today was awesome. i didn't think it was going to be, but it was. i woke up early to head to church to commandeer some volunteers so that they could help us with the festivities. we had GREAT help, i enjoyed meeting all of them. they were so energetic, and positive. ready to serve!
although they were all late, that's okay. i had fun relaxing without kate at church, just spending time with people. andy was home with her and doing a great job with her. i came home to get them around noon, and we made our way back up there. we even had a designated babysitter so that andy and i could spend time with the homeowners and other guests. there was a family of 13 that came to volunteer just for the day that came from jackson, and they had GREAT babysitters. kate was pretty happy although she skipped a nap and was also teething. i didn't even get to spend much time with her, which made me kinda sad, but they wanted me to be able to do my job well today. we had a delicious meal-probably my favorite meal ever, so tasty-and great conversations with local residents that had no other place to dine. we left to head to family time with cousins larry and beth and their families, and it was nice. they are fun to be around. i tasted some of their leftovers and then kate had enough. she wanted to go home, i tell ya! so we brought her home, only to discover that we'd left some crucial items at church-her push toy (fondly known as her truck) and her sound machine. andy made his way back up there to fetch them as i bathed her. we had fun. and she went promptly to sleep at 7 pm. haven't heard a peep since.
i'm so thankful for my day, i had a great one. my parents were sorely disappointed i didn't make it home, but i can't live my life in that fear. i have to do what i know is right. in fact, my mom told me she never wants to talk to me ever again. you know, that hurts, but not too much. someone who doesn't understand me, doesn't get it. i think i get it. and i'm okay with myself.
i hope you all had a fabulous thanksgiving and you had a time today where you could really ponder what wonderful things are present in your lives.

thanks

as you are sitting down to your cozy family dinner tomorrow, remember those who aren't with you; those that are serving in other countries in the military, those that are missionaries to other countries that are missing you; those family members that live too far away to travel. also, think about the MS coast. families still living in an RV with no room to cook a turkey dinner, no money to buy a turkey, no happiness (because their hope is in worldly things.)
as i went for a walk today with bright blue sky, 65 degrees, and kate asleep in the stroller, i had a good time to think. i pondered what i've done on past thanksgivings. growing up, i spent the days at my grandmother's house (which was right next door) with my cousins. we'd play in the yard and eat. we didn't really socialize too much. when i went to college, i'd usually make it to my parent's house for a family dinner. when i got married, our first thanksgiving was torture. we went to andy's grandmothers, leaving my parents out. we called them from atlanta, and they were so sad, that we immediately packed up and drove to jackson, ms to be with them for the friday following thanksgiving. spent time with them, then drove back to starkville. basically a 40 hour trip or so. just for living in fear of disappointment. the following year was spent in atlanta.
the following year, we had a family thanksgiving in louisville. my parents came to visit and i cooked quite a meal. it was nice but boring.
after that, we spent thanksgiving in louisville with the byrds, a wonderful family from our church. we had 2 month old kate sleeping by our side as we dined, and i tried to nurse somewhat haphazardly and finally we went home to put up our tree. (that's my big tradition that i created for my house-putting up/decorating the tree around/after tgiving.) we felt some pressure from our families because we weren't with them, but we had a GREAT day. no traveling, no stress.
this year has been stressful for me. once again dealing with the fear of disappointing our families, i'm also planning a huge dinner at Lagniappe for 500 people that we've worked with/helped. i didn't realize what all i had to do until TODAY. i've been scheduling volunteers to help us from redeemer church in jackson, ms as well as others-but i didn't realize the scope of things i had to handle-who will empty the trash, who will warm up the oven......so today was not great but i learned a lot, learned that i am not invincible like i think i am, learned that i need help. tomorrow i will be up bright and early at Lagniappe to help lead teams, and assist with the big dinner. i've made flyers, we've called lots of people, we have a great meal planned. i also have some family that lives in bay st louis, and i hope to drop by their home tomorrow to say hello. (again not wanting to disappoint any type of family member, but wanting to visit with them at the same time.)
my mom hasn't called in a few days, so i assume that's how she's dealing with us not coming to thanksgiving.
it's also odd that i am not cooking anything-except for the pecan pie i threw together last night (not too tasty, it didn't work out) and for the bread pudding i'm working on right now.
so, i am sad that we are not with our families, although it is impossible to be in 2 places at once, but i'm happy that i can have a thanksgiving with my husband and my baby, as well as all the homeowners that we can serve tomorrow. i'm thankful that i have a house in which to live, food on the table, and a fun family that i live with.
i'm thankful for the ways in which God is present in my life, in the not so fun ways He teaches me, in the ways I can see Him amidst the chaos here. life here is not easy; it's hard, but it's good. i'm thankful for it.
after much shopping around, and realizing that i left my xmas tree and lights in louisville, i got a new tree yesterday at lowes and lights today. i spent 1 hour with andy and kate fluffing it up and putting the lights on, and-get this-i'm allergic to the dang tree. i broke out in a rash and i'm taking benadryl.
i rearranged the living room as to give the tree a proper place in the room. i get super psyched about Christmas.
kate has been teething since our trip. oh yeah i forgot to write about the trip. i made a RANDOM trip to louisville last thursday after andy talked me into it. i didn't want to go because i didn't want to be in the car that long with booger bear kate but it was alright. we borrowed a truck to go, and we were off. we had the truck packed. we stayed with the spanns in louisville, and it was perfect. we almost had a whole floor to ourselves. i enjoyed being there; i enjoyed the beauty of the town and the comfort of it. however, it did not feel like home as much. it felt natural to be there, but i longed for the bay. someone said the word "crabcakes" and i missed it here!
i was happy to get home after a long trip of entertaining kate. it was great to see old friends though, and very comforting to me.
so back to the teething. kate hasn't eaten much lately, been hard to handle as that black crowes song goes, and generally stressing me out. i love her dearly, though. i know my own mom put up with that in me, too.
i've been scheduling lots of teams lately to come to lagniappe in the new year; so that's exciting.
i love the cold weather, i miss my friends and family. i love kate taylor and i love that now she can kiss me. she is a joy to be around and i'm so thankful for her.
those of you without children simply cannot understand how wonderful it is to have a baby. it is the hardest thing, but the absolute best thing. it is a joy.
i can see andy's eyes light up in delight when kate starts to dance, or she starts to read a book, because we didn't know she would pick one up by herself. it's amazing.
God is so good to me, and i'm so thankful for His grace each day.
have a great thanksgiving, but don't forget those who aren't as happy as you are. they might be your next door neighbor, a family member, etc. down here, so many people are depressed-it makes me realize how much i have to be thankful for.
here is a brief, silly list:
a car that runs
music
the new sugarland cd
my new dell computer that arrived yesterday, but with a malfunction that they are sending someone to fix
the fact that andy can play guitar
the sabins
the larrouxs
the underwoods
the beach
sangria
kate dancing
blogs
polka dots
grass
cold weather
blue skies
nice candles
Christmas
Jesus
a great house in which to build a family
a great job that i love
grilled chicken
and honey mustard.
susan's breakfast of grits and a bacon sandwich

