New baby

Hard to believe that I kept my pregnancy pretty much a secret for almost an entire trimester!  We are very excited to finally announce that we are expecting Little Mason #2 in July 2011.  I'll be 12 weeks in a couple of days and am feeling great.  Still hormonal and tired, but not sickly anymore and happy that we've seen and heard the little heartbeat and my doctor's visits so far have been good!  I will have to take the glucose test next doctor appointment - since I had gestational diabetes last time, she wants to make sure I don't have early onset this time.  She is pretty sure I'll have it, just not sure if it will have shown up already.  Boo on that, but it's not the end of the world and in fact, forces me to eat much, much better - which is a good thing.

Kendall is beyond excited - she talks about her baby brother or baby sister all the time.  She walks around with baby dolls up her shirt and pretends she has a baby in her belly.  She gives my belly zerberts all the time.  It's such a cool time for her and I'm glad we made the choice to wait 3 years.  She'll be 3 1/2 when the baby arrives.

Christmas was fabulous and now we're snowed in together - James did have to work today, but thankfully they decided to close, so we're about to head outside to build a snowwoman (Kendall wants it to have a girl necklace, so I'm assuming it's a snowwoman, not a snowman).

I don't suck at posting on purpose...

...it just seems to work out that way.  Life has been pretty busy lately.  Some fun stuff, some not so fun stuff.  Recaps:

- Kendall is fabulous - she tries my patience and gets her fair share of discipline (like last night when she thought it would be a good idea to throw a water bottle at my head after I asked her to put it down), but she's smart, funny, loving, curious and extremely cool to be around on most days.  She's doing 1/2 days of preschool twice a week at Grove Park and we love it.  I do find it odd that Mrs. Denise says she's one of the quiet students...she must save it all up for when she comes home or something because quiet she ain't. 

- James is enjoying the beginning of a slower winter season.  His business is always extremely busy during the summer and it slows way down in the winter and he's able to enjoy some time off.  As evidenced by his boy's getaway this weekend with his BFF (wait - do men say BFF?) in Charlotte, checking out the Bobcats and the Panthers.  I miss him when he's gone, but he is always so gracious about allowing me my girl's time that it's only fair that I return the favor.

- Work has calmed down now that the coworker that was on maternity leave has returned.  I almost kissed homegirl's feet when she came back because work has not been fun for Jennifer while she's been gone.  But I gained valuable knowledge and experience so it really was a good situation.  Plus, she and I are now solid work friends and I definitely needed another one...they are scarce for me at Quintiles for some reason.  Perhaps my charm just isn't welcome there??

- I'm enjoying couponing this holiday season.  I've caught some great retail deals and have done a large portion of my Christmas shopping online (with free shipping of course) using coupon codes that I've found.  It's been way less stressful to shop from my couch, that's for sure.

- I'm really looking foward to Thanksgiving this coming week.  I love Christmas for obvious reasons, but Thanksgiving is a fun, relaxing holiday.  We'll celebrate at mom's like usual...Kendall and I go over early on Thursday and look at the sale papers and drink coffee (well, Kendall doesn't do either of these, but you get the idea) and cook and just enjoy being together.  James has to work during the day, so we won't eat until dinner time.  Then Friday I'll say that I'm going to go shopping, but I won't.  Then Saturday - Monday, we're going to the beach with James' parents which will be very fun, too.

I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving!

Hilton Head Vacay

I have to thank my fabulous husband for introducing me to my favorite place on earth.  He first took me to Hilton Head back when we were dating and I fell in love with it then and we've been blessed to be able to go back every year since.  This year, my parents were able to join us, which was a super big deal because I can't remember the last time we've had a full week family vacation.  We headed down on a Saturday (6 hour drive...worst part of HH).  We rented bikes, which is like the thing to do down there.  The first bike ride almost killed me because we were riding to a restaurant and we really didn't know where it was and ended up going like 6 miles and I'm WAY out of shape.  While we were there we enjoyed the beach, the pool, more biking, Harbour Town, golf (for the men folk), shopping, lots of yummy food, and rest.  Meg ended up surprising us by coming down for a few days and it was so great to be laughing and relaxing with everyone.  I can't wait until next time!

