It's another girl!

Not for us...that would have been strange and fast huh? Delia is going to have a little girl cousin to grow up with! I am soooo excited. When Jason and Miranda first told us they were expecting, I really thought it would be a boy but then after we moved...I didn't know anymore. Brooklyn Kate Barnard should be here in early to mid-July. I am already thinking of all the cute little things I want to get for her. Seriously, I don't know when or if I'll have nieces or nephews of my own so this is the next best thing as far as family goes. I already feel like I have little nieces and a nephew (Sophia, Aubrey, Isaiah and Miss Amelia!) from friends.

Anyway, I was just super excited about that and wanted to share.

We had a good weekend...not too eventful. I napped a couple of times (which I NEVER get to do anymore). My uncle, who is a former Jehovah's Witness, came to church with Mike and I yesterday. I know if it was confusing for my mom as a Catholic...I know it has to be even more confusing for him to understand God's grace. My prayer is that conversations will be had with either us or people put in his path and that his eyes will be opened. He has had such a hard go of things for the past 8 years or so. He has 4 children and all of them have either a mental, emotional, physical, and/or developmental disability. He's struggled with alcoholism for as long as I can recall. His ex-wife is bi-polar and makes life for him and their kids very hard. He is a great guy and knows no strangers, he can make friends with a tree if need be. I just want him to know God's peace and to receive His grace. It's a pretty huge step that he even came because I don't think he's been to another church since he left Kingdom Hall. Just pray for him with me if you don't mind.

Well, that's it. Now I need to go get that Delia Bird to bed for a nap.

Starting out

Sooooo...I have big, good news! After much prayer/thought/talking it over with Mike, I have decided to do something I should have done a long, long time ago. I have had a love for photography since I was a little girl. That was usually the main thing on my Christmas list...a new type of camera I didn't yet have or a better camera than the one I already had. In high school, I would wake up early on Saturdays and walk around Old Hickory with this ancient old Brownie camera I found in a thrift store. I would have gone to college for photography if I knew I wouldn't be met with rolled eyes and lectures of how it would have been a dead-end. I have had this thought/idea for many, many years and Mike and I have talked it over a lot in the 8 years we've known each other. I am just now feeling confident enough to do it and so I am starting my own photography business. I am literally just getting it going. I have ordered my equipment (after saving some Christmas/birthday money) and will be working on my portfolio. Mike totally, 100% supports me and has been trying to get me to just do this for a long time. I have gotten in my own way before by second-guessing myself. Please pray with me as I take this leap. I am still very nervous and want to be the best I can be. I am sticking strictly to families and children right now. I couldn't stand myself on my wedding day so I don't think I want to tread those waters just yet. I will be using my gorgeous, and much-more-photogenic-than-me sisters and daughter as my practice subjects. I really can't wait...I haven't been this excited about something for myself in a long time.

New theme!!!

Thanks again to Ashley for giving me an awesome new theme! I love this one just as much or more than the first!

I'll never be an aunt...

Since I have no clue when or if any of my sisters/sister-in-law will have children (for various reasons) anytime soon or at all...I am so super-excited that in one week we will find out what Mike's cousin Jason and his wife will be having. I was thinking a boy but since we've moved...the vibes have gone. I think I have to be within a 10 mile radius for the vibes to be there. Jason and Mike are more like brothers than cousins and I think of him and Miranda more as aunt and uncle to Delia so this actual 3rd cousin to Delia will seem more like a 1st cousin.

Speaking of babies...I'm watching a segment on Inside Edition about the 13 year-old boy in the UK who has just fathered a child. Wow. Just wow...

I am now 27

3 years closer to being 30. I had a great weekend. The weather was so beautiful...I never get that on or around my birthday normally. It's usually either just cold and nasty or snowing.

I taught my first PATH for Belmont and we actually had more than we expected. It was a good first class, even though I was feeling pretty rusty. The last time I taught was in early August.

Afterward, I got home and Delia, Mike, and I went to the playground here in Old Hickory. D loves being around all the other kids. I justove being outside when the weather is so great. That night, we used our Cracker Barrel gift card that we got for Christmas.