with a big storm coming in today, 2 power outages, and internet down all day, i'm surprised that i can sit here and blog right now.
the weather is 48 F, which is awesome to me. had some friends over tonight and we grilled steaks and fish, and it was so tasty.
the event began with lit candles because the power was out, but we won't let that stop us from a party-i prayed and prayed and eventually the power returned. God is good.
kate has her good days and bad days, like all of us. today was pretty good. minimal crying, mostly entertained, good nap. those are the keys to a good day for her. she also enjoys her 30 ounces of allotted milk per day.
phone rang off the hook today with lagniappe scheduling....that's exciting. it's good to know that people haven't forgotten about the bay and all the needs here. the roads flooded last night with all the thunderstorms, making it impossible to drive around. i can only imagine what a hurricane might bring.
folks, please don't forget about the people of the coast. i drove around today, exploring, and it was still desolate. a drove down an entire street with not one home rebuilt. we need help here; we need money, we need prayers.
i'm hoping to visit with britney again soon; i don't know what i can provide her with except a listening ear.
i myself struggle with being separated from friends and family, especially during these upcoming holidays. we will be working and accepting volunteers during this time of year, and will not quit. we want to help others who are in more need than we are!
andy has been working so hard on his company. i wish i could help him more but i do all i can for lagniappe and for kate. as well as taking care of our house and the groceries.
i feel so blessed, and each night i hit my pillow and snuggle in my sheets, looking to see what tomorrow will hold!