Kendall had the absolute time of her life - she loved the petting zoo, the beach, the dance off she had with another little girl at the outlet mall (Kendall dominated of course), and uninteruppted time with her family.  Every single day since we got back, she's asked "What was your favorite part of Hilton Head".  She always says her favorite part was the beach, animals and pool.

We came from vacation and jumped right back into our busy, busy lives, but we love it and wouldn't have it any other way.

Best Soup Ever

I randomly stumbled upon a cool new blog that just so happened to have the BEST soup recipe.  Made it tonight and it a) tasted fabulous, b) had comfort food appeal and c) made a ton so I won't have to cook tomorrow night.  

The blog is here http://www.momadvice.com/blog/

 And here's the recipe:

Pesto Chicken Tortellini Soup



2 tablespoons olive oil


2 garlic cloves, minced


2 cans petite diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces)


8 cups chicken broth


1 pound chicken herb tortellini or tortellini of your choice (I used the refrigerated kind, but you can also use the dried pasta)


9 ounces spinach, chopped roughly


1/4 cup basil pesto






In a large pot, saute the garlic in the olive oil. After a minute or so, add the diced tomatoes and chicken broth to the pot. Bring the broth to a rolling boil and then add in your tortellini. Cook tortellini as directed on package. In the last minute of cooking time, mix in your roughly chopped spinach and stir in the 1/4 cup of basil pesto. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top. Side Note: When reheating, feel free to add some additional chicken broth to thin the soup, as the tortellini will absorb the liquid!

The Great Outdoors

Before this weekend, I definitely considered myself a beach only type of gal.  The mountains are cool every once in a while and I could be coerced into going to the lake if necessary.  However, I just got back from a 3 night-4 day camping trip at Kerr Lake and it was wonderful.  Peaceful and beautiful and just plain wonderful.  We went with the majority of our crew (one of our families couldn't come because of a sick little one) and we boated and played in the dirt and chased frogs and killed ants and admired the stars and made "shnores" and soaked up the sun.  It was a great weekend full of lots of memories.

We've got a short work week and then we head off to Hilton Head for a week.  I am extremely excited.  My favorite place on earth!

I'm an Auntie!!!

I'm pretty sure I've blogged about all of my parents and sisters and brothers on here before, so I'm going to skip right to the good news without the family tree lesson - I'M AN AUNTIE!!!  My oldest sister, Lexie, gave birth at 7:38pm to a 7 pound 13 ounce baby girl Reese-Anne Elizabeth Johnson!!  I'm so, so, so happy for Lexie and her husband, Brett.  I'll be heading down to Florida to meet the newest addition next Friday!  Yay for babies!!!

It's official

I have the coupon bug.  I was pretty excited after  my deals from last week's trips to CVS and Harris Teeter, but today I got my first freebies.  CVS has their Right Guard on sale buy one, get one free and I had a buy one, get one free coupon which meant that I got 2 Right Guard deodorants for James for FREE!!!  I was so excited I nearly skipped out the door.  I can't believe that I threw away coupons before now.  All it took was a little organization and a few faithful coupon friends (Melissa, Southern Savers) OO HOO!

In other (more serious) news, my sister Lexie (my Donnie dad and step-mom's oldest) is being induced tonight with her first baby.  Please pray for Lexie, her husband Brett and the baby, Reece-Ann, if you get a chance.  She's nervous (and rightly so) and excited and terrified and ready and not ready - all those things that you feel before you get ready to have a baby.  Thanks!!

First coupon trip

A few of my favorite blog friends have gotten my curiosity up about this whole couponing thing.  So I decided to give it a try.  I've got my binder all organized and I buy two papers every Sunday and have others giving me the coupons they don't want.  Yesterday I went for my first Harris Teeter Super Doubles and also hit up CVS for some deals that I couldn't pass up.  I spent about $20 for about $70 worth of stuff, so I think I did pretty well for my first time.  Considering the fact that I didn't even have a Harris Teeter VIC card until yesterday, I was fairly proud of myself.  And boy did that Warm Delights taste so much better since it was only 40 cent!

