A REAL Date!!

Dave and I had SO much fun last night! We ended up eating dinner out and then headed to the new sports complex here in Charlotte, Sports Connection, for some bowling. We haven't bowled since before we were even dating so it was fun to enjoy a few games with just the two of us. My average score was 66 so Dave easily more than doubled my average . . . but I do have to say that he used to be in several leagues and owns his own shoes and ball!!! We stayed out late and really enjoyed just catching up with each other. What a perfect Valentine's night out.

It is such a blessing to have wonderful friends willing to babysit on a Friday night. I think Dave was more worried than I was because he kept checking the phone around Savannah's bed time to see if one of our four sitters had called. I was completely worry free for the first time in a VERY long time. I knew she was in very capable hands here with Jenny and Heather. We arrived home to find out that Savannah played hard and really enjoyed cooking in her kitchen with Dave and Todd. Way to keep her busy guys! Thanks again to the Karhans and Neals for being willing to watch our little Savannah.

Happy Valentine's Day

Dave and I are officially celebrating Valentine's Day tonight, but we have still had fun with Savannah the past two days. Yesterday Dave surprised me with my favorite red tulips and then we had our annual Cheesecake Factory cheesecake to celebrate the holiday. Once Savannah was born we decided that waiting over an hour in line and then another couple of hours through dinner was just too much for a baby so we shortened our tradition of eating at the Cheesecake Factory to just take out cheesecake. Boy was it yummy! We opened cards and let Savannah rip into her new safari puzzle last night as well.

Today, Elizabeth and I hosted the Valentine's party for Savannah and Jack's WEE school class. We had cupcakes with sprinkles, some stickers, and big red balloons. The kids had a blast. Savannah managed to eat the paper on her cupcake . . . as you can see she crammed the entire thing in her mouth all at once.

We are SO excited to be going on a real date tonight. There are four adults coming to watch and entertain Savannah so they should have it covered. Who knows where we end up, but thanks in advance to Heather, Dave, Jenny, and Todd for giving up a Friday night for us. We owe you one!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to all of our family and friends. We love you bunches!!

Lunch on a Toothpick

I have struggled for some time with getting Savannah to try new foods. Since September she's eaten the same three or four things EVERY DAY!! Every night I offer her what we're eating for dinner and every time she refuses with an emphatic "NO". I've also made it a habit to hit the sample domes on every trip to Harris Teeter just to see if she's interested in any new foods. On several occassions she's eaten some deli meat, but only in the store. Once I buy it and get home she again refuses to eat it. Today, however, I outsmarted the little bugger. While shopping for groceries, I noticed that there was some ham on sale again, but no samples available. I nicely asked the deli associate if we could try some and he kindly sliced us a couple of pieces. (I know he's thinking we just want a free lunch as everyone knows how ham tastes!) I offered it to Savannah and she refused. As I'm standing there wondering what in the world made this ham different than other kinds that she's eaten from the sample domes before, I realized it was all in the presentation . . . she likes to eat from a toothpick. I again kindly asked the deli associate for a favor, this time a toothpick. I'm sure now he really thinks I'm nuts!! I put the ham on the end of one, and she eats it right away. Let's just say we ate lunch on a toothpick today. I'll do anything to get her to eat something other than peanut butter sandwiches and chicken nuggets! :)

A Weekend of Celebrations

This has been such a full weekend for us. On Saturday I helped with a baby shower for our precious friend, Jenny Neal. It was much fun watching her open so many cute baby items and getting excited over onesies! I also enjoyed spending time catching up with old friends who have moved away and others who I just haven't seen in a long time. Oh how excited I'm already getting about welcoming baby Jake. He is so lucky to have parents like Jenny and Todd!!

Then, yesterday after church we headed to Greenville to celebrate Dave's sister's birthday. We ate at a great restaurant with their family and Dave's parents who had driven up from Atlanta. After an afternoon of playing (see picture of Savannah and Alyssa on the swingset) and some yummy ice cream cake, we headed back to Charlotte. I have to say it was the easiest trip we've ever taken with Savannah thanks to our new DVD player we got for Christmas. Thanks Dad and Deborah!! She loved watching Veggie Tales the entire trip and we didn't hear a peep out of her as long as the "T" was on. I had never seen Veggie Tales before, but what a great show! It now only teaches Bible stories, but is very captivating for children to watch . . . at least I felt a little less guilty for letting her watch this one!

