andersons baby shower

i spent a wonderful weekend "in town" (as avery calls it) with my family and had the best 'girl' days with my mom doing all the fun girl things she knows we love to do.  we hit downtown homewood, shopped, ate, went to 2 bakeries (and left with treats from both), found a cute consignment shop, went to toy stores, shopped and ate a little more...and we had the best time! we also got some much needed play time with some dearly missed friends. 

to close out the weekend, and the very reason i went, some of my very best friends insisted that anderson could not be born into this world wearing pink...and to be quite honest, he was coming close because i have not done much boy shopping.  the clothes just aren't as cute, but that's another post.

no doubt the world looks different in blue ~ and we were so very blessed by the thoughtfulness and generosity of everyone who came to celebrate anderson.  i don't know a group of people who "know me" better than these girls and it showed in every little detail. the only thing that would have made it better was if my sister stacie could have been in town too!

 

like that painting?  we did too!  thanks abby!

jennifer latham made this amazing quilt and the picture just does not do it justice

and, i wish i could show you all of the scrapbook allen's aunt made for me.  it is gorgeous...and 100% complete.  all i have to do is take pictures to fill in the pages.  she's so creative and talented!  i'm a lucky girl!

all in a few days

lots to catch you up on...it's been a busy busy week at the drew house!  and, without any further delay, i must announce that.....

AVERY LOST A TOOTH!

she was so excited...and she pulled it herself.  no tears, no hysteria, no freaking out about the blood.  she just did it and was so proud of herself!

we've also been having lots of fun around the house...one of our favorite things to do is have sack races in pillow cases.  you'll notice addison doesn't always keep her pillowcase on. 

lots more to come...hope you're enjoying this spring weather as much as we are!

primal

what would your relationship with the Lord look like if it was stripped down to the simplest, rawest, purest faith possible?

that's the question that was posed this morning as allen started his first series, entitled Primal, which focuses on the rediscovery of Christ within us.  he took away all of the things and excuses we use that complicate christianity and broke our responsibility down into one simple thing: we have to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.  and for many of us, that means rediscovering what it means to love God in these four ways...because they are all entirely different. 

i know it was challenging for me.  i spend a lot of time being me-focused...thinking and planning church and its events around what works best for 'me.'  that might surprise some of you, but for most of you that know me...it doesn't.  in fact, when allen showed me this video, i was glad i saw it early.  somehow being convicted in my own home seemed better than the conviction from sitting beside the pastor on the front row!

centered around ezekiel 36:22-28, allen focused on how God doesn't want a quick fix for our heart, He wants to create a work that changes us from the inside out.  probably my favorite thing that he said today was that God doesn't do what He does for us...He does it for Him and we are just sometimes the beneficiary of it.  a good reminder for a me-focused person like myself.  does God want to bless us?  sure.  but first He wants to restore a love relationship with us. and when we begin to live for the glory and fame of God, we begin to die to ourselves. 

our story, our church, has been a journey.  and sometimes when I think I should be closer to God than ever before, I've felt the farthest away.  i was reassured this morning that God is indeed closer than I think.  He never left...in fact He followed me when I went away.

i was definitely challenged to go back to that primal place where loving God was all that mattered.  i don't know about you, but i want to position myself so that God has an opportunity to move and work in my life.  i want to purify my heart with true repentance and i want my actions to proclaim and glorify Him.  

we've been busy

i love dogs.  hate cats, love dogs.  we've had many dogs...toby, molly, montana, bear (sniff).  we're big dog people - labs, goldens.  and as much as we love big dogs, we don't want one inside - we hate dog hair on furniture.  it's gross and no vaccum really cleans it up properly.  and we don't spend enough time outside to make the dog be a part of the family (because why else would you have one??).  so while we still love the big dogs, we've decided we are non-shedding, hypoallergenic, small dog people...which makes me laugh.

this weekend (and into this week) we've embarked on a new adventure - puppy sitting.  not that the drew team has a lot going on right now...other than trying to get a church off the ground...so we thought we could easily manage a 2lb (i kid you not) inside, non-shedding, hypoallergenic dog.  meet bogey.

within the first couple of hours we learned a few things.

1) i still love dogs
2) allen loves small, inside, non shedding dogs
3) avery loves dogs.  even if it's a snake dressed like a dog.
4) addison hates dogs...or really anything that isn't human.

now, we definitely  kind of already knew this but thought that since he's so so so small she would overcome and conquer her fear.  she hasn't.  she stays on high ground and screams at us calls out to us for anything she needs (food, water, bathroom, a hairbow, to change the movie), for fear that the dreaded 2lb monster that she could kick to the moon with her little toe will be in hot pursuit of her.

 

 

i will give her a small bit of credit in that he nips at your feet and pants leg....or really anything he can reach because it's not much.  i will also say the above picture does not correctly display her emotion and lack of love for the dog.  not even close. 

avery, on the other hand, has loved having a baby puppy to take care of.  but he doesn't really go after her like he does addison...probably because he's always being pursued by her.  in fact, this is what most of the day is like for him.

 

or

i know it drives him crazy to be carried, pulled and chased all day long...which is why most of the time he's trying to get here....