Gearing up for a full weekend.  My first camping trip since I was like 5 with the Cross Culture youth tomorrow night.  I'm excited and not excited at the same time.  I'm probably the least adventurous person on the face of the earth, so critters, extreme heat and campfires don't really do it for me.  But the company will be top notch and for that I'm excited!  Then Saturday night is my brother's birthday dinner at Fujisan - any chance to eat Japanese is fab to me.  Then Sunday is church and the Sheryl Crow concert with my sister.  I can safely say that 2010 has been the year of concerts for me.  Love it.

Two more Kendallisms

Two more things I don't want to forget when Kendall is all grown up:

- She calls her bathing suit "bathing soup".  Which always brings to mind the fact that she is obsessed with soup.  When I ask her what she wants for dinner, it's either soup or rice.  She loves hot and sour soup even though it burns the fire out of her mouth.  Crazy youngin.

- She calls boogers "Cookie Monsters".  This is because her Papa once told her that he saw Cookie Monster up her nose.  Last night at the pool, I apparently needed to blow my nose because right in the middle of a song, she said "Mommy - you got Cookie Monster in your nose."

Since when does she call me Mom?

I distinctly remember being around 6 or 7 and calling my Mama "Mom" while eating dinner over at a family friend's house (Mama - if you are reading this, it was at Milton and Janet's and I think we were eating fish...don't know why I remember this, but I do).  Anyway - she said "since when do you call me Mom".  Today - as Kendall has called me Mom for the 75th time, I'm wondering the same thing.  I actually refuse to answer to it - I'm Mommy or I'm nothing.

I thought now would be a good time to go over some other Kendall quirks so I'll have a record of them in 5 years when calling me Mom is the least of my worries:

- The child LOVES the grocery store.  Literally every day when we go past Kroger, she wants to stop.  If we run out of anything at home, she says "buy some at the grocery store".  There are 1 of 3 scenarios for grocery shopping.  #1 - She rides on the little bar in front of the cart and "helps" me push the cart.  (Yes I know this probably isn't the safest of options...call social services).  #2 - She insists that I push her in one of those space ship grocery carts that are insanely hard to turn.  #3 - She pushes her own little cart. 

- She is obsessed with Barney on Netflix.  It doesn't matter how many other options I present, she always chooses Barney.  Much to the dismay of everyone that I repeat this story to.

- She wants me to stay in the bathroom with her when she pottys if and only if it's a number 1.  For number 2's, she says "Mommy go way" and I have to step outside while she does her business.  Unfortunately she does not afford me the same luxury.

- The other day I asked her what she does at church.  She said "I want go!  I learn Bible".  I asked her what the Bible teaches us and she said "I love you, Jesus."  My heart melted.  I don't claim to go to a church that does everything right...no church does.  But dag on it - we've got the children's ministry covered.

- She loves to go to the pool.  Thank you to the puddle jumper floatie thing that makes this so much more enjoyable for the whole family.

- She asks at least once a week for a baby sister.

- She still says "koy" for "toy", "in in" for "in there", "fa on" for "come on".  I love it and will not be happy with you if you try to teach her the correct way to say these things.

- She thinks it's really funny when someone passes gas and always blames it on Daddy.  I taught her that and yes I know I'm immature.

I love being her Mommy.  Or Mom.  Whatever.

Surprise Getaway = WIN!

lI'm not really given to grand romantic displays.  James and I definitely have a spark, but we're that goofy couple that giggles our way through most moments (romantic ones included).  So when I got the wild hair to plan a surprise getaway for my love, I surprised even myself.  It ended up being FABULOUS!  I highly, highly, highly recommend Fiddler's Roost cabins in Galax, VA to any couple that wants to get away for some one on one time. 

We got there Sunday after church and checked in and relaxed and then dinner was delivered  by the owners that evening...they set up the table in our cabin with fresh flowers and candles and delivered a delicious meal.  We slept like babies with the windows opened listening to the rain and enjoying 60 degree breezes.  We woke up to homemade breakfast (again delivered by the owners).  It was just all around fabulous.  James was very surprised and I'm still walking around smiling like a newlywed.  We will definitely be going back.

Reasons I love James Edward Mason, Jr.

Since we're not technically celebrating our 6 year anniversary (been together 8, however) until tomorrow, I have a little time to list some reasons why James is God's perfect man for me...in case next week he totally ticks me off and I need a reminder.

