Winterfest

Edit: 2/25/06 Thanks for the picture Papa!

So I'm back at home after a weekend of Winterfest. It was a really good trip. The lessons were excellent and the kids had a great attitude and got along very well. It was different for us and for them. I've been glad to get the firsts out of the way. I think with everything we've done, there is the memory of last year, we were with someone else for both us and for them. Anyway, transition is usually somewhat painful. We miss those that we love and it wouldn't be normal if we didn't. We're coming up on a year here. I can't believe it's been that long. I will be glad when we can say, "hey remember last year". Anyway, enough about that.

Well, my wonderful parents came up to Gatlinburg and kept Emma in Pegion Forge while we were at Winterfest. Afterwards, we stayed an extra day with my parents and sister's family. It was really nice to be able to relax after Winterfest and to spend some time with them. But, I wish we could have had more than one day. I have to see them again soon. I miss them so much.

Well, Emma and I had a sweet little conversation this morning. She asked me if her daddy used to be a little boy. I told her yes and she said she wanted to see a picture of him when he was a little boy. I told her that she would have to ask Nana and Papa because I didn't have any. Then I explained to her that Daddy used to live with Nana and Papa and I used to live with Nonna and Paw Paw and they were our momma's and daddy's and we didn't live together until we grew up and got married. And then I told her that one day, she would grow up and get married and have her own house and she would be a mother. She got very excited about being a mother. She said, "I get to be a mother?" I told her yes and she said, "I get to be a mother but I'm going to live with you". Obviously, I don't want that to happen but for now, I'm so glad that she can't imagine being with anyone but her daddy and me. Could I possibly love another one this much?

Nana and Papa, could we get a picture please?

Well, I need to study, have a test tomorrow. I'll try to put a picture up soon.

Love from above,

Dana

Quick Update

So it turns out that I'm not as much as of multitasker as I had once thought. Turns out that college student, mother, and youth minister's wife is quite a role to fill. Anyway, I don't have much time. I have class in an hour. But my mother keeps telling me to make sure that I record all of the cute and funny things that Emma says because though it seems like I will remember forever, it is inevitable that I will forget. So, I didn't want these to slip by.

Yesterday, she woke up and looked at the window and said, "oh no, it's snowing". Adam said, "I thought you liked snow". Emma said, "I like princesses".

Today, as she was strutting around in her Cinderella costume, I told her to put something up in her room. She then with quite a little attitude, went into the bathroom and shut the door. I opened the door and gave her a little smack on the bottom and she then informed me that she was Cinderella and Cinderella doesn't get spankings. Oh goodness she's sassy.

Well Happy Valentine's Day!

Love from above,

Dana

Introducing: Baylor Payne Necessary

My best friend Kristen is a mommy again! He's so adorable! Congratulations Brian, Kristen and Camden. We love you guys.

Not My Day!!

Ok, so yesterday was not my day.

For the first unfortunate event, I must give a litte background. Emma has been sick. On, Sunday, we went to the teen superbowl party. Emma was sitting in my lap and she began to throw up. She had had fettucine alfredo for lunch so, without going in to much detail, it was unpleasant. My apologies to the 10 to 12 girls that were sitting there with us when this untimely occurance took place. Anyway, so we came home, got cleaned up and by the next day, she seemed to be feeling fine. Although she kept sneezing a lot. Well, yesterday, she sneezed and when I went to wipe her nose it was a noodle... from Sunday!! I'm not even sure how that happened but, my poor baby! Since, she has stopped sneezing


Then,
I headed off to school. First, I spilled a bottle of water in my purse ruining my bible, my wallet and my cell phone. Then I got the results of the tests that I took on Thursday back. Well you see, I had two tests back to back in history and literature. When studying, I concentrated on the history because it was to be two questions that we had to write a two page essay on each. Well, I made a 93 on that test which I was a little upset about until I got the lit test back on which I got a 72. Well, actually it's not a 72 because it was only worth 50 points but, you get what I'm saying. I am so not an English student. And I have no interest in reading works that were not good enough to be sold in book stores and were therefore, put into a literature book. So, I was really bummed about that. I seriously almost cried. But, since it was only worth 50 points, I'm hoping it won't hurt my grade too much.

Then, when I got home, Emma was taking a bath and pooped in the bath tub. Luckily, Adam had pity on me for having such a bad day and cleaned out the bathtub and I cleaned up emma.

But, today, I woke up and God had magically healed my cell phone. I know you are probably thinking that it simply dried out but I say it was God. I need to feel that something bigger and better than me is in control. And, I'm about to go to ladies bible study. I know it is more of God that I need right now. That, and a little Kenny Rogers ;). So, today is going to be a better day.

Look for a more pleasant post soon but I just needed to get that off my chest.

Love from above,

Dana

Emma the Theologian

I thought I would share with all you moms a cute and easy kid's dish idea. I made it for Emma for lunch and she loved it.



