Did I just say that?

Another day...another smile

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Now, who wouldn't want to wake up to a day of this???

We're potty training (OK, we have BEEN doing it since she turned one and now she's almost two), and her smaller 'panties' (which, I love them because they are 'for boys' and I was always jealous of boy Underoos with Yoda and cool stuff like that), so, anyway, she's wearing boys hand-me-down undies (kinda, ew...now that I think on it) and they are a little too big. Size 4T, actually. But, it makes for some great pictures.

I love my pool. Who cares that it's only about 4 ft across. And I'm only 21 inches.

Now, back away, slowly. I'm so cute I might make your head explode.

So, this morning I awoke, like a normal person. No nausea, no feeling of impending death, no fear of facing the day...well, OK, there is always some little nagging fear of some deadline, some person going off on me, some unknown thing that I can't even describe. But, still, my chains have fallen off and I'm happy to be free.

I got a small portfolio together for the modeling agency from which I won a year contract (Sophie won one, as well). Here are some pictures:

Who knows where all that will go. Maybe nowhere, fast. But I just have to be patient and if something comes along, so be it. I don't want to be a mega star. There's a little indie flick I'm thinking of auditioning for at the Tutwiler on August 8th. Maybe I'll go. I don't know. I've got to admit that I'm a little scared.

But what is life without walking through the flames and realizing you didn't even get singed?

'Till then, in response to my last blog, my dad wrote me this astounding and insightful and blunt (yes, I get that from him and I love it) response to my coping problems. I think a lot of us could benefit from this wisdom, so LOVE YA, DAD! You're on my blog now. :)

COPING SKILLS:

(a) unless it’s an emergency, you DON’T HAVE TO RESPOND IMMEDIATELY to anything…any comment, any request, any demand, any invitation. In other words, draw a line and don’t allow anyone to cross it until YOU ARE READY.

(b) you can respond partially (when you choose to), like “I don’t know…I’ll have to think about that."

(c) you DON’T HAVE TO EXPLAIN YOUR RESPONSE. Often, we don’t know WHY something doesn’t “hit us” the right way, it just doesn’t, and a clear logical, rational explanation is not needed and not to be expected. After all, we’re not a computer…data in, data out.

That will be $135, please. Just give your credit card to the nice assistant at the door. :)

Did you ever have a time....

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:19:00 +0000

Did you ever have a time when you thought, "This isn't happening. This is too surreal to be actually going on around me, in me (whatever the situation may be). I can't actually be considering these things. I can't actually have just done that."??

I have a friend who has become an addict, of sorts. ;) (In-recovery joke.) She has been exercising her butt off.... Seriously, Mer, like, where's your butt? LOL I'm kidding, of course.

But there's got to have been a moment where she thought, "Holy crap, this FitLinxx thing says I lifted 3 elephants this week. For real! Over time, my circuit training efforts mean I lifted that many elephants?" (I mean, with this YMCA FitLixx thing, you can even count walking from the parking lot to the grocery store!) Anyway, I digress...as usual.

So, anyway, I'm waking up, trying to go through my day, not thinking about my addiction in the sense that I am not trying to figure out how I can sneak around and get my 'fix,' but like, "HOLY! I'm through with it! Done. Finito. Wow. REALLY? Like, no, really?" And I smile. Really big. I laugh out loud. Even in this mental and sometimes physical pain, I just want to thank God that I'm done. I'm out of the closet. (No, I'm not gay.)

And I've realized what my new addiction is going to be. I mean, some Dr.s have told me that I need to do this and that and be hospitalized and blah, and blah, and blah. God's bigger than that. I was never opposed to doing what I needed to do, if I needed to do it, but I haven't needed all that Dr. supervision. (Funny word: Super. Vision. Like, Superman? For real?) Anyway, God's been enough. Watching my back. And my family and friends, and prayer and, of course, Tommy and sleep and my new addiction...which really isn't new because I had it before.

It's lame, nothing interesting, I know...but it's music. And I have to say, the clean version of this song, and the chorus especially, LOSE YOURSELF is THE most inspiring song for me right now. Eminem may not be some clean-cut Christian, but he is honest and you know what? I admire him. He's more open and real than a lot of people I know. So slander me. *Shudder* Big whoop.

I forgot how much I love music. Acting like a rock star in the car, in front of the mirror (OK, maybe I'm sharing too much.... *snort* ME sharing too much. *laughs*) and just being the biggest moron and pretending I'm the bomb.

Don't lie. You know you've done it, too.

However, there is one thing that is missing. HUGE problem: I've never learned how to cope with stress or conflict. I am the epitome of 'fight or flight.' For the last 8-some-odd years I've been flighting...flighty is more like it. Before that, I was a fighter. Not a good one. A mean one.

Seriously, anyone who knows me...really knows me...knows I am not non-confrontational (unless I have a horrible addiction to fall back on and couldn't give a rip and didn't have energy to fight back anyway). However, when I am backed into a corner, I do not come out with my fists up or say, "OK, you're right. I'm being irrational." (Although, I am capable of that rationality, it takes WAAAAY too much effort for me.)

So, if I'm not a pretty tame 'fists up, ready to fight,' what am I when I'm backed into a corner? I am thinking...this: You asked for it. And I was taught this. Through pain and heartbreak and lies and blah, blah, blah, blittity, blah.

So I called up a shrink today and said, "I have no coping mechanisms. The only coping mechanism I've had for about 8 years is gone. I don't want that to ever come back. However, I don't know the balance between fight or flight. I either roll over and play dead or...well, become your worst psychopathic, belittling nightmare. (You think I'm kidding?) And I hate it. I need help. Celebrate Recovery will help me with certain things, but the psychological things...I need help, Doc." So, I have an appointment with a psychiatrist tomorrow at 5pm.

He's actually excited for me. I can't truly understand why. Pretty cool doctor, I guess.

Anyway. That's all for now.

OH, please pray that I can get some more painting done. I just don't have the energy and these headaches are killing me and things are strained (no big surprise here) between Tommy and me. I still have two full paintings to go and the lady asked for them by mid-August. I'm going to have to trust my instinct and JUST FREAKIN' PAINT.

Oi? You been on 'oliday?

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:12:00 +0000

I am going to go ahead and preface this with a HUGE and SERIOUS warning: Not everyone who reads this is going to be able to process it fully. I KNOW that I'm putting this out on the freakin' Internet for the 'whole world' to see. Do I care? NO! Why? Because hiding is what has gotten me into the situation I was in, up until almost 8 days ago, and has me writhing in the aftermath of fear and pain of the mentality and physicality of my sin. I will say this, though. This is NOT for you to gossip about and I call down God's angels to silence your tongue if you speak ill of what glory God is getting from my situation. I don't take this lightly. I'm not an idiot. I know there are people that will read this, perhaps glean something and know immediately what I'm talking about...on the flip side, others will only contemplate and never think of it again. But, if you do decide to tell people of what you KNOW to be the truth of my situation, in fairness, take the plank out of your own eye first. Then let us deal with my plank. Let them come to ME and I will stand as a living testimony of GOD ALMIGHTY. This is MY story, my testimony of God's grace and healing, my LIFE to tell, not anyone else's. No matter how important you think it is to 'share.' If you know you are a gossiper, slanderer or 'sharer,' please, out of respect for my family and to honor God, don't read this. Go read something else.