1.  He is sincere - he says what he means and means what he says.  He's not given to exaggeration and I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if he says it will happen - it will happen.  If he says he's feeling a certain way, that's exactly how he feels.  This quality is not one that I realized was necessary in a husband until I met James. 

2.  He is a much better daddy than I am mommy.  And I'm okay with it.  He's fun and funny and quick on his feet and knows just when to throw out something random to occupy Kendall when she's about to freak out.  He's always at doctor's appointments, he gets her to eat her vegetables, he doesn't complain when he comes home late from work and she's fallen asleep in our bed.  Seeing them together absolutely melts my heart and I love him 100 times more now that I've seen him as a daddy than I did before Kendall was born.

3.  He deals with my chaos.  Let's face it - I'm a busy woman.  I'm a wife, mother, employee, student, active church member...we are always on the go and he never, ever complains.  Even when he's worked a 12 hour shift at work and I tell him at the last minute that he's also signed up to do something for the church.  Or when I'm sitting in the middle of every piece of clothing in our closet because I've decided that right-this-very-minute would be the most appropriate time to organize it.  Or when I have a complete meltdown because I've had a bad day at work.

4.  He lets me have girlfriends.  Now, this may seem like a given.  And I think it should be.  But, the relationship (aka train wreck) that I was in before I met James didn't allow for girlfriends.  Or any other type of relationship, come to think of it, but that's beside the point.  James not only encourages me to spend time with my besties, but he downright loves them too. 

5.  He loves my family.  It's not every day that you see a family that is as tight as ours...I'm like BFFs with my mom, dad and Meg.  And James joins right on in. 

6.  He came with the best inlaws on the planet.  I love them with my whole heart.

7.  He tolerates me when I worry about what our biracial family "status" might mean for whatever arbitrary thing I'm focused on.  Like, lately it's that I'm worried that if we move to Morrisville, there won't be enough minority children around Kendall and she'll think she's weird.  Or if we ever need to go to say, the back woods of Alabama, will we get run out of the town?  He always patiently listens to these incoherant ramblings and then changes the subject.

8.  He is insanely funny...if you don't know him well, you probably don't realize it because he is a little shy when it comes to letting loose around folks.  But he makes me laugh until I cry at least once a week.

9.  He lets me run a ceiling fan even though he is 100% convinced that it makes his nose stuffy.

10.  He gets me flowers at appropriate occasions like anniversaries and he never forgets to get Kendall a little flower of her own.  Today it was beautiful Lilys for me and an itty-bitty orchid for Kendall.

I could list 5,389,299 more reasons why this man gives me butterflies, but my fingers are tired.  All I know is that the past 8 years that we've been together have been fabulous and I can't wait for the next 108.

Time to face the music

So I have these heart palpitations and while having them checked out fully, I was referred to a cardiologist.  I went back to him today for a follow up and while my heart is fine, he lit into me about my weight.  First let me say that he was a super funny guy and he and I really hit it off, so while what he said sounds harsh, it wasn't mean spirited at all.  Basically he said I'm fat.  Which I already know...no shocker there.  But he also said that while I am in good health now, he doesn't want to see me in 30 years for a bypass operation because I didn't take his advice and do something about what is an obvious weight problem.  Point taken, Dr. Buchanan.  I've got to get my head on straight to make some changes in my overall lifestyle that will result in my being a healthier me.  I don't know that I will necessisarily do some sort of "organized" diet, but I am going to make changes that I can hopefully keep.  Pray for me - 30 years of bad eating habits won't be easy to fix.

In more lighthearted news, James and I celebrate 6 years this weekend and I've got a little something up my sleeve :-)

I think it's Facebook's fault...

...that I don't post on my blog more often.  It's so easy to just write a little blurb that tells everyone what's going on and I just forget to write on here.

Let's see - since I last wrote:

•  we had an fabulous vacation in Wilminton with James' parents.  It was my first trip there, but definitely won't be the last.  Such a nice area.  We watched the most amazing fireworks show I've ever seen from our balcony, ate lots of ice cream and took naps every day.  James was there for the whole trip, which made me super happy.