me and my gang

busy busy here in the bay. my mom, her brother, and cousins came to visit. we had several big family dinners, outings to ocean springs which were fun, and more family dinners. it was pretty fun. kate enjoyed it a lot.
today i had a big staff meeting, so i was busy all morning, and missy babysat for me, so that was a relief.
i spent some time with britney this afternoon, a 22 year old girl who has a 3 year old and a 4 month old, severe post partum depression (like i had), lost everything in the hurricane, not married, and also recently diagnosed with stage 2 cervical cancer. she is having a hard time. if you think you are having a bad day-think again. she is. i enjoyed talking with her, we have some things in common, but then again we are very different.
it was stressful for me but i'm trying to grow in that way. be able to be sensitive as well as helpful.
she has no insurance.
i know that God is taking care of her, and He can be her only hope-nothing else can satisfy.
kate was so good today-such a joy. she went with me to their house, and the 3 year old kept pushing her down, but she didn't let it phase her. she's tough!
the weather here is cooling off, finally, and i'm so happy about that. i can't believe thanksgiving is next week-it seems like it's a long ways away.
we started having the habitat for humanity staff over on sunday nights to give them a good meal, a fun night, and a chance to do some free laundry. we love it. they are really fun.
i'm having computer problems-i'm using one that was donated to Lagniappe, and it junked out, so i was able to order a new one, and it should be here soon, hopefully! it's hard to have all my files spread out across 3 or more computers. plus, the internet has been down at our house, so that's not too fun.
the mosquitos are still on the prowl.
life in the bay is good but challenging right now-there is so much work to be done!

life in the fast lane

life has been crazy and fun. crasy, (krah see) as emily schmidt calls it. today, the best part of the whole week-susan and frank kept kate for me so i could get my hair highlighted. i love it. i found the best salon and spa in gulfport, and they do me right every time.
andy's been gone all week, and found his way home tonight. he smelled bad and was tired, so some laundry, refreshments, and toothpaste made his life better. he's off to bed soon.
i have had a fun week-some girls from habitat and LPC have been keeping me company at night so i haven't been alone. it's been good. kate has been pretty good-fun. she started dancing this week. when a fast song comes on the tv, she bobs her butt up and down, and bounces her legs. it's hilarous. because i didn't teach her this-she knows it naturally!
she can also wave bye bye when someone says, "bye kate." she knows that means to wave. it's cute.
the katrina smell was AWFUL today-the sewage from the fema trailers was strong. i hate to be so graphic but that's my reality.

i'm buring my yankee candle right now to fight against the funk.
as far as my tv shows go...grey's was alright, weird with the 2 uteruses. who has that!
bachelor, thank you for kicking off the italian girl. there was no need for that. desperate housewives, yall are crazy. what is going on there. i like brothers and sisters because it is almost real. wife swap, always a pleasure.


laguna beach, you are so crazy. not real. jeopardy, my favorite game show, i love you. i can grow in knowledge because of you even though andy hates you.
oprah, thank you for having one show this week about weight loss, even though you think you are the best person who ever lost weight.
dr phil, i don't even know what to say about you. you are so weird.
looking forward to watching best week ever and the soup!

baby swanky

 
this is a baby quilt i made...any comments are appreciated....it's for someone who doesn't know the sex of their baby. 

hellogoodbye

whew. fantabulous mommy has been busy. took kate trick or treating, which was fun at susan's house. her first little time to trick or treat. i purchased a duck costume for her but the whole headgear part of it scared her. perhaps she didn't like the feet part either.
so i made her a tutu out of some old tulle and ribbon. it lasted about 10 minutes but that was good enough for some pictures.
after trick or treating at 1 house, we went to the kids carnival in bsl, and it was....overwhelming. kids everywhere, scary people, scary masks, darkness, loudness. one must not face this with their child alone.
we had no trick or treaters.
andy is out of town, so i have been accompanied by some fun girl staff members who want to get out of the bunks at church into a real bed.
kate had a fun day-we made it to walmart, downtown for a walk, home for lunch and a nap, and then to go for another walk but the mosquitoes were eating us alive so we didn't make it farther than a block.
monday night was fun, went to new orleans for a staff member's bday-she turned 21. we made it to pat o briens and the cats meow for some karaoke. of course, i was the only one brave enough to sing. i did a lively rendition of "sweet child of mine."
sunday at church was great-someone besides me or andy worked the nursery-we actually sat together and heard the sermon. it was delish. we spent the rest of the day resting and watching movies.
kate is so fun now...more and more every day. today she had fun climbing in and out of the laundry basket turned on its side. she loves her mardi gras beads and her blankie. she loves to feed rosie off her high chair table. she hates riding in the car basically.
i did 4 loads of laundry today-such a treat since i have my own washer again!
hope all my readers are well.