Thanks.
Peace and Chicken Grease.

Now on with the show.

Oi? You been on 'oliday?
Yeah, an eight-year "holiday" FROM HELL!

I'm not going to go into all of "IT" on blogspot.com for cryin' out loud (yet), and no, I am not referring to Disney. Disney was a great holiday. I hate roller coasters, but I know I'd ride the Tower of Terror a bazillion times if I could get back the (on and off of ) eight years I've lost. (I'm sure that after the tenth ride, I'd stop vomiting and passing out from anxiety and just get bored anyway...or laugh my head off and realize I love the feeling of free-falling.)

Anyway, the hell in which I am referring is this stupid, friggin' addiction I've had on and off for eight years that I am finally free of...well, it's been a week, but I'm free so far. Nothing dramatic happened, really. Just...got tired of it. God has shown me a glimpse of His dream for my life and man, oh man...it looked GOOOOOD. That's what it took.

I've got family, friends, even strangers praying for me and looking out for me and keeping me accountable. And I'm going to give Celebrate Recovery a good 'ole, standing-ovation try (I didn't say, "good 'ole college try", cuz honestly, I never did much like the college scene and I can't say I really tried when I was there--although, somehow I managed to pass everything but Math anyway. I didn't even finish my degree anyway...aaaaannd I'd feel cheap if I lied about giving props to my healing having anything to do with formal schooling.) I already feel cheap enough for all the crap I've done while addicted.

So, on the contrary, life has always been my school. I've never had any use for droning lecturers. What they said, never stuck. I'd doodle and think of elaborate short stories and wait for lunch and the blue sky. I'd rather read a million good books (shoot, even BAD books, if there is such a thing), walk the sands of the ocean or climb a tree in bare feet, face burials of 10 beloved pets, fight viciously with everyone I know, at least once, and to love deeply, passionately and have my heart broken over and over, so that I may even try to glimpse the vastness of God and the universe. (I still have a few of those goals to go, actually. Like, the fighting viciously part.) And with all that I've seen and experienced and lost in my tiny 33-years, I still don't understand the vastness of God or the universe, of course. Never will. That's fine with me. This isn't my home anyway, but I want to enjoy it as much as I can before it's gone.

Anyway, let me say this; I don't know why God had this happen now; this total healing. This repulsion by my sin. But I'm sure as heck glad He did. I've been begging Him to take this thorn from my flesh since 2001 and I couldn't believe He wouldn't do it! I got ticked, actually. (Ticked at the wrong thing, but ticked, nonetheless...and who do we blame when things don't go our way??? Yep. God.) I did my duty and went to church, tithed, attended Bible studies, quoted Scripture, love on the lost. So, what the heck, right?

Thankfully, I never stopped believing in Him; or His love, goodness or beautiful righteousness (His sanity, yes, but never His love, goodness or righteousness), but I certainly didn't want to have any real conversations with Him, either. He could have crushed my addiction once-and-for-all when I whole-heartedly wanted to start Truth Magazine, when I got married, when I had my little Hamlet, when I was recovering from three surgeries to remove necrotized fascia, but whatever.

Who can know the mind of God?

And that's Scripture, folks. Romans 11:34 says, "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?" Not me, thank...well, Him. If it was up to me, the whole planet would have waaay worse problems than fake Global Warning (kidding, kind of), Michael Jackson's obsession with plastic surgery or people thinking Obama is the savior. I would have wiped us out with a flood again when I was 16, promise or no. I'm just glad I'm not in His position.

See, we know that satan (we'll call him the s-word from now on), likes to pull some pretty sick pranks. Don't fail to mistake them for fun and games. He's playing for your life. He's trying to make you think all hell is going to break loose if a loved one is going to die. Or you'll lose a job and you've got mouths to feed and here comes the s-word, delighting in sending his slimey little cohorts (remember, he is NOT omnipresent) to pester you and plague you and taunt you unto death-and perhaps not even physical death, but certainly death of hopes, dreams, friendships, marriages, families and all good things in this world. But it's not God's fault if you choose to believe the s-word. Oh no! Do NOT be mistaken there.

Because, from THE MOST important AUTHOR, we know that, "The wages of sin is death, but the FREE gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord."--Rom. 6:23 (Did you get that part? I lost if for a long time. If He's not your Lord-the one you trust with all your hopes, dreams and fears, well then, He's nothing to you at all). Also, James 1:15 says, "When lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth with it, death." I like how another version puts it, too. "Then, when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full–grown, brings forth death." It gives sin this living, breathing entity that we can take so much more seriously. Our sin is like breeding axe-murderers. ON PURPOSE! You think I'm kidding? Look at some of the most notorious killers...they usually came from some twisted form of Christian home life.

(And, Yes, by-golly, after 8 years of (again, on and off) addiction, I can still recite Scripture and that is only by the grace of God, as well.) Do I have the right to preach, heck no.... And...heck, yes. The lack of belief is what has kept me in bondage for so long. So I rejoice in the Truth and when it is spoken...from my mouth, from anyone's mouth.

But now...what keeps us in these entrapments?

The Lies. You know 'em. I know 'em:

You are NOT worthy (course I'm not) except that Christ Jesus lives in me and makes me worthy.
You're a no-good liar and a thief (yes, that's true) and yet, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
You deserve every bad thing that happens to you (prolly, yeah), but we know that everything works together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. And every good gift comes from God. He longs to give us good gifts.
Ooo, this is a good one! S-word works hard on this one, I bet; You are completely and utterly alone. BUT the Lord is near the broken-hearted; he is the saviour of those whose spirits are crushed-Psalm 34:18 and A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. —Proverbs 18:24

And on that friendship note, there is also the verse (to those trapped in addiction, struggling with shame, wrapped up in the sin of anger, unforgiveness (a biggie), lust, etc.:

Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
—Proverbs 27:5-6

Remember that when your friends and family will not allow you to live in sin any longer.

So, what gives me the gall to stand before God and you and write all this?

Because I am a sinner SAVED by GRACE and He has healed me and I know the truth.

(And because He told me I could.)

(See random pics from our trip here: You've Got a Friend in Me and here Disney in 36 Hours) Oh, and thanks, Ty, for keeping me company and giving me courage!

Working for love

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:44:00 +0000

Wow. Sometimes it takes years, months, or decades to find what you really love to do with your time. You may have talents or abilities, but never know how exactly to use them for the glory of God or to make a living off of them. He has the answer.

My advice: Just start using them and He will bring opportunities out of the woodwork.

I think all of us have a certain thing we're really good at...music, math, painting, listening, counseling, athletics, writing, encouraging, organizing, fixing problems, and so on. It's something that comes rather easy to us. Something we often take for granted. However, sometimes, we believe the lie that we aren't any good at these things and let it drop to the wayside, 'squandering our talents.' Matt. 25 tells of a master who gives each of his workers a certain amount of talents.