• Kendall is potty trained.  Sounds crazy to me to have a potty trained child, but she's been (day time) accident free for days and days.  She still wears a pull up to bed, but most mornings it's dry.  Now what to spend that diaper money on??  Lots of people would say "it's time for another baby" and I would agree.  We're going to start trying for Mason 2.0 very soon.  If you ask my husband, he'll tell you I've been the hold up all along - I think he was ready over a year ago.

There really hasn't been a whole lot else going on.  Church is good.  Work drove me crazy last week, but it's mostly good.  School is good.  Life is good :-)

Summer Fun

We've been having so much fun enjoying summer that I've forgotten to blog anything about it! 

Let's see - there has been a beach trip, which was fabulous.  We went down with my parents and ended up spending time with not only family, but some of our best friends, too.  Kendall love, love, LOVED the beach.  The water, the sand, the critters, the shells - all of it.  And I was very proud of myself that I didn't get sunburned!  Well, okay - there were two strips on my shoulders that I neglected the first day, but that's really good for me!

It was a bittersweet trip because Ronnie wrapped up his beach ministry for a while, at least.  Last year at this time, I really thought they were going to move there permanently, but I think God had other plans for them.  Isn't He cool like that? 

I've also turned the big 3-0 since my last post and I must say I still feel a solid 24.  Age ain't nothin but a number, right?

We've enjoyed lots of time outside - blowing bubbles, taking walks, going to the pool.  I was even blessed with the special experience of finding a tick on myself for the first time in those aforementioned 30 years.  Those that know me well know that I FREAK OUT about pretty much everything and this was no exception.  Ticks have ALWAYS wigged me out, combined with the fact that someone in James' extended family actually died from a tick bite and you have one insanely freaked out mama.

Looks like Kendall will be taking some dance classes this summer.  We checked out a recital of a dance school in Raleigh on Friday night and I was way impressed with the whole thing - it was all very classy and age appropriate as far as the costumes and the dances - really a breath of fresh air compared to some of the other dance school performances I've seen in recent years.  You probably don't know this about me - but I danced for years and years and years growing up - competed and the whole nine, so of course I would LOVE it if Kendall took to dancing.  We'll see - I will not be that mom that forces my kid to do something she doesn't enjoy, but Kendall was mesmerized for the entire 3 hour show and she loved Little Gym (and this is half the price of Little Gym which makes me really happy) so we'll give it a whirl.

I think that's about all for now.  How is your summer going?

Traumatic

Last night we went out with my in-laws to celebrate their anniversary.  On the way home, we happened upon an accident - a young woman had hit a biker and we literally drove by right after it happened.  Of course we stopped and I jumped out the car and called 911.  James stayed back at the car with Kendall.  The poor guy was just a mess...very bloody, not really coherent, moaning, etc.  (Please pray for him - not sure of the outcome as we left after the police and paramedics arrived).  Kendall didn't see any of this, but was aware that something bad had happened.

Anyway - as we pulled off, of course Kendall wanted to know what happened.  So we told her (in 2 year old terms) and dropped it.  Well, this morning, she's still talking about the accident.  We've prayed together for the victim and talked about safety, etc. but I really think she may be semi-traumatized by the whole thing.  And I think that she thinks we're the ones that hit the biker.  She keeps saying "hit man daddy's car".  I keep telling her that we just stopped to help, but she's not getting that part. 

I love a good learning experience, but this is one we could have skipped.

Preschool

Today I put Kendall on the waiting list for preschool.  I can't believe she's even old enough to go to preschool...seems like yesterday I was complaining because I didn't think she'd ever come out of my ginormous belly and now she's gonna be learning all sorts of stuff away from the comfort of Mommy, Daddy or Nana.  It makes my heart hurt, but I'm really excited that she will be able to go to a Christian preschool that will teach her about Jesus and that she'll be able to "ease" into the school routine by going only part of the week for half days.  I'm sure that being around other kids in a structured environment will help with her diva tendencies (or either they'll kick her out).  She is such a special little kid...I know all moms think that about their children, but for real, she is ;-)

In other news, the Grove Park Inn was fabulous.  I literally cried while we were at the spa.  It was just so unbelievably beautiful.  I know it won't be a trip that we can take again for a long, long time, but I'm really glad we got a chance to go and experience such a cool place together.