life is a highway

i know i haven't blogged in such a long time. i've been so busy! hmmm....since last post....cleaned my house, worked on Lagniappe volunteering, cleaned out my garage so that we can finally park cars in there, took andy to gulfport so he could pick out a laptop bag for his birthday present, tivoed some shows, went to church, had some friends over after church for lunch, went for a bike ride on the beach which was so awesome, cooked some shrimp which was not too good, rearranged my bedroom by adding a leather chair and ottoman which had been stored in my garage but looks great in my bedroom, taught kate some new words-"uh oh," "tickle tickle tickle". those are so cute when she says them.
finished season 3 of arrested development, balanced my bank statements, organized all my paperwork, went to target for some kate taylor winter clothes, took out the trash, hmm what else....pondered Christmas, spent the night at friend Susan's house, enjoyed her hot tub, played some pool with susan and frank. it was so fun!
looked forward to my trip to New Orleans next week, took Rosie for a walk with Kim Larroux, went to wal mart, went to the post office for the first time ever with kate taylor (not fun), took her to the bank so they could ooh and ahh over her, (which they did), rode around, enjoyed the 64 degrees fahrenheit, bought a pumpkin, caught up with friends on facebook and myspace, was sad about missing kelsey's halloween party, but happy about the halloween parties i get to attend on the coast, all 3 of them! enjoyed laughing at my husband as well as feeling his complaints with some of his clients.
i'm sure i've also unloaded the dishwasher 7 times, changed 32 diapers, filled 23 bottles, washed 3 loads of laundry with my new washer.
let the dog out 29 times.
i'm doing very well, though, and i'm happy to be here. i love the weather, love the beach, love this "harvest" yankee candle. love my family.
also am the proud owner of a kentwood water cooler in my own home-you know, the kind found in an office setting-it's relatively cheap and wonderful.
kate is so fun-she plays by herself a lot! she still loves her blankie and she loves her mommy! she is so cuddly. i love her smell.

today is already so much better than yesterday! good sleep last night, kate slept in, good breakfast thus far. i am very optimistic about the day!
we have to go through the darkness to get to the daylight.

so you had a bad day

1. started out with a stomach virus, thanks to andy that he had before he went out of town. kate had it too. we call it the lagniappe revenge because almost everyone on staff has had it.
2. arrived late to staff meeting because power went out/alarm clock out/stomach virus still brewing.
3. andy is out of town, having fun in louisville, enjoying his birthday. i've talked to him for a total of 30 seconds today, which is frustrating.
4. kate would not take a nap before her dr appt, leaving her tired and frustrated (me too).
5. 3 shots at the doctor for kate. did NOT like that but they gave her her first sucker. she instantly stopped crying. she has 3 little bandaids. i had to hold her while they did it-i had to close my eyes. i could tell when they were doing it, though, because i could feel her take a deep breath and then scream.
6. andy left the windows down on the old 92 honda accord, and as we had a terrible storm last night, the seats were all wet today. smelled horrible. we rode around sitting on wet beach towels!
7. i couldn't launder the towels because we are still without a washer. kate was dragging her dirty "bankie" around but luckily i had a spare. someone gave us one just like it and i stored it away to regift but i needed it-hers is nasty! so she didn't even realize it wasn't the same one. they are VERY similar.
8. potty overflowed a few minutes ago-just water but still a mess.
9. bad conversation with my mom today. we finally resolved it a few hours later, but then she called me back and left me a stupid voicemail, which almost negated the whole process.
10. pinched nerve in my leg, very painful. dr appt next week.
not too much else to write about. amidst all this, i still feel like i'm doing better than i deserve. God is so good to me, and i know He's using this crap to show me Himself.
i am thankful to be a mommy, thankful to be a wife, and thankful for my house.

small reminder

Taken four days after hurricane Katrina emptied the contents from thousands of homes on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Very few homeowners are back in their homes. Lagniappe Presbyterian Church is participating in the restoration through the declaration and demonstration of the gospel. Homes are being built, people are being ministered to, and hope is being restored.-Curt Moore, assistant Pastor at Lagniappe

my advice

here is my advice for my favorite television shows.
1. for the bachelor: pick sadie.
2. for wife swap: pick the wife you got.
3. for what about brian: pick brian.
4. for desperate housewives: move off wisteria lane. somebody's always after you.
5. for laguna beach: choose friends like tessa or rocky, because cami (note the incorrect spelling) is not good friend material.
6. also for laguna beach: go to school. do something worthwhile.
7. for grey's anatomy: meredith, pick finn. mcdreamy cheated on his wife, he'll cheat on you, too. george-you are not that cute so pick that girl that actually likes you. she's cute.
8. for er: get some life insurance.
9. for oprah: stop thinking you are God.
10. for the office: pam, go out with jim. live a little. dwight, keep on keepin on.
11. for seventh heaven: pastor, you need to find a new career. you have the most screwed up family on all of tv.

