love never have to deal with. I want to wish away and pray away her family's pain. I want to make it all better for her, and yet I know that the pain is still going to be there. My friend has had enough pain over the past few years, so why does she have to go through something else? I find myself wondering what to do with sorrow like this. What encouragement can be found in the midst of such hurt?

And then I think about this week...this special week when we celebrate the death and Resurrection of Jesus. What if Jesus' life ended merely with death on the cross. What if Good Friday was the end of the story? Jesus was born, he lived, and he died. Ah....what depression would overtake my soul if it all ended on Friday. But, it doesn't. The title of a sermon I once heard was "Sunday's A Comin.'" How true it is. Our souls are uplifted by the fact that Sunday came and Jesus rose. We see the complete humanity of Jesus as he asks God to "take this cup" and spare him the gruesome death on the cross. Even Jesus did not want to bear such hardship. However, Jesus continues,"nevertheless not my will but Yours be done." As we read of Jesus' betrayal, flogging, and death on the cross, sometimes the only way to get through the verses is knowing that "Sunday's A Comin.'"

As believers we can have encouragement in our personal lives because Sunday came and Sunday will come. Sunday is awaiting those who are in Christ. Our death is not the end of life. There is something so perfect and beautiful awaiting us and that enables us to trudge through life's difficulties. Sweet Marth, "Sunday's a Comin.'" One day you will be where "sickness, sorrow, pain, and death are felt and feared no more."

"I'm so glad I married you..."

As I waited for Jeff to complete the sentence, I thought about all the possible endings. Would he say, "because I no longer have to eat Hungry Man dinners?" Probably not. He loves those things and eats them whenever I go out of town! Would he say, "because you're such a good mom," "because you're so pretty," or "because you make me happy?" That would be awfully sweet, but I wasn't sure if he would go there. So I just waited for him to complete the sentence. "I'm so glad I married you because I no longer have to catch the garter at weddings!" Was he serious? Of all the sweet romantic things he could have said, he is so glad he married me for that? But there was little time for me to be upset. I couldn't help but laugh. With wedding season just around the corner and my brother and sister both getting married in the fall, it could definitely wear a guy out having to leap through the air in an attempt to snatch a lacy garter from a guy who's had little experience at shooting them off to a crowd of lonely boys. I'm so, so glad I could spare Jeff from such an inconvenience!

Ouch!

One day you can walk easily under a table, and one day you cannot. It is a huge milestone in the life of a toddler, but none of the books seem to mention it. I'm proud to say that Graham can no longer walk under the table or the desk without hitting his head. After a week of tears and bumps, I think he has finally caught on. Now he only gazes nostalgically at the space between the floor and the top of the table and remembers fondly the games he once played. And as he grows, he's moving on to bigger and better things. These days he is a little preoccupied with doing his squats, building a tower of blocks (just two), and saying, "Go, go, go!" Who knows what's next?

Knocking on Heaven's Door

It's amazing how quickly things change. I thought Graham was going to be pouty and unhappy forever, and now he is back to his usual, happy self...for the most part, at least! He's walking all over the place and those teeth are finally coming in! And since things are going pretty well, I thought I'd share a few cute stories about Graham. He's being pretty adorable these days!
One day this week I was sitting on the ground singing,"Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door..." The poor kid is going to be so confused about what is a real kids' song. One minute I'm singing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and the next I'm singing "Knocking on Heaven's Door!" But while I was singing, Graham crawled out of my lap, walked over to the wall and began knocking. It was pretty cute...no no, it was not a fluke! He has just recently made the word connection.
Yesterday, I was brushing my hair which is a pretty rare occurence. If you have curly hair, you understand. Brushing it just makes the curls look funny. But anyway, I guess since Graham never sees me do it, he was quite fascinated with the whole thing. When I finished, he picked up the brush and began brushing his own hair and mine as well. It's so funny watching him become a little copy cat.
And then today while I was getting ready in the bathroom, Graham snatched a piece of toliet paper off the roll, put it up to his nose, and walked around the house trying to blow. We've obviously done lots of nose blowing the past few weeks and the kid has caught on.
It's all quite adorable, but it also makes me a little nervous. Graham is going to start copying me- the good, the bad, the silly, and the ridiculous!