My in laws celebrated their 45th anniversary yesterday.  I got a text from my mother-in-law (she's so tech savvy) with a picture of two identical greeting cards...turns out they both bought each other the same card, which of course made me cry (I cry a lot lately).  They are such a sweet couple and sometimes I'm very much overwhelmed by the fact that God decided to bless me with not only fabulous parents, but also fabulous in laws. 

Speaking of fabulous parents, Ronnie was in an accident last week.  He is okay, but his car was totaled.  It sort of made my stomach hurt to think of what could have happened, so I was really glad to be able to give him a long hug and tell him how much I love him and how glad I am that he wasn't hurt.

We celebrate moms this Sunday and I'm excited to be able to hang with my mama this weekend.  We spent some really good time together last week as well...it's always good for my soul to hang with my mama - she's funny and wise and beautiful and above all, Godly and obedient to Jesus.  I tell you - every time I call her and ask what she's doing, it seems like she's reading the Bible...and that shows in her. 

Enough for now - hope all is right with my blog readers (you do exist, don't you??)

Date Weekend

For those of you that don't know, my sweet husband works in country club management.  One of the things that country club manager people do is join CMAA - Club Managers Association of America.  This association offers training and retreats and that sort of thing.  Sometimes the retreats take place in really cool places and the wifeys get to go along for the ride.  This weekend is one of those occasions and I get to tag along with James to Asheville and we're staying at the Grove Park Inn!  I am so very, very excited for lots of different reasons.  Want to hear them?  Okay! 

• James and I have been together almost 8 years and we've never been to the mountains together.  Yay for higher elevation with your love!
• We need a get away to "reconnect".  We've let the crazy business of life ease it's way into our couple time lately, so it will be good to focus on each other for a couple of days.
• We get to stay at the Grove Park Inn.  And someone else is picking up the tab, no less. 
• I get free time to read or take a nap or walk around or whatever I want to do while James is in class.  He actually was thoughtful enough to ask me if I'll "be okay" while he's in his classes.  Um.  Something tells me I'll be just fine.
• We don't have to worry about whether our sweet girl is safe.  We are so, so blessed with parents that truly enjoy spending time with Kendall.  She will stay with James' parents on Saturday night and my parents on Sunday.  She is sure to have a blast with both.

I hope everyone has a fabulous, restful weekend.  I shall think of you while I enjoy the mountain views.

Spring has sprung!

I can't recall a time when I have greeted warm weather with such excitement.  I'm pretty sure it's because being outside brings my Kendall such absolute joy!  We have literally spent HOURS outside since the weather broke.  So far we've blown a million bubbles (who knew dish soap and straws would work so well), drawn lovely pictures with sidewalk chalk, road Dora (her power wheel that she's figured out how to ride backwards down our steep driveway), played basketball, met 2 new neighborhood friends (very sweet girls that asked permission to come and play in my driveway), fingerpainted (which I think I enjoyed more than I should have) and filled up the sandbox with new sand.  We even battled some wasps today and kicked them to the curb so we could enjoy our front porch without that buzzing.  

I truly feel like God gave us the seasons as a way to show His love.  Just at the point where we are so very tired of cold rains and 2-hour delays He sends us warmth, tulips, and the smell of fresh cut grass.  He knew those things would make us happy and rejuvenate us and give us time outdoors as a family.  Then just at the point where we're tired of sweating, He sends us the crispness of fall with crunchy leaves and bright orange pumpkins.  I am just amazed at His Creation here lately.  So very beautiful.

We've got a fun filled weekend lined up.  Tomorrow we are meeting some of our besties for lunch at Mad Hatters and a trip to the Museum of Life and Science.  Then Sunday we celebrate Jesus at Cross Culture, hunt for eggs and enjoy time with Nana, Papa, and Mimi for lunch. I'm really excited for all of those things.  We have been so very blessed with unbelievable family and friends and I love the fact that Kendall is surrounded by people that love Jesus and love our family.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

Why?

Last January I wrote this post:

Please continue to pray for our family. Mikki passed away on Monday. Her funeral will be on Friday and I know that it will be extremely difficult. Please pray specifically for:


My Aunt Tina who has had to make some very difficult choices while mourning the loss of her baby daughter.

Jayden, Mikki's son. He still does not know that his mommy isn't coming home. They are telling him today.

TJ, Mikki's brother. He is heartbroken.