I liken this to God giving us certain abilities (things we're born naturally good at doing) and asking us to use them for His Glory. If we bury them, it's like saying He doesn't know what He's doing and not only do we not trust ourselves with this talent, but we also don't trust God. Essentially, we are saying, "Um, thanks God, for giving me this, but You don't know what you're doing. I'm not good enough. I think I'll just sit on this and let other people with similar talents do all the work."

This is what I've been doing for years. I have been drawing since I was able to pick up a crayon. I remember sitting on my Grandmom's floor (mom's mom) and rifling through my special drawer to find crayons and paper at the age of 3. I wasn't any good then, but I had a passion. I just needed to hone my abilities.

It wasn't long before I began to shy away from drawing. A lady, who is now very well known in the art community (Donna Peters), was our neighbor and when she saw my drawings, she wanted to give me free...FREE...drawing lessons. I was too shy and wouldn't go over to her house. I still kick myself for that.

However, what I am doing now all started with a birthday party for a friend (Wendy). She had called in a lady to do a painting party with us. Our subject was a wrought-iron type cross. Our colors were pretty much pre-chosen, and the cross was already drawn out (this was super easy for me and very relaxing), but we could decide how to decorate and accessorize our painting. At the end of the party, I donated the painting to Lifeline Adoption Services because I had said I would submit something into the TableScapes 2009 silent auction coming up April 25th.

When ladies from Lifeline saw the cross painting, I began to generate some interest in my work. One girl, Marie, went ahead and asked me to paint a cross like the one I'd done, but in brown in blues. I agreed...for $45. (Live and learn.) On a side note: NEVER tell the price until you have accessed how much time it's going to take to complete a painting. I spent about 10 hours on this painting, trying to figure out the background, the shades of blue, and then the actual adornments, etc. An since I usually charge $20/hour, this painting should have cost an upward of $200. Like I said...live and learn.

However, it's done and I'm very pleased with it.

Now I have been hired to paint not one, but TWO murals for a lady's two girls. I was originally going to do in directly on the wall, but she said if they move, they wanted to be able to take it with them, so we decided to do it on a big canvas and then mount the canvas on the wall. I can't wait to get started and I've done some preliminary sketches. It's been a lot of fun (and hard work) learning to draw horses again. I grew up with horses and have always been fond of them.

This same lady wants a 4x6 painting of a horse for herself after I'm done with the murals and has told me she already has ideas for Christmas and her other friends are interested in hiring me, too. This is before I've even completed the murals!!!

For God's glory, I hope that the paintings with show the talents He's given me.

Life is so creative

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:35:00 +0000

Wow, I'm actually having a pretty good time in life right now. My new nephew (Isaiah) is very healthy at 6 weeks and just too, too cute. My in-laws are so super-terrific, my husband loves me, even though I can be pretty unlikable sometimes. My sister, her kids, my BIL Smith and my mom all live not 20 minutes away from me, both sets of grandparents are less than 5 miles away in either direction, Hubby's 40+ cousins are close and they're more incredible to watch every day. My dad is a terrific cheerleader for me and helps me so much just in every day things. Props to him for marrying one of the best gals in the world! Love you, Gugu. OH, and my sister and I are starting a Bible study together. (Such a long story that I can't get into it here, but trust me, we went from wanting to kill each other most our lives, to her leading me to Christ in 1996, and now we are closer than ever.) God is so good.

On a whole other level, I have started working on the new commissioned piece for a girl that Andrea works with at Lifeline Children's Services. I am really excited about this piece because it is something I personally am drawn to artistically. It is a painting of a wrought-iron cross with blues and browns in the background and the cross itself is a dark brown. Here is the background without any accents or elaborate detail.

And here is about 45 minutes later as my husband takes pics of me working. He's really good at that and I'm thankful he takes such interest in my creative side. He's a great supporter. It's a wonderful thing.

So, there you have it. Not much else to report, but I'll blog more tomorrow and hopefully I will have this painting finished.

Help! My daughter's turned into a parrot!

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:51:00 +0000

Welp, whoever said that teaching little ones Sign Language impedes their speech must not have been doing it right. Or at least, they've never met my daughter.

I can say just about anything and Ham will repeat it...or try. Which makes for very funny moments. All of which I wish I could get on tape, but alas, it's just so spontaneous that I would have to install cameras all over the place to capture her humor.

This morning I said we needed to get a diaper and a wipey and Ham crowed, "Di-uhn 'n eye-pee. Di-uhn 'n eye-pee." I love the variations of words she uses. It makes the English language so much more interesting.

However, there are downfalls.

Most of the time, Husband and I call each other "mommy" and "daddy." But sometimes we do call each other by our names. So, I don't know in what situation Ham deems it necessary to use my real name, but sometimes she will just start calling, "Amy! Ammmeeeee!" She doesn't do it to my husband, though. I don't know why.

This brings us to making sure we think about everything we say. I use, "Ah, man," when I do something unexpected, like dropping some food on the floor. And Ham might be in the other room and I hear her croon, "Aaa, meen." And one day I said something about a bomb and as she was innocently eating in her booster seat, she off-handedly mimicked me and said, "bauuum." Hubby and I just eyed each other warily.

I have to say that I'm glad I don't use swear words in everyday language. Now, I'm not perfect by any means and I have been known to let a nasty word slip when I am overcome with anger. (I don't like it, so I have worked to not do that at all.) I only say that to let you know I don't judge those who use curse words because I, myself have struggled with it. However, I don't want my daughter exposed to it. I don't think it's cute when kids cuss. I just don't. Sorry. I have laughed at it before, but since becoming a mother, I wouldn't ever want to hear dirty words rolling easily off her tongue. OK, that being said, let's move on.

Ham is also trying to sing songs she's heard. Most recently it's "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and I gotta say, she's just the cutest thing. The first part is a lot of, "Ayeyeyaya ooooayaya" and then it's a very pronounced, "Neee aaannnn tow." Love it.

So, that's the main event going on right now. SO much fun.

Ehhhhh....

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:12:00 +0000

OK, so it's been too long to catch up on everything. My bad.

Let's get a few fundamentals out of the way:

I'm still recovering from the car accident which did leave my Camry a total loss, but scored us a check for more than what we paid for it almost 3 years ago. Ham and I are fine, but it was scary and I have a new, not-so-unjustified paranoia that I will get rear-ended again when I'm at a complete standstill.
Thus, we are now on the long, but somewhat fun, adventure of buying another car...or minivan. Hmmmmm....
I have finally found the antique armoire I've been looking for, for three years. BirminghamFreecycle is the bomb. A lady was giving away a white wood bedroom set complete with double dresser, vanity (mirrors included), night table and afghan rack. I jumped on it. I didn't know that when I went to go pick the stuff up off the side of the road (by her house), I would also be receiving a white, antique armoire. I doused it all with soap and water and it's just fantastic! I was literally jumping up and down in the middle of the road.
Ham can now recognize the written words, "hi," "arms up," "mouth," and "cats" 3 out of 5 times from the flash card set Grandma Annette gave us a month ago. She also put together her first shape and color puzzle two days ago all by herself. *big grin*
On a less exciting note, I have tonsil stones again (well, HAD...one big one) and if they keep coming back, the only option is to get my tonsils taken out. I had a sore throat, earache (I have a new-found sympathy for children with earaches), swollen lymph nodes, and trouble swallowing. So, what? I thought I was just sick or something. Then, I looked at my throat--it only took two weeks of misery for me to be smart enough to actually look back there--and I saw this big...well, you can just look it up if you want. I had my tonsils lasered down in 2003 b/c of this phenomenon and really, tonsil stones are just disgusting, so I won't go into it. It really is as gross as it sounds. Pray that they never, EVER come back.