Sunday, my sisters came to church with me and then after...took me to O'Charley's where we had literally the worst service I've ever encountered. But it was good to get out with them and Delia. Mike had to work again...hopefully Epiphone will get finished checking his references this week and let him know his start date. Later on, after her nap, Delia and I went for a walk on the Stones River Greenway...very good day for it. Sunday night we (me, Mike, Delia, my parents, my sister Sarah, and her ex-boyfriend) all went to Cheesecake Factory at Green Hills. It was so good. I got the Banana Cream Cheesecake and it was awesome! They have such a great, expansive menu...everyone can find something they like.

This Wednesday is my mom's birthday and we're going to the neat little Irish pub in Franklin. It should be good...it's my mom's favorite restaurant.

Anyway, thanks for all the well-wishing...it really was a good day.

Back to work...sort of...

That's right...I will be working starting this Saturday. Well, I'll be working every Saturday for the next two months teaching PATH. I'm being contracted out through Belmont University. It'll be good to get to interact with other adults on a regular basis. I really do love training. The only thing that worries me is that I haven't trained PATH in about 6 months. I've been going over the material so hopefully it will just come back to me. I have 16 participants so far! And I have a co-trainer! And I don't have to write the home studies! I also have to train them for CPR and First Aid in March so I need to find my instructor dvd. It is somewhere in storage.

The only thing that bums me out is this Saturday is supposed to be warm and pretty and I'll be stuck inside ALL day... But I will be making a stop by this awesome little Thai store/restaurant on my way home. And then I have to pick up Delia's new VeggieTales dvd that I preordered.

We're going to check out some apartments around here today...just to see what's out there and isn't a piece of junk. I really loved being in an apartment...even The Ashton until it flooded. We're probably not moving out until August but we want to get a start on checking things out.

Well...I need to finish laundry and get myself ready before Delia wakes up.

Days like this!

I definitely let the weather affect my mood. If it's rainy...I want to crawl in bed and stay there. If it's really hot...I'm ready to kill anyone that touches me because I'm all sticky and sweaty. If it's a beautiful, mild day like today...I want to give hugs and kisses to everyone. I am going to take full advantage of this day as soon as Delia gets up from her later than normal nap.

This weekend was a bit different. I went to Knoxville yesterday by myself to say goodbye to my dear friend's sister who had passed away last weekend. It was good to see my friends two weekends in a row...but the circumstances I got to see them under pretty much sucked. I defintely agree with what Bobby said during the service. We need to live and live well to honor Kirsten's time here with us.

Mike had to work today so it was just D and I at church. I really love the church we've been visiting. Partly because it is about 5 blocks from our house (I love being back in a place that has actual, definable blocks). I also love it because it feels like home. We were worried (for no good reason) that it would take us a long time to find a church here. We love our Ridge friends and that made the move so much harder. But we feel like we belong at NorthPointe now and there is all kinds of room to get involved and really reach this community.

Speaking of church...I just have to praise God for all He has been doing for us. 2008 was not the best year we've had. We had a lot of bad things happening and they seemed to hit us one right after another. I have been learning a lot about humility and patience and to truly trust what God wants for us...not what we want for us. Things have really been looking up lately. Part of that is that Mike finally heard back from Epiphone and they are sending his hiring packet through so it's just a matter of a couple of weeks I would say before he starts. And he really enjoys school and feels like he's doing well. I also have an employment opportunity that will pay well and is flexible to my mothering schedule. I may even be able to bring D with me. I would be working as a companion for seniors. I had been thinking of that exact thing a few months ago and it turns out that my sister's best friend just got a job hiring people to go out to the houses. I would basically work when I could. I also start teaching next weekend. Things are totally going well.

So...I'll be 27 in exactly one week. Yikes. 3 years closer to 30. Mike has to work on my birthday but then I think we're going out to dinner. Last year, I was puking up Bojangles (which I will never eat again) because my sweet husband gave me a stomach virus for my birthday gift. I think most of my friends know about Delia's "Bo-DooDoo" from that weekend. The only thing I want is a massage. Lucky for me...my sister is a massage therapist.

Anyway, I'm going to get off of here and get outside!