My brother, "Little" Ronnie who was best friends with Mikki from childhood.

My Ronnie dad who is performing his first funeral service.

I know that the Lord can be glorified through this situation.

At the time - Mikki's death seemed like the absolute worst thing that could have happened to my Aunt Tina and to my brother.  Then I got the call this morning that TJ had been killed in a car accident in the wee hours of the morning.  That's right - my cousin TJ, Mikki's brother.  As in my Aunt Tina's other child.  And suddenly I find myself at a point in my own personal life where I truly do not understand why.  There have been times in my life where I've seen something horrendous on the news and wondered why.  Or heard a story about someone that had tragedy hit and said "I don't understand".  But standing in my aunt's kitchen this afternoon, watching her try to hold her head high as she mourns the loss of another child before she's even begun to process the lost of the first one...it just doesn't make sense to me. 

Why has Tina's life been so hard?  In the course of her 45 years she has buried a husband and now has lost BOTH of her adult children?  Why?  Why?  Why?  I said in my first post that I knew that God could be glorified through Mikki's death.  And of course I pray that He will be glorified through TJ's as well.  But that nagging question still comes in - Why, Lord?  Surely I am not worthy to question the Almighty, but I feel that He can handle my questions, my anger, my disappointment.  And quite frankly, I don't know where else to turn with these feelings that I can not even put into words. 

So I'll ask again that you blog readers pray for my family.  Ronnie will again be doing the service...his second funeral.  I feel that the Lord used him in a great way at Mikki's funeral and I know He will again.  Please pray for Tina as she wonders if her life will ever be normal again.  As she figures out how to move on with these holes in her heart.  Pray for my brother "Little" Ronnie who has literally lost the two best friends, possibly only real friends, he's ever had.  Pray for my mom, who in her sweet and gentle way, provides comfort and support for Tina.  Gosh - I could go on and on - just please pray for my family.

I know God is good and I pray that the knowledge of His goodness will get our family through this difficult time.

Temper, temper

It's not really a surprise that my child has a bad temper.  After all, there was a time in my life when my only emotion was anger.  I had hoped that she would inherit her dad's calm emotional state, but apparently not.  Kendall has been throwing some pretty horrific temper tantrums and quite frankly, I'm not sure what to do to handle them.  Here's an example - Saturday it was nap time and I gave her a 5 minute warning that she'd need to be ready for a nap.  She LOST IT.  Screaming.  Crying.  Kicking.  Scratching.  She was hysterical for a good 20 minutes - which is a llooonnnggg time when you're watching your toddler go absolutely nuts.  I stood my ground and she finally calmed down and took her nap, but it was rough.  I was literally holding her and praying out loud that I would not lose it.

So my question for the mommies out there - what do I do when she is acting like that?  We wholeheartedly believe in spanking as a form of discipline, but do I spank her in the middle of her hysterics?  Do I just ignore her?  Do I spank her after she calms down and send her into hysterics again?  Help!

Did I ever tell you about...

...my 16th birthday?

Rachel's blog was about her 18th, but my 18th involved some stuff I'd rather not remember, so 16th it is!

Of course the biggest deal was getting my license, and my fabulous mother took my on my birthday so that I didn't have to wait even one day past the big 1-6 (not that she let me drive right away, but that's another story). One of my BFFs at the time went with me and I almost killed us all turning left into oncoming traffic on the way to the DMV, but hey - I passed the driver's test and got my license.

That night my friend spent the night and the next day after school, my crazy parents took a whole bunch of us 15-16 year olds to the beach to celebrate. At the time my Papa had a beach house and my parent's had their beach place as well, so Ronnie was the official chaperon for the boys at their place and Mama was the official chaperon for the girls at Papa's house. This probably sounds nuts to some of you - but for real - I was still a relatively good girl at this time and it really was just a whole bunch of friends, my brother and sister and my parents, celebrating a milestone birthday. We weren't like shacking up or anything. Actually - the guys didn't pay a whole heck of a lot of attention to us - Ronnie made them mow the grass and play Frisbee and manly stuff like that while we basked in the sun.

