18+

Time is a crazy thing.. In this case, it moved at an insanely alarming pace, yet not at all. For 18 years (18, I tell ya) one thing has remained the same. A friendship.... And it isn't normal. My best friend moved away when we were in the 8th grade (It was a painful day for my entire family). So, for 16 of those 18 years we were/are in different states.Our moms spent lots of days driving us back and forth until we were old enough to ride the airport shuttle (one of us rode it more than the other...she was such a trooper). Then, we were old enough to actually drive to see each other.... and our matching cars (totally not planned, but this picture sure was...careful coordination took place when I got to her house and realized we had the same shirt).We spent lots of weeks during lots of summers together. Lots of Christmas breaks. Surprise visits. Boyfriends. Engagements. Weddings (one of us flew all the way from Japan for the other's wedding-do you see a trend. She is the better friend) Memories....oh the memories. We've laughed, cried, yelled, fought and laughed some more. We've been through death together and now life.... Our girls are a little over two months a part in age (no, it wasn't planned...she jinxed us), but because of life's adventures, they just now finally got to meet for the first time. Wanna talk about surreal. It was amazing. I couldn't believe we were sitting at a table talking, while OUR girls giggled (or fought) and we both shot each other looks. It's safe to say they've met their match.... And my heart overflowed. I begged AJK to stay and live with me forever because she is a mini-me of her momma and I could handle a dose of her in my life EVERY day. I think she considered it for just a second (AJK, I woulda given you yogurt with a spoon, but the commander and chief said NO). Jason was just glad to finally see a little girl the same height as EB. This girl... This girl is amazing. She always has it together. She is an awesome wife, a better mom and a wonderful friend. Her husband defends our country. She is smart, talented, crafty, level-headed, hilarious, can give JB a dose of his own medicine, is tough as nails and can design a mean kitchen. She was the one that did the math of 18 years while talking to me AND driving down the road- I would have had to pull over so I could count on my fingers. They now live in Texas (one of us stopped in Bham to see the other as they made their trek back)... I'm just glad they're back on common soil. She's the reason our girls got to meet.... It was a precious precious moment for me. I love you, sister-friend. Y'all were the highlight of our summer. Can we do it again soon? Do y'all have dinner plans tonight?

Say what?

As with most two year olds, my child can often be hilarious as she explores and figures out her vocabulary. While this is mostly for my memory, I was told the following things all within a matter of, say…… 30 minutes:

There is one particular praise and worship song that EB LOVES. We sing it most nights before she falls asleep. It’s rather long and wordy, so not only am I proud of her that she knows the words, but her little voice redefines a joyful noise….. and instead of “worshipping you my King,” she likes to “shampoo my King.” You know what they say, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” Preach on, sister.However, on the heels of a praise and worship song was a conversation about a tent they put in their classroom yesterday when I asked where it came from and what it was for, I was told, “I gonna sweep in that tent wif a BOY ‘cause I a BIIIIIG gurl.” We quickly cleared that up and got things set straight.

Jason was out of town and in a phone conversation I overheard, “Ok cool, dad.” Cool that I sleep in a tent with boys (kidding)? Cool that she poured the dog food all over the kitchen floor? Cool that he was on his way home? Only the 2-going-on-13-year-old can truly say. “You wike my hair when you dwy it.” Yep, I do. You look beautiful. “I AM beauty-ful.” Glad she’s so shy and humble.

Lastly, we live in the south. We wear bows, smocked clothes and more than not, we monogram EVERYTHING. Well, I was informed that, “I not wear dos bows NO MORE… and no dwesses!” We’ll see who wins that battle because some ARE worth fighting (she wore a T-shirt and shorts to school. I’ll start tomorrow).

Gottadowhatchagottado

Nowadays when we go to the lake on any given weekend, we have the following in tow: 3 [soon-to-be-large, 65 lbs+] dogs, 4 adults, 1 child, luggage and groceries. This seems mild, I’m sure, to larger families, but I’m not sure I’ve ever mentioned that we don’t have road access. We get to the cabin by boat. So, now, maybe that puts some perspective on things.

With a puppy and young child in tow, it can get a little nutty. Neither can swim, but both love the water. To add to that madness while trying to make the water commute, they both love each other. All that to say, there are a few ways we’ve learned to travel with these two. It’s just easier to make sure that puppy and child are secure with no risk of unsupervised swimming…. No ant bed counting….or encounters with things that sliver...and so on. This new way of managing just makes it easier on the mind……



For the record: She climbed in on her own accord. Laughed hysterically. Asked that Buck climb in with her. We got a picture and both were freed and left to their own devices…while wearing a lifejacket.

Feeling fancy

I had enough of the long stringy hair. I chopped it all off. I gasped, but it's nothing that a bow can't fix.She told her friends at school that she got "new hair."

With her new hair, must have come a new 'tude free of charge.

Also, a position as the newest SU cheerleader.

As well as the nerve to dance with her "family," as she calls them, in front of heaven only knows how many people.

At the end of the day, she still loves me for chopping off her "two pony tails."

7:30 every Thursday morning

You may know this, but every Thursday morning I meet my grandparents for breakfast. In the past year or so we’ve started having a younger breakfast companion join us. Of course, she brings lots of early morning spirit and makes a few folk’s day in the process.

This morning, the crew all matched (except for yours truly because I wear black every day of my life).These memories and moments are so precious to me. I love riding down the escalator and seeing them sitting there waiting for us. It’s just a special time every Thursday morning, and an opportunity to burn precious memories in my brain and hopefully EB’s as well.Unless I’m traveling or have a meeting, we DO NOT miss Thursday breakfast. It is very much a constant placeholder on my weekly calendar. AND… If I’m late, my blackberry starts buzzing from my coworkers telling me that my grandparents are waiting. They’ve made their mark!

A morning moment

This child makes my cup runneth over pretty much all the time (despite her sass). This morning during our normal routine she looked at me and said, “You make me so happy.” I melted. While two events have already threatened my mood today, I feel invincible after our little exchange at 6:30 a.m. Thank you, Lord for such a precious little gift in the form of a two year old with the sweetest voice I’ve ever heard. AND.... she has NO idea how happy she makes us on a daily basis.

So thankful for her little life.

Summer swimming

There comes a time in every young girl’s life where she must…well…sink or swim. Tis that time for little EB who has ABSOLUTELY no fear of the water. There are nerves when you’re at a pool, but when you’re a regular lake goer, the nerves are unprecedented and..well.. she must learn to swim. Learning to “swim” is a bit relative. By “swimming” I mean blowing bubbles in the water at this stage, but she’ll get there. Better to blow them than inhale them. We have a sweet friend who let it slip that she teaches swimming lessons on the side. PR by day (bless her…she sits near me) and swim teacher and wedding planning extraordinaire by night (please don’t kill me for this shameless plug, AW). I have NO idea of her schedule, but if you’re interested, let me know and we’ll see if we can work it out. All I know is that you can’t have Wednesday evenings or Saturday mornings during my time because…EB must learn to sink or swim. I didn’t give AW enough credit. My child performs wonderfully FOR HER and is making great progress lesson after lesson. Kids are amazing and I often underestimate her abilities as a little tyke. I thought I was good with kids…AW blows me out of the water in patience, how she communicates with EB and her overall effectiveness. So, here’s to her not making too big of a splash….

Thank you, Miss Allison, for teaching us how to swim. You are the highlight of EB's week.

Also, a shameless plug for Honey Bee Tees (that's a link). EB LOVES her fish shirt and must wear it weekly only b/c I tell her it's dirty the other 6 days that she requests to wear it.