 

if you're wondering where "here" is...it's my lap.  he's discovered i'm the only low-key one around this house so he is always under my feet.  in fact, i stepped on him yesterday and thought i broke his little foot, which is the size of a peppermint.  i didn't, so don't tell his other family that there was an injury.  there may have also been a couple of vomiting instances, but we won't share those with them either. :)

and if he's not "here" he has to be here 

because i can't make addison stay on the couch, in a chair, her bed, in the car, on my bed, or in the bathtub all day long for 5 days.  

pitiful, i know. 

blessed

so while this post is a little late, i still have a lot that i want to say.  the Christmas season came and went...all too quickly if you ask me.  i love the decorations, the songs, the movies, the cute little outfits that the girls wear, picking out the perfect present....i love it all.  and this year was no exception.  we had a lot of family celebrations and fortunately there was no rush to get from here to there.  most everything was planned on different days and that made it a little easier on the kids (and the parents).  the girls got to spend some much needed time with their cousins, jackson and grayson, and they LOVED every minute of it.

it was hard coming back to daphne because, for the first time, we wouldn't be near family on christmas day.  and for those of you who are blessed to live near your family, it's hard not to take that for granted.  i know i did.  it's just something you assume will always be there.  i will say that our move has made our family stronger in every possible way.  there's no crutch - no girls night outs, date nights - no one else to really rely on or hide behind.  take the bad with the good because it's all you've got.  i think each of us has learned how important these relationships are and how important our individual roles are.  we've also had to learn how to deal with/minister to/pray for how each of our children have dealt with change AND how we deal with them.  if allen and i don't like something we can verbally express our dislike or discomfort.  little ones don't always have the words or know how to communicate it properly.  in the same way, the excitement of change and the newness of everything has to be controlled too.  all that to say, we've been in a season of learning.  all of us.  and we're better because of it.

we are very blessed and continuing to learn.  your strengths take on a whole new meaning and your weaknesses are brought to the forefront.  satan will use the tiniest thought, the tiniest bit of negativity, or insecurity and he'll run with it.  and for someone who hates to 1) admit weakness and 2) show weakness,  i've realized, though i knew it before, that we are mold-able.  the Lord created us to adapt to and deal with change.  so while some things come easily and others don't, i've learned that we can make it.  not on our own merit and not on our own strength, but through God's grace.  His mercies really ARE new every morning and we do get do-overs.

we have a lot of exciting things going on with the church and hopefully i will be able to update you soon - pictures and all. 

she has a little bit of me....

it's very obvious that avery is my child...and I think addison has a lot of me in her as well but there's no doubt that she favors her daddy.  what's funny is that both girls baby pictures look very much alike.  in fact, there are several pictures, past and present, that i have to look at the exact location or outfit to figure out which child it is. 

i came across this photo of my sisters and me, whom i cropped out in fear of  what would happen if i published their portion of it. this picture will show you several things....1) that i really did have blonde hair at one point.  2) that kids did wear complete sweatsuits and that they weren't JUST for the GKGW videos (i won't complain that my sisters had on matching outfits in this picture and i was left in a sweatsuit)  3) whatever face i decided to make in this picture is one that addison makes EVERY SINGLE DAY. 

when i found this picture i showed it allen and he physically sat up and just stared at it and said 'wow.'  (now that wow could have been about the outifts too:)

so regardless of who she looks like on most days, i got a little bit of kick when i found this picture because she does, in fact, have a little bit of me. 

mythbusters

**disclaimer** this post is not directed toward anyone and in no way is it meant to hurt anyone's feelings or doubt the love their child has for them.  it's really all in fun and it will make me feel better to say write down some of the things ive been feeling.  that being said.....

in case you haven't heard the news....our family will have a new addition in april....and it's going to be a boy!  we were very excited and both of us a little in shock.  after all, we're very pink around here and the closest thing we have to blue is turquoise...with sparkles!  the girls were excited too.  well, avery was.  however, my excitement was muffled by all the harsh well-meaning comments about our news.  i truly believe that people said all these things with good intentions hoping to ramp up the excitement...instead, they really kind of hurt my feelings because i am (as my mom says) hyper sensitive.  so i'm going to play along and de-bunk some of what i like to call "myths about our new baby."

MYTH:  "now your family is complete"
FACT: actually, our family was complete when allen and i got married.  children are a welcome addition to your family (have you taken growing kids??).  also, from a little bit of protective side, what if we have another child..........he/she will be a welcome addition as well and will not "over complete."  don't worry, i know what you meant, now we have both girls and a boy, so we get to experience both and our family is now complete.  i get it.  

MYTH:  "little boys love their mommas"
FACT: so do little girls.  what's funny is that most of these comments have come from either moms with all boys or moms with newborn boys (which makes me giggle).  no doubt there's a bond there, but i have to say that my relationship with my girls is pretty darn special and i expect it will be no different (better or worse) with a boy.  again my protective side came out and i felt like people were trying to take away from what i have with the girls.

MYTH:  "little boys clothes are not as cute as little girl clothes"
FACT: that is 100% true :)  so all you moms of boys are going to tell me your shopping secrets. 

humor, sarcasm and intent are often lost in writing, so i hope you can read all of those in this post.  i feel like i have to say it again, this was truly all in fun and don't worry - i was only half kidding!  :)  love to all my mommy friends!  only kind comments please.