Looks like Emma may be taking after her daddy. At two and a half, she's already trying to figure this God stuff out. We had an ongoing converstation all day Sunday. It started during the contribution. We always give her money to put into the plate and we tell her that, "we are giving the money to Jesus". I guess it just makes sense that if we are giving money to Jesus, that he would be coming to pick it up. So, Emma says, "Is Jesus coming today"? I told her that he could possibly be coming today but probably not. Then she says, "Does Jesus have a car"? I told her that I didn't think so and that Jesus lived in heaven and when he came that he would come down out of the sky and then we'd all get to live in heaven with him. She then said, "I get to go to heaven"? I told her that everyone that believed and followed Jesus would be in heaven and that we'd be very happy there. All of this during the contribution mind you. On the way home from our nice lunch and visit with the Johnson's, we saw a rainbow. I pointed it out to her and we talked about how beautiful it was and I explained to her that God put the rainbow in the sky to show that he would never flood the earth again the way he did when Noah built the ark. On the way to church Sunday night she asked, "can I see the rainbow now"? I told her no, that it was gone now. She asked, "are there rainbows in heaven"?. I told her that I thought there would be many rainbows in heaven. And she said, "I think Jesus wrote on the sky". I guess that in a way she is right. Though I've never had the words to put it so beautifully simple. That will probably go down in history as one my all time favorites.

The picture is from a "princess birthday party" we went to on Saturday. It was lots of fun. Well, it's off to school for me.

Love from above,

Dana

Ok, I really don't have time to make a post but I wanted to give my husband a break and put the lottery post behind so, I'm going to tell you something you may not know about me. (by the way, Adam is a wonderful husband and father and I love him dearly, he just went through a brief stupid streak last week hence, the lottery post) So anyway, something you may not know about me...


I LOVE KENNY ROGERS. It's the strangest thing I know, but I just love his voice. I can be having a bad day and put in a Kenny Rogers CD and it just makes it all better. Just thought I'd get that weirdness out in the open.

And for those of you that could care less and are only reading this to see what Emma is up to: She's still on this baby kick. First she said that she was getting a baby sister and she was coming in the mail. Then she said that she was getting a baby sister and she was in my tummy. Now she says that she's getting a baby sister and a baby brother but they are still in heaven with God. Whew, I'm glad about that one. Hopefully we can keep them there until I finish school.
She also told one of the teenagers yesterday that "God likes it when we share". All though she has not perfected the use of this concept, I'm thrilled to know were moving in that direction.

And to my annonymous commentor... Don't you all just love anonymous comments? I am very blessed to be able to stay at home with my child. Adam and Emma are my life and next to God, nothing is more important to me. However, you should know that most stay at home moms sacrifice quite a lot to be able to stay at home. And I would give up so much more to be able to remain doing it. And, none of us are sitting on the couch watching soap operas and eating bon bons. We work our tails off.

On a little more of a serious note, I've been thinking a lot about what Patrick Ward (the guy who is teaching our Sunday school class) said on Sunday. "It's not what people do or say to you in life that defines who you are, it's what you think about what people do or say to you that defines who you are". Wow, that's a hard pill to swallow. I think there is a lot of wisdom in that.

So anyway, I have homework and Huckleberry Finn awaits me. Hope you all have a wonderful Day.

Love from above,

Dana

If I Ever Win the Lottery

If I ever win the lottery... First of all I'd like to say this: If any of you uptight religious fanatics are reading this and freaking out because the youth ministers wife is playing the lottery, I don't actually play the lottery. It's just a dream I have... So anyway, if I ever win the lottery.... I'm going to have someone have my babies. Then I'm going to have someone who will get up in the middle of the night and nurse them while they are infants and then comfort them when they have bad dreams or wet the bed when they are older. All while I sleep soundly. This person will also cook for me, do my laundry, fix meals especially the larger meals that need to be fixed for dinner guests. She will do the grocery shopping and go to great lengths to make sure that I get a healthy diet (even though I will resist it terribly). She will balance the check book and pay the bills. On the occasions that I decide that I need the newest trend and buy it on a whim, she will decide where that money comes from to pay for it. She will secure my future through retirement funds. She will arrange savings plans for my children to go to college. She will take my kids to the doctor, and denist. She will give them medicine when they resist it. She will do all the hard stuff so I can insure that my kids see me as "the fun one" On the rare occasion that I do have to take my children out by myself. She will make sure that they are bathed clothed and that their hair is fixed before I leave. She will pack a bag that has anything that I might need in an emergency. And she will be waiting by her cell phone in case something happens that I can't handle. Yes, I if I ever win the lottery, I will lead the grandest life. But, then, I will be Adam.

Disney Princesses

We had a wonderful family weekend. On Friday evening, Emma was adorn in Snow White apparel and we joined hundreds of other little princesses to see Disney's Princesses on Ice. I don't know if I enjoyed the ice skating show or seeing all the little girls in their costumes more. Emma was in heaven and I enjoyed myself quite a bit too. I think Adam even had fun. I want to make a point to do more things just as a family. We probably can't afford to see ice skating every weekend but a picnic every now and then, just the three of us, wouldn't hurt. We did have a little fright after the show. (Did that sound English?) We were headed down the escalators with a huge crowd behind us and Emma's shoe string got stuck in it when we were trying to get off. A lady behind us started yelling, "keep moving, keep moving". Luckily, I think quick in those type of situations and I just took her shoe off and left it. The string eventually broke and we got the shoe back. I was about ready to strangle this lady for being so rude and apathetic about our peril until I realized that she wasn't trying to be rude at all but that she was in fact thinking about the well being of my child. Had they all stopped, then they would have soon fell on top of her. I could stop and make a God illustration here but you people are smart, I'm sure you can handle it. Anyway, it was a lovely evening and I will admit to you that Disney brought the little girl out in me and even I did a little dreaming about being a beautiful princess in a long dress dancing with my prince (Adam of course :)). Oh the magic of being a little girl and dreaming big.