Little Miss Trouble

Over the past two days Savannah has really found herself in lots of trouble!!! Yesterday as I was trying to get dinner ready early in the day she managed to get a hold of my nicely organized recipe box. Just as I realized that things were quiet and turned to see what she was doing, she started tearing out card after card. I yelled no and she took off with a few of the cards. She went straight to her favorite chair and started "reading" the recipes. Here is a picture of her deciding what she would like to have.


Then, today I decided to take a quick look at my e-mail and shortly after logging on heard a loud squeal, not the I'm hurt one or the mad one, just a shocking scream. I thought things were okay since I didn't hear crying . . . until she showed up in the office with her B soaking wet. Yep, you guessed it, she got into the water on the refrigerator again. After arriving in the kitchen I found puddles all over the floor from her emptying my water bottle. I guess she was trying to refill it and got soaked in the process.


Lastly, my long awaited Christmas china finally arrived today. She kept begging to "O" the box so I finally gave in since I was on the phone trying to make hotel reservations. It took no more than 10 seconds for her to pull out tons of those staticy peanuts used in packaging and squash them all over the floor!! AAHH!!!

Girls' Night Out and Family Night Out

To say that my husband is wonderful is definitely an understatement! A HUGE thank you goes out to Dave, who sacrificed a ton yesterday so that I could go out with the girls during month end. We NEVER get to do anything during month end as that is Dave's busy time . . . we planned our wedding around it, Savannah's birth around it, and continue to plan vacations around it as he simply cannot be out of the office during that time. Well, yesterday he went in early and probably skipped lunch just so that he could be home by 7ish so I could go to the movies with the girls from Bible study. As I left the house, he was rolling up his sleeves from a long day at the office and getting ready to bathe Savannah. I LOVE HIM!!!

So, yes, I was able to escape from my position here as CEO of this household and have a wonderfully fun night with the girls. I cannot even remember the last time I went ot the movies, but I do remember that it only cost about $6 a ticket and I thought that was a lot . . . tonight, the ticket was a whopping $9.50!! Thankfully I had a voucher from years ago for free admission. We went to see 27 Dresses, very cute by the way.

We also had a night out as a family for a Super Bowl party on Sunday. The Fulmers had us and the Annans over. Amazing how parties change when kids are in the picture! Here is a picture of Will and Savannah playing with puzzles. Dave commented on the way home that this was the first Super Bowl party ever where we watched next to no football . . . wonder why?!

Cherished Friends

This has been a pretty hard week for me. I'm not sure if it was just the thought of not having a break with WEE school being closed today, the many chores and errands that I wanted to get done, or the discussion at Bible study about children who are sick with cancer, but none the less, by Wednesday night I was completely exhausted . . . physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. I never thought that being a stay at home mom could be so tiresome, but honestly lately I've struggled again with doubt as to whether this is really where God wants me. Satan has really had a hold of my mind lately as I've begun to wonder if I'm really a good mom and have continued to struggle with trying to balance playing with Savannah and keeping things in order around the house.

As most of you know I'm a busy body and like things in order, neat, and checked off of the list. At times I think I'm a little OCD about it too. Anyway, after a week without a break (other than 1 hour when mom was here on Monday) and trying to keep things going along with my hobby of e-bay I just couldn't take it anymore. I guess this was a little apparent at Bible study. I didn't mention anything about my situation, other than to request prayer for Savannah who's started throwing up after eating yogurt, but by Thursday morning three of the girls in Bible study had called to check on me.

I'm here to tell you these are cherished friends. They have their own children to care for to but took time to call and make sure things were okay with me. After one long phone conversation with a near and dear friend, I've realized that some things are going to have to go . . . maybe it's the e-bay hobby, maybe it's updating the blog, laundry, errands, or maybe just a different thing each week, but I'm only one person and just can't do it all! This precious woman ended our conversation with a prayer, and I can't even describe how quickly God answered her prayer. Savannah slept longer for her nap than she has in weeks and the afternoon just flew by.

Dear Lord, thank you SO much for my sweet, sweet friends both near and afar. I'm honored to have each of them in my life and truly blessed by their friendship. I know You speak through them and thank Your for their willingness to be honest with me and love me no matter what. Amen.