So, that's just a little update. I'll post some pictures or something soon. I've got three new commissioned pieces of artwork to begin working on, but I still have to finish my mom's 20x24" Lillies before I'm allowed to start on anything else.

Jim Shore and Disney

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:20:00 +0000

I have a new favorite artist. I can't believe I've never heard of him before, let alone seen his work. His name is Jim Shore and it's really his Disney stuff that I'm so in love with, to tell the truth.

I am not a big American Folk Art fan, but this guy's style on classics like

BAMBIALICE IN WONDERLAND'S

CHESHIRE CAT

and my favorite villians,

LADY AND THE TRAMP'S

SI AND AMand SLEEPING BEAUTY'S

MALEFICENT

are beyond inspiring for me.

I have always loved drawing paisleys and designing funky, psychedelic patterns that have hidden pictures within them, but this is some of the most charming work I've seen in a long time.

One of the best parts about his Disney creations (other than the fact that they are the coolest hand-carved, wooden, 3-Dimensional sculptures) is that they are relatively inexpensive. Si and Am can be found on eBay for around $17.00 + shipping or $25.00 retail. I found Bambi for $7.00 (even if I didn't buy it). I've never been able to afford Lenox or Armani or WDCC sculptures of my favorite characters, so this opens up a whole new world of Christmas lists for me.

I love it when I discover new artists and realize I can like genre's of art that I never gave much attention to before.

Move over Gentle Giant.

Tagged

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:36:00 +0000

OK, My cousin (in-law, whatever), the lovely Blair McLeod, has tagged me in a fun and easy little game.

The Rules:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder

3) Explain the picture

4) Tag 4 people to do the same. No cheating (cropping, editing, etc.)

Welp, there it is. Grover, from Sesame Street, hanging on a clothes line. I did this pen drawing when I was a Sophomore at UAB taking Art. We had to pick a subject and draw it in pen, ink, pastels, oil, and watercolor in various different perspectives and settings (mine was a stuffed Grover toy that I loved dearly). I added the water droplet for effect. My teacher rolled his eyes, but I still got an "A" on the project.

I tag:

1. My sweet, and very pregnant, sister-in-law, Tammy.

2. One of my bestest friends ever, Meredith.

3. One of the funniest and craziest people I know, Emily...um, I mean, Micah.

and 4. My wonderful, beautiful, supportive sister, Jennifer.

(Maybe this will make you update your blog, Jen.)

And there you have it.

"Wordless" Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:45:00 +0000

I'm already very musical.

Bowling with Daddy at Aunt Sarah's 15th Birthday party!

What's a blog without a butt shot?

The doll house and tree are bigger than Sophie.

Love my Golden Books! Sweet Aunt Tammy!

I love Aunt Tammy's piano-playing.

She also makes toys do the funniest things!

Granddad is so fun!

Awwww....Oh, wait. SOPHIE!

Gloating over Mickey's defeat.

Never intimidated by the boys.

If you're into that sort of thing...

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:47:00 +0000

It's been a long time since I've been into vampires (a lot of you know where this is going) and honestly, I can't say I'm 'into' them now. However, I am always looking for a good fiction book. After reading Deathly Hallows, and Brisingr, I was stumped at what to venture to next. I've blogged about this part before. See I got tagged.

So, moving on, some months back, my dad and stepmom came over for dinner and told me about the phenomenon of Twilight...asking me if I'd heard about the book. It's a book about a vampire (is what I remember the description to be) and I had no idea that hundreds of thousands of people, especially girls, were going nuts over this book series. I just kind of laughed afterwards, but now I know that it's more a love story than anything. A quest for goodness when you feel that you are a monster. Stuff like that. Back then, though, um...what, 8 months ago???...I just thought, "Huh, vampires. Haven't read anything about the undead since I was 16 years old and completely enthralled with Anne Rice and the Vampire Lestat." So, I tucked it somewhere so deep into my subconscious that I forgot about Twilight at all.

Then, I got onto a Harry Potter kick (this happens every 6 months or so) after watching the new trailers for Half-blood Prince and decided to rent Goblet of Fire. After watching it, I came across some new movie trailers and noticed Cedric Diggory (from Goblet of Fire, aka Robert Pattinson) in the trailer for Twilight. Huh. That rang some far-off bell.

I began reading about the movie and thought, "What the heck. I need a new book."

I've never had a harder time renting a book from the library. Because I was number 36 on a waiting list for Twilight, I began reading an old book I'd read a year ago (Islam Revealed) and had almost given up on getting a new book at all. Then, well, this is not very good of me and I definitely don't go around suggesting this, but I found the book online. Fully uploaded. Honestly...I'm serious...I really didn't think anything about it being a bootleg until Hubby mentioned it. I just looked up, 'Read Twilight online' and when a website popped up, I thought, "Oh, good, I can start reading it now." I can be really dense like that sometimes.

Ok, wow. I'm way off subject...kind of. Arrgh.

So, I read not the first, the second, and the third, but also the fourth and part of the fifth (legally) in a matter of a few weeks. Last Saturday, I saw the movie Twilight with Nikkilicious (sorry, Nikki, I don't know why I do that to your name) and well, it was pretty darn good. It could have been SO much longer and I would have happily sat through it. I was a little surprised that it was over 2 hours. That good? Yeah. Yeah, it kinda was. Beautiful cinematography. Everything was so green and vivid and I LOVED the baseball scene. Made me laugh outloud.

So, now realizing that Cedric...um, Robert Pattinson...is a pretty good actor, I began looking at some of his other work. And now I am psyched about a new movie he's in that is coming out in 2009. NO, I'm not talking about New Moon (Part 2 of the Twilight Saga), although I will be excited to see what direction that movie takes and hope it's even better. No, I'm talking about How To Be. It looks hysterical. And being from the Boom-a-Rang Generation (Gen x), it's right up my alley. Looks to be a promising little Indie movie. AND....ta da! It has Robert Pattinson.

However, I have to warn those who gush and blush and otherwise drool on themselves at even the thought of the British actor...he's NOT an Edward in this movie. He's not even a Cedric. He's...weird. And "normal." And quirky. I like it...if you're into that sort of thing...and I am.

You've Come a Long Way, Baby

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:42:00 +0000

I just had to make a quick journal entry about Ham's new dainty ways. (Side note: I will not say "girly" to describe dainty behavior after reading the definition of girly, which says, "Weak, timid, or effeminate. Used of men.") No...don't like that much.

So, Ham is dainty...yet unbelievably tough. People often look at me with surprised loathing when Ham sprawls out after tripping over something (usually her own feet...much like her momma) and I barely bat an eyelash. She's just too much rough and tumble for me to react to every little stumble or fall. I'm not mean, I just know her.