On Saturday morning, I left Emma with Adam and went shopping by myself. I also will admit to you that I enjoyed myself with this too. I actually tried on the clothes in the store instead of waiting until I got home. I got a couple of great deals.

Saturday afternoon we went to Emma's friend Anna's birthday party. It was at a gymnastics place and we of course, had lots of fun. Again, wonderful weekend where we got to spend lots of family time together.

Today, I registered for school. Yep, I'm going to school again. I felt like a teenager which is good because in reality I'm getting old. I'm turning 28 on Thursday! It's crazy. But that's ok because Adam is turning 30. Anyway, so I start classes tomorrow. It's weird. I've got to go to school tomorrow. Wow. Well, that's it in a nutshell. Pray that I still know how to study!

Until next time... I hope you get your prince or princess as the case may be.

Love from above,

Dana

Happy New You!

A couple years ago we went to a youth rally right before New Years. One of the speakers did a talk about starting the year a new as a new you. We went around the whole weekend saying Happy New You! instead of Happy New Year. I don't even know who the speaker was but the thought has always stuck in my head. We had a wonderful Christmas and I'm going to tell you about that in a minute but first, I want to tell you what I love about starting a new year. When I was a child, Christmas would end and I would always feel a little down. I spent the day with a couple of the teens, Sam and Anna yesterday and I could definately sense this with them. It was like we had this huge build up for months and then we woke up Christmas morning, opened the presents, headed to my grandmothers house and by the time we got home that evening, the signs of Christmas were already beginning to fade. At the risk of sounding like an old person... I am glad to see Christmas go... I think that it could be that Christmas is possibly the season that I give the least attention to "the reason for the season" Jesus. I'm ashamed to say it but it's true. It is a busy time... We cut bible lessons short, by the time we get to bed, we are so tired that we make bible stories quick. I don't know if there is a way to prevent that.. I hope in the years to come I'm more successful in celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. But for now, the calendar has rolled over, and it gives me a reason to remember what Jesus did for me and that the slate is clean not just once a year but continuously. So, in celebration of the true meaning of Christmas, Happy New You!!

We made a very loooonnng journey to Alabama. Emma was very pleasant in our travels. On the way home, we were in the car for 14 hours and she did not fuss once. We made many McDonalds play land stops along the way and Emma now has friends in every state from here to Alabama even though she doesn't know their names.

We were visited by some friends and family at my moms on Friday before Christmas. On Saturday, we left Emma to be spoiled rotten by my mother while Adam and I went on a last minute scavanger hunt for some of those hard to find Christmas gifts. We were very sucessful in our endeavors and even had time for lunch with our good friends Johnny and Jenny Brown. On Christmas Eve, we had dinner with my life long friend Kristen and her husband Brian. Emma and her little boy Camden had so much fun playing together. I really think they love each other and I can't help but wonder if it's because they know that their mommies love each other so much. I have to give my wonderful mother a huge thanks for letting us totally invade her house and preparing all kinds of food for me to be able to have all these people over to her house. I'm sure your mother is great but she can't possibly be as wonderful as mine :) Unless, you are Denise of course.

On Sunday, we opened gifts and then headed on to Adam's parents where we opened gifts again. I was completely thrilled to find out that Adam's mom was buying us a new dishwasher. Mine broke right before Thanksgiving and we went through the whole holiday season washing dishes by hand. Now I know that that's how people used to do it but frankly, it stinks and I enjoy modern technology. She also gave me a Roomba vacuum. I don't know if you're familiar with the Roomba but again, great modern technology. It vaccums itself. Those two items should give me back about 25 hours of every week. That's a whole extra day!! While we were at Adam's parents, we went to Dothan and met up with the White's from PC and had a nice visit with them. On Tuesday, we started our long journey back on. We had a wonderful time visiting with our families!

Since we have been home, we have started potty training.. yet again, but we are having much more success this go around. I think it's because of the big girl bed with a princess cover and princess pillow I have promised Emma. Hey, whatever works. Anyway.. Emma is up so it's time for me to go. Until next time, Happy New You!

Love,

Dana

It's nine degrees outside!! Brr

Aunt Jan taught Emma some words in Spanish when she was visiting this summer. Since then, we've been working on our Spanish vocabularies. We know some body parts, how to count and a few phrases. We went to the church last night to help with the benevolence Christmas packages. On the way home, she kept telling me she didn't want to go home. Then she said, "How do you say I don't want to go home in Spanish"? LOL