What a difference 3 years can make

Three years ago today I took a pregnancy test and my whole world changed! I remember it like it was yesterday...

I was going to my friend's house to have her color my hair and was feeling really down. Drew and I had been "not preventing" (I was trying. Drew was having fun.) for a few months and I was getting discouraged. Even though I was 2 days late I was pretty certain I wasn't pregnant. Ironically that was the first thing I blurted out when I walked into Holly's house that night, "I'm 2 days late!", I said. She grabbed her purse and announced, "We're going to Walmart!". I kept refusing to take the test, but around 8:30 she finally convinced me since Drew was working late that night and I wanted to be home before him. Much to my surprise it was immediately positive! I yelled for Holly and she came bursting through the door, camera in hand, screaming and jumping up and down. I, however, just sat the test on the counter and stared at in disbelief. I kept thinking, oh my gosh! It works!

We determined when my due date would be (thanks to Baby Center's website) and tried to decide how to tell Drew he was going to be a daddy. When I got home I opened our Bible to Psalm 139 and highlighted the passage that says,

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous, how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the darkness of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. "

I placed the pregnancy test on the Bible with a note next to it that said, "We love you, Daddy!". It felt like an eternity had passed before Drew finally got home. I was sitting on the couch as I watched him walk into our room. I heard him say, "Whaaat?" Then he came out, test in hand, and said, "REALLY?" and the rest is history.

Here's that little second line today...

Women of Faith

I spent last Friday and Saturday worshipping, laughing, crying, and dancing with 11,000 other women at the Women of Faith conference. To say it was awesome is an understatement. Leaving the kids with a sitter two days in a row was hard. And I struggled with Mom Guilt the whole weekend, but it was worth it. I got to spend time with some of my best girls, sing at the top of my lungs, worship with abandon, and quiet myself so I that could really hear from God. Why can't I do that on a regular basis, you ask? I asked myself the same thing and have decided to do just that from now on. To be intentional about my walk.

During lunch on Saturday my friend asked what my favorite part had been so far. At the time I couldn't answer - I was loving all of it. After digesting all of it I can tell you exactly what my favorite part was...

Sandy Patty was one of the singers and guest speakers. Now, typically I'm not really into the style of music she usually does. But I found myself enjoying her as a speaker and relating to what she was talking about. At the end of her talk she sang "We Shall Behold Him". I'm sure some of you just let out a huge "Ohhh" and know exactly which song I'm referring to. (Unfortunately this was the first time I had heard it.) The song is beautifully written and her voice is absolutely incredible! Something about that song brought tears to my eyes... But my favorite part was that she signed the entire song herself for the section of women who were deaf/hard of hearing. AND THEN...just as she was nearing the end (and her highest notes) the hearing impaired women stood up and signed along with her! It was awesome, the entire arena was filled with women worshipping our God... All I could think was, "this is what Heaven's going to be like!". Except its not! There won't be any denominational boundaries in Heaven, we'll all know each other's names in Heaven, we'll all have the best voices and Heavenly bodies (woo hoo!) and best of all... there won't be any disabilities. All those women who were signing with Sandy will be SINGING with Sandy someday.

If thats not amazing, I don't know what is.

Nothin' like a FIRST birthday party...or TWO!

Here's our baby girl at exactly one year old - 6PM August 4, 2010.

Her stats: 21# 13.5 oz

28 1/2 inches long

The first of her birthday parties: The Polka Dot Party!

The girl loves her some chocolate cake!

The double party with her cousin, Carter, who will be one this Saturday!

(the theme for the cake was "Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails..." and "Sugar and spice and everything nice..." And it was DELICOUS!)

The birthday babies and their mommies.

Bringing up Boys

Lately my favorite time of day has been just before I go to bed at night. For some reason I've forgotten how early my kids wake up and end up staying up way too late; usually climbing in bed sometime around midnight every night. But without fail, the last thing I do before hitting the pillow is check on the kids.

Corrinne is always so sweet and cherub-like and hardly ever stirs. But Cash on the other hand, he's always got something funny or sweet to say in his groggy, half-asleep state of mind. Tonight while I was tucking him in (a regular request of his) I was stroking his hair and telling him good-night as he repeated those words back to me. Then just as I was about to walk out he said, "Batman ni-night. Spiderman ni-night too, Momma."

Good to know, Cash. Good to know.

Farewell Jungle Wall Mural!

Today was a big day for Cash! He got to eat lunch at his favorite place: Chi-la-la (Chick-fil-a) WITH his BFF, Zeke, and then we purchased his new bedding! We've been looking at bedding for his BBR (Big Boy Room) for awhile and settled on this collection a few months back - The Teen Spirit Quilt by Circo from Target.

Honestly, I don't think really cares at this point but Mommy & Daddy LOVE it! Now we just need to come up with something cool to do with the walls! We're open to suggestions... :)

On your FIRST birthday...

Dear Corrinne,

You are one year old, sweet girl! You probably hear me say this a lot but I really can't believe how quickly you're growing up! It doesn't seem possible that its been 12 whole months since we were sitting in the hospital staring at you wondering who you would become...

You had me fooled, I'll tell you that right now! As a newborn you were the most serious, laid-back, easy-going baby I'd ever met. You didn't need rocked, you didn't cry, you didn't fuss. As long as you had some warm milk from mommy and a clean bootie you were good to go! I almost felt like you didn't need me! Even when you started becoming mobile you were pretty easy-going. Your cousin, Carter, would scoot circles around you. Literally! Papaw has a video of you sitting in the same spot while Carter does laps around you and you just stare at him as if you were thinking, "Can you just calm down, please?". :) You were cool, calm, and collected. And then BAM! You brought out the big guns!

Girlfriend you truly are sugar and spice and everything nice...and I love that about you! You have the sweetest smile, listening to you sing melts my heart, but you can tell your brother off like you've been doing it for years! Sometimes Daddy and I giggle a little bit because its so funny to see such a small little lady acting so grown up. You definitely have your mind made up and if we're not following your plan, you let us know. You already possess so many qualities I wish I had; you're adventurous, courageous, fearless, and confident. Baby girl, please don't ever let those go. I want you to grow up using those to serve the LORD.

Last night I went in to check on you before I went to bed and you were stirring a little bit so I took the opportunity to snuggle with you for a minute. You were all squishy, sleepy, and had some awesome bed-head going on! ;) I rocked you for a few minutes and told you it was your birthday and how thankful your daddy and I are that God chose us to be your parents. I also told you that He has so many awesome things planned for you life and to never ever lose sight of Him. He is your ticket through life, sweet girl. With Him, you can do anything your sweet little heart desires. Anything. I can't wait to see what that is.

Being your mommy is one of the greatest adventures I've been on. I love you more than I know how to explain.

Mommy :)

Turn the playlist off at the bottom of the screen before viewing the video.

One year ago tomorrow...

Its the first Tuesday in August and the sky is dark, there's thunder in the distance and its raining.

A year ago, on the first Tuesday in August the weather was just like this. I was 39 weeks pregnant sitting in my OB's office waiting to find out if I had dilated any more since the day before... hours later I was holding precious little newborn Corrinne.

I wish so badly I could go back and relive that moment. There is nothing in this world like meeting your baby.

You can read more about that crazy day here.