So, indication #1 that she is becoming more dainty: She is now into bows. She likes to carry them around and she won't take them out of her hair if we put them there. (A big IF, because I usually don't think to accessorize her, although I do think it's adorable.)

The true test of daintiness (def: Delicately beautiful or charming; squeamish), came this morning when I was not paying much attention to Ham. I knew she was looking out of the window waiting for the neighbor's cat to make his appearance, so I didn't think much of it when she started whining as if to complain. I thought, "OK, she sees something she wants, but can't get to it. Or Tux (the cat) hasn't shown up yet." (I usually ignore whining unless she says, "Momma" and then signs 'help.') The whining soon increased and became more of a whimper. Before I thought to look, she began a pitiful sob and I could tell she was in some sort of pain.

I walked over to her (I try not to react 'violently' to her possibly, already painful, circumstances) and asked, "What is it, baby?" She stood there with tears running down her face, clutching a ball in one hand, whimpering and sobbing as if frozen with fear. Since she was standing in between the kitchen table and the window, I thought, "Oh my gosh, she really hurt herself." I thought maybe she banged her head on the table or something. I even scanned her free hand, now frozen with shock against the window, to make sure she hadn't gotten it stuck somehow.

I looked around and it only took a second to find the source of her horror.... A light brown, inch-sized cockroach. Still living, although barely moving, twitching its disgusting, whiplike antennae toward my baby girl.

For some reason, I began to mimic her horror and took great offense to this parasite...Ok, technically, it's not a parasite. I rushed to her aid with a paper towel that just so happened, thankfully, to be on the kitchen table and crushed the intruder. Ham looked up at me with almost as much horror as the roach's appearance had etched across her face. I almost felt bad for the little bugger...hahaha...the roach...bug.

I went against my usual compassion for anything living and did not feel bad for killing the nasty pest, but instead, said to Ham, "It's OK Baby, Momma got it. It's gone. It went 'bye-bye.'" I took it and flushed it and when I came back, Ham was still frozen, wide-eyed. I think she was just as surprised at her reaction as I was.

I held out my arms and she gave me a big hug and then toddled off to her basket of toys. It was as if nothing ever happened.

Today's reaction to the roach was a far cry from the reaction I saw on her face about 8 months ago.... The one I remember was an expression of immense satisfaction, as two little roach legs were dangling out of her mouth.

She's come a long way.

Guess who's using the potty???

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:54:00 +0000

So, Hubby has been trying to convince me to try and potty train Ham for quite some time (having read several articles on infants being able to be potty trained).

I knew the fact that babies in other countries do NOT use diapers and are able to 'go' in designated places outside their homes by the time they are 8-9 months old. Ham's 14 months old, so, why not.

Welp. She's doing it. Seriously. Since about two weeks ago, every time you put her on the potty, she strains a little, goes and then gets the biggest smile on her face. The cutest part? She'll sometimes reach over and tear off some toilet paper and rub her leg with it, then throw it behind her. SOOOO funny.

And, last week, she poopied on the potty for the first time. I just about fell over. She went #1 and I was about to get her off the potty and she clenched her fists and screeched a protest, so I was like, "OK, you're not done." Then she pushed a little and plop, plop. Too much information, I'm sure. I don't care. My 14-month-old can poop on the potty.

So now, she can wear training pants (not pull-ups, mind you...real cotton training pants...without that nasty rubber diaper cover) for hours at a time as long as we take her to the potty once every 30-60 minutes. Weird.

Here's a picture of her triumph...and a few just for fun in her undies.

Always, with the tongue. And holding Elmo for reassurance.

Not a care in the world.

Ok, yeah, so I'm wearing hand-me-down, BOYS, training pants from my 2nd cousin, Vinny. AND!?

If I didn't know her better, I'd say she was flaunting it.
OK, this is just TOO Grandmom McLeod. Hahahaha.

Now we're just waiting for her to break out in a Risky Business-type dance. I can see it now, Hubby and I are innocently eating breakfast and Ham comes skidding into the kitchen with socks and undies on, complete with plastic mixing spoon in hand, belting out Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

She's a little more modest than that, it seems...when she knows she being photographed. Although, there is a reason I dubbed her "Ham":

A Tribute...Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:56:00 +0000

My sister and others do this and I think it's a great idea. Not only does it gaurantee a post from me, it also helps me not have to think of anything witty to say and keeps people up-to-date.

Here are a few pictures for this new tradition: Wordless Wednesday

Just Found Out That I Got Tagged...

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:21:00 +0000

Hubby is working from home now and sets up his computer in front of my computer, so I rarely get online anymore...especially during the day. And who has the energy to stay up late at night to surf the Net...oh yeah, my husband. :)

Anyway, with that said, Allyson 'tagged' me 21 days ago and because I haven't been keeping up with blogs, I didn't know it until now.

I'm requested to write about 6 things that make me happy. Here we go...in no particular order.

Like Allyson (who has twins that are five days older than Ham) sleep, in any shape or form, is one thing that makes me very happy. Unfortunately, I don't think I will ever be able to sleep as good as I did when I was in my first trimester with Ham (I would literally pass out and it felt so good).

Family. Oh my goodness. I don't know what I would do without my dad, Augusta, mom, sister, Michael and the kids. But then there is Hubby's side of the family which is about 100 people total (that's just aunts, uncles, cousins and the grandparents).

The sunshine. On days like today when it's a really nice 58 degrees, but misty rain is coming down and the sky is that whitish gray, I would love to see the sun peak through. Spring is my favorite season. I always feel more alive, positive, and open-minded in the spring.

Animals. From little squirrels chattering and chasing each other on our deck to the majesty of a lion or the playfulness of a dolphin, animals have always made me happy. Kittens have to be my favorite domesticated animal, but you probably won't catch us ever having a pet. (A FAR cry from when I was growing up and said that when I was older, I wanted a pick-up truck and three dogs in the back).

Laughter. When I see anyone laughing, it makes me happy. I love laughing at myself and doing dumb things or saying really off-the-wall things and then realizing it was pretty funny. I love to hear babies laugh. Of course, I think my daughter's laugh is the most beautiful and joyful noise I've ever heard.

Dreaming. Now this can be tricky. Ask anyone close to me and they can tell you I have some pretty strange, always vivid dreams. However, I still think they are the coolest things to try and decipher and it's really neat to see how everything you've been thinking seems to play out in a dream. For instance, the other day I finished a book Brisingr, had just read a bunch about this new movie made from a best-selling book of the same name Twilight and had just watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. (As you can tell, I have a certain favorite genre, fantasy/adventure). So, anyway, I dreamed about vampires (Twilight) who could cast spells (Potter and Brisingr) and rode on dragons (Brisingr). I thought it was cool. Weird, but cool.

And, I have to add a 7th thing that makes me happy because the sixth one reminded me that there is nothing like a good book. I love to read and always have. Nothing sparks my creativity and imagination more than a good fiction book. I like non-fiction, too, but it's not the same.

OK, I tag Mer, my sister, and Emily G.

