Lately

We've been staying pretty busy lately, but not with anything overly exciting.  Just the everyday fun of living with an almost two year old.  Today Ashlyn's school had one of their in-service days, so Ashlyn has gotten to tag along with her Daddy all day!  She loves spending special one on one time with him!  David and Ashlyn picked me up at work for lunch.  We went to Jason's Deli and it was very yummy.  We couldn't leave without sampling the soft serve.  Ashlyn was a BIG FAN!

Speaking of fans...we are raising our girl right.  There is no choice in our house...our blood runs Crimson.  ROLL TIDE!!!  We were invited to our Children's Pastor's wedding.  This was the first wedding Ashlyn has ever attended.  I was so proud of her - she was so well behaved for the entire event!  The ceremony was beautiful and I may be a little biased (since David was the caterer) but the food was delicious at the reception.  They had their reception at The Zone in Bryant Denny Stadium which just suited this precious couple so well!  They had shakers on the table as their centerpieces and when they left, people shook the shakers at them instead of throwing rice or bird seed.  It was such a cute idea!  Ashlyn LOVED the shakers.  I took this video before she laid down for her nap.  I kid you not - she wanted to sleep with them and was VERY upset with me when I took them away.

I took some cute pictures on 4th of July but they are on the good camera.  Eventually I will pull all the images off and I'll have a fun post with the rest of the beach pictures and the 4th of July!

Orange Beach 2012 Part 1

We had the opportunity to take a short trip to Orange Beach, AL this past weekend.  These are just pictures on my phone...I have a ton on my camera that I want to post so I'll have a part 2 coming soon.

We went on a Charter Sailboat called The Cetacean.  We cruised around looking at dolphins, then they turned the engines off and we sailed around the bay.  Ashlyn was a little tired from driving down the day before and she HATES her life jacket...but she did enjoy most of her first sailing trip.

She got VERY upset for a little while when the cup she is holding in this picture slipped from her hands and rolled right into the ocean.  She calmed down a little when we told her that the dolphins would like to play with it. 

Her latest obsession is NEMO!!!  She calls Nemo - "Elmo".  She calls Elmo "Elmo" too.  Kind of confusing I know.  She really enjoyed seeing Nemo everywhere this trip!  The swimmy diapers you buy are a package of half Pooh, half Nemo.  She refused to wear the Pooh ones - she would just keep saying "Nemo, Nemo, Nemo" until I caved and put a Nemo one on instead of a Pooh one.  We stopped at McDonald's for breakfast before heading out to the beach and she was so excited that Nemo and his daddy were there!  I couldn't resist a picture of Ashlyn and her daddy with Nemo and his daddy!!!

She loved the area of the beach that David chose to go to!  We were close to the pass so the waves were minimal.  She played in the water and LOVED digging in the sand.

The beach wore this child slap out!!!  Note her pink Nemo that she loves more than Lovey now!  We really needed this little getaway and it was perfect!

Cruisin' on the river

Ashlyn's already learning to drive!!!  Be afraid...be very afraid!  She kept pushing David's hands out of the way because she wanted to drive by herself! Haha!!!

Look at those grins!

Looking at the "Moo Moo's".  Cow's are just one of Ashlyn's new most favoritist things!!!

Summer Zoo Trip

Ashlyn, Lindsey and I got to meet my dad and step mom for a fun-filled day at the Birmingham Zoo!

We played the drums...

Watched the Kangaroos laze around...

Fed the birds...

Played in the fountains...

And saw every square inch of the zoo!!!

I love her little pose here!!!  My sweet girl!

Fasting

I'm fasting, but not the kind of fasting you would think.  I'm fasting from sharing my unsolicited opinions.  I am so very blessed to have been born in this democracy.  I can believe and/or say very close to anything I want to without fear of punishment or persecution.  I recently had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Sheena Iyengar speak. She has spent her life studying the effect of choices. Something she said struck a cord within me.  She said, "Just as the love of money can foster greed, so too can the love of choice foster powerlessness."  As I was pondering this statement, I felt the clear conviction that these words could also apply to the love of our own opinions.  How many times have I shared my opinion with someone, then thought they were foolish in their choice because they didn't follow MY advice?  I've thought, "How come no one listens to me?"  How have I gone 30 years without realizing that they didn't ask me for my opinion in the first place?  I have this innate desire to help others.  I feel that it is God given, but I have taken that gift and run with it!  I've been making the decisions about when, where, who and how to help.  This has led me to give advice where it's not always desired.  This is what I've discovered -  The love of your own opinions fosters foolishness.

“A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions” (Proverbs 18:2)

 

I'm not saying that I won't still hold my own opinion in high regard for myself and my household, but I'm learning to guard who I share it with and under what circumstances.

 

Proverbs 10:19 says, "When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise"?

"And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." Matthew 12:36-37

"He that keepest his mouth, keepest his life. He that opens his lips too wide shall bring on his own destruction." Proverbs 13:3

 

 Proverbs 18:13 “He who answers before listening – that is his folly and his shame.”