Anyhoo - my parents wouldn't even let me drive while I was down there, so I begged and pleaded for them to let me drive to a restaurant and go out to eat with just my friends and no parents. They finally said I could - it was literally less than a mile away (anyone that's been to Salter Path, NC can attest to the fact that everything is less than a mile away). But I didn't care - I thought I was hot stuff driving to eat shrimp with my friends.

I opened my presents out on my Papa's huge deck and even managed to laugh at my parent's wittiness in giving me the Mustang I had asked for...as in a little key chain Mustang that revved it's engine when you pushed a button. They are just so funny, let me tell you.

Honestly, it was a wonderful birthday and even though I only still speak to a whopping one person that went - I'm glad we got to go. Eat your heart out, My Super Sweet 16!

2 Year Checkup

So even though Kendall turned 2 back in January, her mommy didn't get her a 2-year checkup appointment until February. Who knew you needed to call in advance for those suckers? We actually couldn't get in with Kendall's usual doctor (who always calls her a boy anyway, thus wasn't going to be her usual doctor much longer anyway), so we saw a doctor that we hadn't seen since Kendall was 3 days old with Jaundice. Kendall did really well - she doesn't like the doctor's office now that she's figured out she gets shots there, so I was expecting drama, but there was none.

I don't remember her exact measurements, but I know she's 85th % for her noggin, 50th for her length and a measly 10th for her weight. She certainly doesn't get that petite-ness from her mama, but the doctor ain't worried, so neither am I.

We also talked to the doctor about her Sahara-dry skin (which she definitely gets from her ashy daddy) and are now lotioning her down all. The. Time.

Other than that it was a very uneventful visit (thank you Lord).

Did I ever tell you about...

...my never ending People magazine subscription?

I've always loved People magazine. I read it cover to cover and although I know there are those that think it's a junk magazine - I would definitely disagree. Not saying everything that's printed is especially important, but they do write some really good articles and generally don't print things that turn out to be false. I used to pick up the magazine whenever it caught my eye at the grocery store, but couldn't justify the $100+ price tag on a yearly subscription.

So shortly after James and I got married there was a giveaway at his job and he came home and surprised me with a year-long subscription to People! I was so excited and enjoyed getting my magazine every week. That was 4 years and one move across town ago and I'm still getting People every week. I've never paid a dime.

Now - I know you're tsk tsking me right now, but I have honestly called People more times than I can count to tell them that I'm getting the magazine for free and to ask them to bill me or to explain why the magazine keeps coming. Every single time they've told me that they are not sure what's going on and that someone will call me back and they never have. James laughs at me about this all the time - he says I'm going to go to the mailbox and in place of the magazine will be a $1,000 bill for all the years I've gotten it.

Until then - I shall call People periodically to tell them (again) that I'm getting a freebie and sincerely enjoy every celebrity-filled word.

Did I ever tell you about...

So I have a knack for picking very smart, creative girlfriends. This was most recently evidenced by my friend Rachel. She is a faithful blogger and I want to be more like that for the few folks that I know read this blog. Her newest idea is to share things that we've never really blogged about. She posted about it on her blog, got suggestions from friends about what random things to write about and posted her first one this week. I shall shamelessly steal her idea each week and write about the same thing.

This week's random blog was: Did I ever tell you about how I picked my children's names". Except in my case - there is only one child, so far.

Kendall Anne - My very favorite girl name in the whole wide world is Maycee. However, I knew that I would never be able to name a sweet baby girl Maycee after marrying James and taking the last name Mason. Maycee Mason sounds like Casey Kasom (you know - the weekly Top 40 dude) and that's just weird. James really liked the name Jasmine, but #1 - I hated it and #2 - I didn't want to be one of those families where everyone's name started with the same letter (no offense to any of those that have decided to go that route). So that left us picking a girl's name from "scratch". Which ended up being really easy because one day I thought of the name Kendall and just knew it was right. James loved it, my mom (whose opinion is probably way too important to this 30 year old woman) liked it - all was well. It's the right mix of different without being pure crazy. As for the Anne - that was easy. My grandmother's name was Ann, my mom's name is LuAnn, and my middle name is Leann. Then I added the 'e' as another tribute to my grandmother, who shared my absolute obsession with reading and who gave me the book Anne of Green Gables when I was just starting to enjoy books.

So there you have it. Post me a comment with anything you'd like me (and Rachel) to blog about!