When Can I Proclaim "Genius in the Hiz-ouse?!"

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 18:41:00 +0000

No, I'm not talking about my husband, Genius #1. I am talking about Ham, formerly Peanut, presently One-Who-Amazes-Us-Daily.

Every mom thinks their child is a genius, I know, I know. I'm no different than the biased mom who thinks that a child who can count to three is a prodigy, even when they find them with half a roach hanging out of their mouths. (They know good protein when they see it!) LOL

Everyone that is close to us knows we teach Ham American Sign-Language. She has a sign vocabulary of about 20 words and can also speak several different words. I've said that before. So, to reiterated, we know that signing is not hindering her speech as some studies and sceptics say. However, I tend to forget that not all children are taught signs and that it's still kind of rare. However, for us, it has become a way of life. Not to say that we aren't still enthralled with our little baby girl, but her communicating her needs and wants with us has become second-nature and I forget that some people will think it's weird or cool that she can sign, "More fish crackers, please."

For instance, we have an uncle, Fun Uncle Anthony, that still makes jokes about her and asks her, "Hey, can you sign, 'I want to eat my head'?" He's hysterical. At his house this past weekend, he was routinely making fun of us for teaching Ham all these things and making her a 'freak' and his little baby boy (who is 6 weeks older than Ham) did a sign. I said, "Look, look! See, he can sign!" Uncle Anthony (kidding, of course) mockingly said, "Yeah...'chicken'. Great." We just all started laughing.

However, we are surprised when Ham takes the initiative in learning new things or pointing out things we have not taught her. Here is a twist-tie that she picked up yesterday while Hubby and I were talking:

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but to me, it's a twist-tie. And when Ham had it in her little hand and started to put it in her mouth, I said, "Whatcha got there?" She immediately, without hesitation, signed "fish." I took the twist-tie from her, and saw what you now see in this picture above.

OK. I mean, I know it looks like a little fish, but...HOW does a 13 month-old put that together? They really are smarter than we think.

GENIUS!

Next, we're setting up ink-blot tests. LOL

NOTE: For those of you concerned that Hubby and I may be forcing this stuff on our precious child, please be aware that Ham walks up to us and signs "Baby video" when she wants to watch the sign language video we rented from the library and she gets giddy when we understand what she is trying to communicate. She's a girl. She wants to be heard. :)

Heavy Heart

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:52:00 +0000

I know that this world is going downhill. There is nothing that can redeem the evil deeds done by men and women all over the world except God Almighty Himself. Still, I am appalled at the changes that are expected to be made under the new President. Obama is so Pro-Choice that I'm afraid people like George Tiller and his abortion mill will go unchallenged because they are providing women with 'life-saving' abortions.

I look at my daughter, pictures of unborn babies, my nieces and nephew, cousins, all the children I see every day, and wonder how bad it has to get before people understand the atrocities that go on at abortion clinics.

This is the main reason I could not vote for Obama. As a mother, as someone who has been touched with abortion personally and witnessed it's destructive powers in friends and family, I cannot support someone who supports the slaughtering of tens of thousands of babies A DAY. SUPPORTS it. This isn't someone who just says women have the right to choose. He is planning on us, as tax-payers, to continue funding abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood.

WHY?? I don't think that Barack Obama understands the heavy consequences of sex before marriage OR abortion. His idea of helping a child (his own, even) is for them to get an abortion if they get pregnant so that they will not be 'punished with a baby.' Hear his own words here. If you find that this video is too 'biased,' there are many more where it just states his views plainly. You will see that they match up.

He even goes so far as to say abortions help men and the audience LAUGHS. Grrrrrrrrrrrr. I just can't stand this. I do not believe that God will stand idly by and continue to 'bless' this country with a leader who so adamantly supports the 'spilling of innocent blood' (see Proverbs 6:16-19).

Obama said "the first thing I'd do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act."[16] That bill "would invalidate virtually all state and federal limitations on abortion, and would make partial-birth abortion legal again."[17] Indeed, Obama was upset with the decision of the Supreme Court not to strike down the law passed by the United States Congress to prohibit partial-birth abortion, believing that partial-birth abortion is guaranteed right of the Constitution and that there should be no ability to legislate against it. This from the mouth of a family man who calls his own daughters 'miracles.' WHAT!? What makes them different from other babies?

Obama recently referred to his "Muslim faith."[24]
Obama said the Muslim call to prayer is "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset," and recited "with a first-class Arabic accent" the opening lines: Allah is Supreme! ... I witness that there is no god but Allah ...."[25]
Obama stated that the autobiography of Malcolm X, a Nation of Islam leader who became a Muslim, inspired him in his youth.[26]
Obama raised nearly $1 million and campaigned for a Kenyan presidential candidate who had a written agreement with Muslim leaders promising to convert Kenya to an Islamic state that bans Christianity.[27]

Obama unabashedly explained how he became “churched” in a 2007 speech:
“It’s around that time [while working as an organizer for the Developing Communities Project (DCP) of the Calumet Community Religious Conference (CCRC) in Chicago] that some pastors I was working with came around and asked if I was a member of a church. “If you’re organizing churches,” they said, “it might be helpful if you went to a church once in a while. And I thought, “I guess that makes sense.” Are you kidding me!? He all but admits that he just went to church for the election votes.

Look I know that "Bush" waged war on Iraq and that hundreds of thousands of people have died because of terrorism and this war. I use the term 'Bush' loosely because I don't know of anyone (even if they are against the war now) who didn't feel justified for going to war at the time. Indeed, many Americans demanded justice after 9/11. However, I do not feel that Bush lied to Americans (especially knowingly) or covered up anything he believed. What you saw was what you got, and for the most part, I would back him as one of the greatest, strongest Presidents of history. It took a lot of guts to do what he did. And don't lie and say you didn't think 9/11 deserved justice!

I don't sit on my cushy sofa and support the innocent being killed, tortured, raped, or interrogated by egotistical soldiers that need to be punished for their war crimes. I am disgusted at the pictures and propaganda that support killing ANYONE. I personally have a heart for Iranians and as I write this, there is a huge repentance among the young in Iran that may very well save their country and future generations from God's wrath! We could actually learn from their youth who despise Islam as it is today and want something better for their country.

OK, so I've not even begun to say how much I am against abortion, but this is my place I can vent my frustrations as well as record my joys. Today, for whatever reason, I am infuriated by this country and its people who turn a blind eye to murdered children, but are haughty about saving a dying planet by going green.

Sign Language vs. Talking

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:54:00 +0000

Welp, Ham is learning the art of American Sign Language with a vengeance! She is addicted to her baby videos that we rented from the library. I don't know what we are going to do when they have to go back....again. Yes, I have rented them twice already. I think we should have stuck with teaching her everyday signs with regular objects because she can be pretty incessant about signing, "Baby Video." It's cute, though. We just don't give in every time.

She can sign so many things now. Here is a list:
Apple, shirt, banana, lion, monkey, car, thank you, milk, baby, video, music, fish, tree, dinosaur (I know, SOOO important, right?), doggy, cat, water, drink, cereal, cracker, socks, shoes, hot, hat, diaper, daddy, share, you're welcome, please, kisses, balloon, ball, all done, elephant, train, panda, lion, giraffe, music, sleep, night night...OK, I'm sure there are more, but you get the picture.