feeling the martha stewart flow

 
this is my fall door arrangement. i made it from things i clipped during my afternoon walk, as well as some faux foliage. i hope it lasts for a long time! 

fun at daniel's

 
good times doing some "group therapy" at daniels, our favorite restaurant in the bay. (that was the name of the band.) 

my purse

 
the newest swanky girl purse! 

long day

we had a good, long day. started with a trip to walmart, then to the laundromat. since our washer bit the dust, i indulged in a luxury. i did the drop off service. drop off your laundry, come back later and they've washed it, dried it, and folded it. AHHHH it was worth every penny. i came home and just put the laundry away. still no new washer but i'm doing well without it! sorta like this picture. don't know if you recognize it but it's samantha from bewitched, and she's doing her laundry. kinda like i did mine today!
went to work a couple of times today. they are building a nursery for the church and i am so excited about it. we have some pack n plays and some toys. a sliding glass door. no electricity in there yet but it's coming. carpet too. i feel so honored because kate is the only kid!
kate took an afternoon nap today and i caught up on some work. i spent time today dusting and vacuuming. then kate dumped a bag of chips on the floor. no big deal but she did get a spanking.
went for a walk on the boardwalk with friend susan and that was great. i'd love to do that daily but some days just do not allow. now we are grilling out and i'm looking forward to eating.
had a good meeting today with a local shop. i'm toying with starting back swanky girl, maybe not so full force as before but somehow. i'd like to start with some baby blankets. the girl i talked to owns a monogramming shop and has some cute stuff. however, there is another shop in town that would probably carry my stuff. we'll just have to think about it some more.
i made my purse. i'll have to blog some pics. it took me over 2 hours but i like it. i got it monogrammed today. it's pretty cute if i do say so myself!
i'm thankful for a loving husband, a fun daughter, and i'm thankful that God provides above and beyond for my needs.
i suppose we are going shopping for a washer soon.
i'm most excited about going to second saturday this weekend. that is a big celebration downtown of all the stores and they have open house. it's really fun. andy and i want to go out to dinner afterwards. pray that i can find a babysitter!

 
kate chews on scooba steve. he swims in the tub but she'd rather be chewing on him.
you are looking at the latest netflix member. i'm going to try it out-i just called the cable company to see how much i'm paying for HBO and cinemax. they said, "You don't get those." Hmm that's funny, yes i do. i guess they just don't know that i'm getting them for free! so i said, "oh ok. thanks."
i'm looking forward to renting arrested development season 3. with netflix you can keep videos as long as you want. arrested development is the best show! 

rest in peace

the washer died last night. we are now in search of a new, quick solution. i have wet clothes that were in the wash as it died.
i've spent the evening mopping up the mess it made. not too great of an evening.
and all my wet clothes are out on the deck.
sigh.

wtf

these stupid halloween decorations are everywhere. what the heck. they are so ugly! and this one costs 80 bucks! i think it is a waste.

after every week that goes by, i think, "what a week." i laugh at how amazingly busy and fun and crazy my life is. last weekend we had some company and that was fun. my dear friend theresa kinsey as well as some louisville pals. monday andy quit working for lagniappe, and that was a hard day but a good day. tuesday i went to the staff meeting by myself and andy kept kate at home. wednesday i worked all day scheduling people. thursday i worked as well. friday i worked and then went to watch the sunset and the moon rise over the beach with 2 friends and that was glorious. such beauty here at the bay.
today i spent most of the day in the car, traveling to hattiesburg, ms for a WIC meeting as Lagniappe was the featured guest. we gave a presentation and it was so wonderful. it brought tears to my eyes as i pondered what God was doing down here.
so wonderful that tonight, david bass has flown in from seattle to visit his family as well as drive to visit us. he is such a fun guest!
kate had a busy day with her daddy. when i came home the house was trashed, much to my dismay. but i cleaned it up and all is well. i think her daddy was worn out.
rosie is enjoying herself. she's loving the cooler weather!
tonight we went to the mockingbird cafe to hear some live music, which was a band of high schoolers, and it was okay fun. they had some good hamburgers.
we went to my favorite restaurant tonight, trapani's, with david and it was delish. delish delish delish. i had the eggplant.
goodnight.