 

I'm learning to analyze why I want to speak before I speak.  What is the desired result from my sharing?  How can I word an opinion so that it effectively communicates the truth that I wish to impart? 

 

Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

 

Colossians 4:6 says, "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt."

 One of the things I've admired most about my husband is his ability to just listen.  I think listening is an art form.  It's something that takes practice to perfect.  I've spent my whole life talking, talking, talking and more talking, but now I'm realizing how important it is for me to practice the art of listening.  People who know me will probably think I'm angry - because, in the past, that's the only time I don't talk alot, but I'm not, I'm searching for peace and I'm finding much peace in the silence.

Wounded Warriors Project and Leavellwood

I would just like to say how proud I am of my husband.  He has a heart of gold and such a generous spirit!  This past weekend, David and his business partner were asked to sponsor a dinner at the 1st Annual Justin Junkin Memorial Fishing Trip.  They cooked an amazing dinner for these guys!  I didn't even know they were doing the event until a few days before it happened.  He would die of embarrassment if he even knew I was bragging on him about this...but I know them well enough to know they probably didn't even hesitate to say "yes" when they were asked to do this event.  I am so blessed to have him as my husband and I'm so proud of him.  David asked if me and Ashlyn and Lindsey would like to come have dinner with everyone, so we headed out to Leavellwood Lodge. David's business partner has known the family that owns Leavellwood for many years and they've done events out there before, but I'd never gotten to go see it before.  I have to say it is breathtaking!  It is absolutely gorgeous and serene out there!  Here is their website if anyone is interested in checking out some photos or wants to book a hunting/fishing trip!

The fishing trip is part of the Wounded Warrior Project.  Please check out their website if you aren't familiar with the organization, but I think it is such a needed and worthy project.  Kudos to Leavellwood for putting on a fantastic event!!!  They had fishing pros come in (some from pretty far away) and take some of our nations heroes out fishing for the weekend.  The guys looked like they were having a great time and they all said they were learning a lot from the pros.  Anyone who knows me, knows I'm patriotic to the core.  I am so very grateful to live in this nation.  America may have it's flaws, but it is still the greatest nation in the world.  The only reason I'm able to even write this blog, to have my own opinions and share them freely is because of the MANY men and women who serve in our Armed Forces.  They protect me and ensure my continued freedom and I am truly grateful to them and their families.  I won't ever be able to say "Thank You" in enough ways.



This picture is blurry, but I had to share!  Ashlyn made a new little friend at dinner.  This is the daughter of Justin Junkin.  We got to get to know his wife (her name is Heather too) and his sweet parents and his adorable little girl.  She is really close to Ashlyn's age and they had so much fun playing together!  They gave hugs and held hands and shared toys and it was just adorable to watch!!!

The end of an era...

Recently, my dad asked me to attend a meeting with him at work where we discussed his Disability Leave of Absence and some other details regarding his future with the company he has worked with for last 33 years!  He has worked there for longer than I've been alive.  That's a freakin' LONG TIME!  I remember going to work with my dad on a few occasions when I was a kid.  I don't know how many times he explained his job to me before I finally began to understand what it was that he did.  Honestly, I still don't know the full spectrum, but I think I was a sophomore in high school before I even understood the basics.  I'm not a science or engineering person in any sense, so he would start explaining and I would get lost in the first 5 seconds.  One thing I remembered about going to work with him was, as we would approached the plant, you could see these huge cooling towers...they were magnificent and kind of scary-looking to me as a kid - they still are, even after all these years. Miller Steam Plant is owned and operated by Alabama Power.  They burn mainly coal, but also natural gas and fuel oil to produce steam.  The steam is used to power their generating units.  The units generate million of megawatt-hours of electrical power for Alabama.  I won't get into all their emissions, etc, etc.  I took these pictures knowing it's probably the last time anyone in our family will see these massive, man-made creations.  

As I was helping my Dad and Jacque pack up his office, I was consciously aware that the situation could have been very different today.  I could have been packing his office up without him.  I am so grateful that we were able to get my Dad to the hospital in time because he was so very sick.  Dad found a enlarged copy of a picture in his desk from the early days of working at the plant.  Scrolled across the top of the page in magic marker was "Magnificent 7".  Above the head of each man was a number in the order they had left the company.  With tears in his eyes, my dad wrote "End of an Era" above his head in the picture as he said, "I always said I'd be the last to go."  He's ok with not going back to work.  Even if he wasn't, he doesn't have much choice because the doctors won't give him medical clearance to return.  Dad is doing good.  He had an appointment with the Neurologist earlier in the week and they will be starting him on a new medication.  Although the inflammation from the Hepatic Encephalopathy has improved, there is still a continuing deterioration of the brain tissue so they are hoping to stop that so that his memory loss will stop getting worse.  Prayers would still be very appreciated!