She can also now say:
Dog ("daw"), hot ("ot"), hat ("at") which can also be 'cat', ball ("baw"), baby ("bebe"), Aunt Jen ("bin"), Isabella ("beda"), Mommy, Daddy, and Bebe pronounced 'Bay-Bay ("beba").

Hubby and I have been talking a bit about making our own videos for her. We have read differing ideas about sign language and babies talking late. For instance, if you show your child how to sign words, but do not speak the words as well, then the child is more likely to continue signing instead of learning how to speak the words as well. However, studies show that if a baby (or child) learns sign language coupled with learning the word and the spelling (a video often shows the word they are signing), a child usually talks sooner, but also can recognize words sooner...leading to reading at an earlier age. Now that is something we can stand behind!

We aren't all about making Ham into some sort of freak of nature, who sits around reading Pride and Prejudice at the age of 3, but we are into fostering good reading habits and communication. Both of us love to read and it's something we want Ham to enjoy...if she so chooses.

I remember many kids in my first and second-grade classes who would cry if the teacher asked them to read at story time. I always felt sad for them (and mad, if the teacher badgered them in any way) and would volunteer to read so that they didn't feel pressured. I never felt haughty or better than anyone, but I just couldn't imagine a life without being able to read on my own. Because of this, I have also thought about joining a program that helps children (and adults) learn to read.

That being said, Ham is only 13 months old and she has lagged in some ways (whatever that means) by only having 3 teeth at a year old, but she has excelled in others. I think that when we see our children loving something and wanting to learn, we should make it a top priority to sit down with them and guide them in their endeavors. That is what my parents did with me and I am so thankful for it.

So, there you go.

Humble Beginnings and an Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 05:08:00 +0000

Welp, I have set up a small workspace in the corner of our kitchen. You may think, "That's not much to look at," and you'd be quite right to have that thought. However, as much as I would love to have a room where I could paint anything on the walls, decorate it with inspiring words, drawings, clippings, etc., this is what will have to do for now.

It's my Creative Corner

I will say this about my fabulous, supportive husband (whom I am celebrating our 5th Anniversary with today). We have a spare bedroom that doesn't get used for anything but storage. It's really too small to put our old queen size bed in there, so if company did stay over, they'd have one twin bed and a blow-up mattress to put on the floor. That being said, we have left room for our old kitchen table, a chair, a small 11" t.v. we never use (which is sitting on an ancient, laminated wood, rolling t.v. stand...seriously, I think this was from when I was a kid in the 70's. I'm sure of it.)

So anyway, my husband has said several times that he would love for me to use that spare bedroom (I'm sure that having my arts and crafts spread all over the house has nothing to do with the generosity, of course). I have talked about painting it a pale lavender, hanging little pixies made of paper, felt, beading, and wire from little swings I'd fashion to the ceiling. Kind of like a hanging mobile, but with little girl and boy fairies. Like this one I found online:

Each time I have a hair-brained scheme like that, he has supported me 100%. Of course, though, all this takes time. And money.

Now, I'm sure that it wouldn't be expensive to paint the room, just time-consuming, and then it would even be cute as-is. It's just...I haven't done it yet.

My first order of business will be to paint a reproduction of this original I painted a few months ago. The one below is 16x20 and my mom wants a much larger one to hang in her main room. I think it's 30x24 or something.

This one is being sold on etsy.com as we speak. I don't know if it will sell for my asking price, but I didn't think the Owl in the Sky With Diamonds would sell for what it did, either. There's always hope.

Here is a couple of close-ups of this painting. I was really happy with the way it turned out, considering I used acrylic paints. I put the paint on so thick that I had to use a hair dryer on the background before I could continue with the flowers. I didn't know that heat would make the paint bubble, so there are some cool textures you don't usually get with acrylics.

So, there's that.

Turning a corner

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:17:00 +0000

Things have changed a bit around the McLeod household. For one thing, Hubby has been working at home every day due to changes in his company. He's not complaining and neither am I...it's been a long time since I've been able to put Ham down for a nap and run errands by myself. It's a lot easier on my neck and back to have a strong, helpful man around, that is for sure. We're still working out some logistical things, though, like the huge distraction Ham is to him...albeit a cute one.

However, we love having Daddy at home and now Ham insists on being put down in her crib by the both of us. At night, she has even stopped calling out to only me. Her sing-song voice is now, "Mama, mama? Dada, dada, dad-ee, dad-ee? Mama..?" You get the idea. It's kind of nice, for me anyway. Still breaks my heart though. I hate to hear her cry. I'm one of those mom's that feels like I need to be tied to the bedpost to keep me from going into her room if she cries longer than 60 seconds.

Ham now has three teeth showing! The bottom right central incisor came in first (spotted by my sister about a month ago). Had my sister not taken a peek, I might have never known it was coming. I had been joking that day with Ham, asking, "When are you going to get some teeth, kiddo?" Welp, I asked for it.

So, within a week, her top right central incisor began peeking through. It's weird, though, because the top tooth is now showing more than the bottom one. She has since started cutting her top left CI and I'm pretty sure she is now cutting a molar...whether it's upper or lower, I'm not sure. I can also see a canine reaching the tip of her gums. She'll be all snaggle-toothed. So, the drool abounds and she has her hands in her mouth a lot more.

I will say that she has been an angel compared to what could be a very painful experience for us all. I have given her Motrin when I knew that she was suffering and sometimes I give it to her before bed just to ward off her waking up because of pain (she woke up four times one night, screaming).

Poor thing. There are always trade-offs. She may be late getting her teeth, but they seem to all want to push through at the same time. I don't know how painful that is for Ham, but she has been a gem. Some days she is just quieter and a little more reserved. She still freely gives kisses, but BEWARE! She will try to bite you sometimes if you don't pull your lips away quickly enough!

Here is a chart of the eruption (love how they call it that) of first teeth and the common ages in which they come.
Some days I miss my excitable, happy-go-lucky, grinning little girl, but I know she always comes back as soon as a tooth pops through. She still gets giggle fits and LOVES when she can 'chase' her cousins around the yard in Mommy's arms. She especially loves it when they turn around and yell, 'boo!' That always gets a belly laugh.

Ham in a costume contest

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:48:00 +0000

She is so behind in votes that I doubt she has a chance, but if you could, please vote for Ham! You can vote for her once a day and it's super-easy. Some kids already have over 3000 votes! This contest just started on October 15th! I don't know how they did it. So, anyway, she can at least be voted on up until Novemeber 15th.

Go here: AND REMEMBER, VOTE ONCE A DAY!!
http://www.thecutekid.com/ckgallery/votemypic/email/4477

How do you vote, you ask? Well, unfortunately, you have to sign up for the CuteKid site. The address below will take you to the sign-up form. However, GOOD NEWS, you can opt-out of any future mailings. I know it's a lot to ask with all the information on the internet. One option for the really cautious at heart (or you just don't want your information out there), make a new e-mail address on yahoo, hotmail, etc. and don't put in your real name or anything.

Just remember the e-mail address you entered and your password and VOILA, you can vote without getting mail in your main e-mail account. I know, I'm brilliant. ;) Anyway, if you just don't want to go through the hassle, I understand. Thanks anyway!

Fall Festivals/Halloween parties

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:50:00 +0000

We have now been to two Fall Festivals and one Halloween party...all before the official date is even here! We got some great pictures, though. At the end are pictures of Ham in her costume.

Here is Ham enjoying some balloons, which she calls 'balls.'

Bella got her hair spray-painted pink with white polka-dots while MIII got balls that sparked and applied his daredevil side by scaling the inflatable rock wall.

Here is Andy the Armadillo (????), which Ham just adored.

Ham on the Valleydale train. Ham's future husband.

Our friend Morgan was a fairy, too. Grandpa makes Ham fly!

Ham loves Aunt Sarah Grace!

The Morning of the Party

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 23:16:00 +0000

Just a little video...

Ham's Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:22:00 +0000

Wow, what a great time we had! Thank you to all who were able to come out and celebrate a year of Ham's sweet, little life. The party could not have gone better and I know she had a blast. Hey, if she can stay up from 1-6PM without even fussing, and still managing to giggle and open presents, then I know she is having a good time.

The only thing that didn't quite work out as planned, was the cake. If you remember, I had said it was supposed to be a blue and purple butterfly. Well, when I got to Wal-Mart, they told me that the cake I ordered was under Disney copyright and they couldn't do it without all the Hannah Montana paraphernalia. Then they said, "Oh, and btw, we couldn't do yellow cake (didn't give me a reason why), so it's white cake instead."

OK. Yeah. Could've called me to tell me these things. I started to stress a little more when I saw that the cake was a GAUDY hot pink butterfly with weird purple markings and a black body with orange dots. It sat not-so-daintily on a brown branch. At least they did a cake, though!! I thought they were going to say, "So, we couldn't do a cake for you." Now that could have been a small coronary. (Please know that I'm kidding. There are much bigger things in the world to worry about, right?)

However, I decided that if I was going to let this stress me out, I just had better call off the whole thing because it wasn't worth the rising blood pressure.... That is to say, I just smiled at the bakers, said, "Thank you for your time and energy. I'm sure it will taste great (and it did)" and took the high road.

Let me just say, the old me would have not been so gracious. Knowing that Jesus is my Lord and that people really do the best they can (most of the time), and knowing that it would not fix anything if I blew my top, it just made letting it go a little easier.

Nevertheless, I am a paying customer, and my daddy taught me not to be a doormat, so I phoned the Wal-Mart bakery and told the head baker that a call to the customer is always necessary when making changes to someone's order. In turn, for my graciousness, they apologized and said I was right. They thanked me for calling this to their attention.

I really would have taken a gift certificate for $25 in groceries or something. I hope they know that. :) They did give me a 'baby cake' (one that Ham could mess up) for $.01, so that was cool. (I think they do that for everyone, though.)

Here are a few pictures of the day:

Ever since we bought our new mattress and got a Mylar balloon from Mattress King, Ham has loved balloons. And to think, she used to be afraid of them!

Enjoying the twins. I heard Ham was feeding them goldfish crackers.

She didn't quite know what to do with the cake. Mommy helped by placing her hand in it. Then Ham proceeded to try and feed it back to me. She seemed concerned about her hands being messy.

We greatly appreciated so many of our friends coming out to celebrate with us. I think our friend The Minister (the guy on the left) took as many pictures as Genius has in a year!

We were especially excited to see Andrea and Wendy, who were passing by to put a beautiful flower arrangement on their mom's grave. Thank you for even thinking about us! We pray for you all daily.

Ham was especially good at opening presents. (Must be from all the practice she's had with ripping up Mommy's magazines.)

Ham with a pink Mr. Hoot Hoot and a Kiss-Me Elmo.... I think she has already gotten the hang of the kissing part! And she kisses Mr. Hoot Hoot every night before bed. AWWWWWWWW.

And what would the party be without my 2-year-old niece instructing Ham in the many ways to eat candy? I'm not sure if my niece is tattling on her at this point or telling everyone that Ham needs a diaper change.

I am in the process of editing a video of the party, but for the time being, I hope you have enjoyed the pictures.

Thanks again, everyone, for making the day just perfect!

This is dedicated to my three moms, two dads, sister, Grandmom and Granddad McLeod, Grandmama and Dzia Dzia, Alicia for coming all the way from NASHVILLE, Allen and Nikki Moore for coming from Georgia with TWO kids in tow, my sister's and brother's-in-law (Can't wait for Ham's new cousin to be born!), my nieces and nephew, our macho guy friends who still like babies, Uncle Jeff for making homemade strawberry ice cream HELLO!!, and all the friends we love so dearly.

And to Gwen Brobst (Andrea and Wendy's mom).

She would have really liked being there.

The Eve of THE Party

noreply@blogger.com (FreeSpirit) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:21:00 +0000

Well, today I had a few moments where I thought my head would explode. It's like I had everything filed away in my brain and a little sting would come and zap me and all the files would fly everywhere and I'd be standing there going, "Wha...? Um, whaaaa..?"

I need to report this to the Smallwoods officials. I don't think stings should be so far away from the watchful eye of Mr. Fox.

So, I got a bit disgruntled today, but it was OK. I have one fool-proof weapon against the blues, the sniffles, the outerspaceyness (emphasis on "spacey"), and the grrrrrrs. It's called Ham. We likes her. We likes her a lot.

Most everything that needs to be done for the party tomorrow is done. Balloons are all blown up with pretty hand-curled ribbon to don the pillars and tables around the Senior Center. LOL

Every thing is pretty much ready. Chicken fingers, chips and dips, veggies and fruit, drinks, and of course...the cake. Oh, oh, and party favors! I'm REALLY excited about the party favors. Kids get one kind and adults get something different. I hope everyone likes their partying gift. :)

I ordered the cake from Wal-Mart this morning and I'll pick it up around 1PM. I had no "theme" planned for the party. I went though the catalog to find something cute, but not a complicated design and ended up asking for the artwork from a Hannah Montana pull-apart (not the one shown--that's just so you know what a pull-apart 'cake' is--) on half a sheet cake instead of cupcakes. The colors are Hannah Montana's signature purple and blue and the art is a sweet butterfly (I asked them to leave out all the Hannah Montana propaganda). It will be yellow cake with white icing. I hope that will be satisfactory to all.

We discovered that Ham does not like chocolate cake (we did various test to confirm, but the one that sealed it was when she reached her whole hand in her mouth to retrieve an unwanted bite of devil's food cake.) (Weirdo.)

She will have her own little mini-cake to demolish, devour, or disgard, in any way she pleases.

We've been singing "Happy Birthday" to her for days so hopefully, she won't freak out tomorrow. Ham's not a big freaker-outer, so, we're probably good. But I've even been putting a cupcake infront of her with a lit candle (supervised, of course) and singing to her and then blowing the candle out. She clapped 2 out of 5 times. She danced the last three times. So, we'll see.