Goodbye 2010...

I feel like this post is sort of cluttered, but in all honesty, I'm feeling a little cluttered right now. If you could see my house and my garage (oh heavens if you could see my garage, you would call the garage police) and would understand what I mean.

So if you can - just read through the clutter.

About a month ago, I started reading through my old posts, starting in January. I found myself laughing and crying over things all over again!

2010 has been a good year. At times, a hard year. God has grown me in several areas and for that I am grateful. I have to admit though - with the growth came growing pains.

Amelia has made this a wonderful year. She has grown so much in just a years time. We of course think she's terribly smart and love it when she starts saying or doing something new. She brings a joy that nothing else could bring. With that joy comes some pain. Parenting is not for the weak of heart. She IS my heart, running around on two legs. To see her hurt or sick breaks my heart and has brought me to tears many times. It's painful to have to correct her constantly...though I know it's for her own good. God has taught me a new level of love & patience through motherhood. It really is a privilege to be called Mommy and to stay at home with Amelia. I don't take one second for granted.



Alex and I have experienced loss in different ways in 2010. We lost 3 grandparents this year. There's joy in knowing we will see them again, but I do wish that Amelia would have had the opportunity to know them.



We've experienced loss in ministry. Whether it be friends that were ministering along side us or church members that have left - it's always painful to experience that loss. There have been times where I'm so tired and I look at Alex and say, "are you sure we're supposed to be doing this?" He always answers, "has God told you otherwise?" I have to answer honestly and say, "no, He hasn't." One of the things God has taught me through ministering this year is to love freely and forgive quickly. We're definitely not perfect and we're blessed to have a church that loves and supports us.

I have been blogging for almost 3 years now and have met some amazing women because of it. There are many days that I wish I lived in the same city as many of you, so we could grab a coffee and talk about life. I had a chance to meet up with some blogging friends this year and it was such a fun time. Every one of these girls are funny, beautiful, Godly women...what a treat to get to visit with them face to face!



I'm truly looking forward to 2011. I want to know Him more. I want to give more. I want to be a better wife, mother, daughter, friend.

And I have to tell ya, I'm trusting Him for some miracles. I have so many friends that are still waiting. I remember how it felt for another year to pass and still no baby. Just know that I'm praying for each and every one of you. I'm asking Him to open your womb and to bless you in 2011! He can do it, girls. Just ask Him. And then believe what He tells you. And then hang on to it. Don't let the devil slip in and take that from you. You are His precious child and He is able!! And on the days that you start to give up - email me, so I can email you back some scripture and give you a pep talk!! I mean it. I love you all, dearly.

Happy New Year, sweet friends!

Love to all,

Christmas 2010

Tell me something.

How does a baby go from this...



To this...in only a year???



I can't believe how much our girl has grown.



We had three family Christmas celebrations. Each one was special and I enjoyed the time with our families. We had Alex's family over on the 23rd. This is the only pic that I took of the food. I made several things, but had to make chocolate covered peanut butter balls. I only make them during the Christmas season, so they're a special treat!



Amelia was pretty solemn the entire evening. Once her bedtime rolls around - she's pleasant, but not in the mood to smile. She has gone to bed WAY past her bed time for almost a week and has been such a trooper.



I handed her over to take this picture and she wasn't too happy with me. Here she is with all of her cousins on the Averitt side. I love how Laila & Mika are looking at Amelia! (LOL)



Opening her presents.



Her favorite gift of the night was her magna doodle. She has carried that thing around with her all over the house!



My M-I-L asked Santa to stop by and see all of the kiddos. Amelia wasn't a fan. (LOL)



We had our Christmas Eve service on the 24th. It starts at 11:30 and we end at midnight, Christmas morning. All of the kiddos come in their pjs and look so cute.



I don't know how Amelia was still awake at this point. She has that glazed-over look. :)



We were so excited for Christmas morning! At one point, Alex asked me if I wanted him to go wake Amelia. (LOL) Since we didn't put her to bed until after 1am, I thought it best to let her sleep. She woke up after 9am and we brought her out to open her presents.



We did a couple of "big gifts" and then a few little things. We didn't want to go overboard. There were so many things that we wanted to get her, but my Mom reminded us to keep her gifts age-appropriate. So we're saving some of those ideas for next year. :) One of her big gifts was this chair. She was so funny. She would just climb in and out of it and prop her legs up on the arms. She loves it!



Her other big gift was the Fisher-Price "Learning Home." It's so cute. It has a door that she can crawl through, a working doorbell, a mailbox, a window that goes up and down, etc. It was a big hit! She also received some new bath toys, a purse, clothes, & sing-a-ma-jigs. Her stocking had a personalized video and some other little things.



We had my family over on Christmas day. In regards to gifts, we did something a little different this year. We usually buy for everyone, but the 6 of us kids and our spouses decided to draw names and fill a stocking for that person.



It was a lot of fun and we've decided to do this from here on out. My stocking was full of wonderful goodies. This one made me laugh out loud. My brother drank bad milk from my fridge, 10 years ago, and just won't let me forget it. It obviously scarred him for life. HAHA!



A few more pics from the day...

Aunt E with Millie.



Family.



More of the kiddos.



On Sunday evening, we headed to my Uncle & Aunt's home to celebrate with my Mom's side of the family. This is the entire gang!



I found myself watching Amelia this Christmas and my heart felt like it could just explode. I am so grateful for the gift of her precious little life. I don't want for anything.



I have all I need.



It was a very Merry Christmas for the Averitt Fam! Looking forward to what God has in store in 2011.



Love to all,

All About Amelia - 14 months old!

Amelia, you're 14 months old!!



You weigh 25 lbs - 2 ounces.

You're 32 inches long.



Size 4 diaper.



You're wearing 18 month clothing (tall girl!) and size 5 shoe.

You continue to sleep well. You sleep at least 12 hours every night. You've been taking a late morning nap, so you don't always take one in the afternoon.

Our struggle with food is meat. The only meat you will eat is chicken. You still would rather have pureed veggies vs. steamed. I try hiding meat & veggies in things like chicken quesadillas and it works. You love anything with cheese! You just started eating mac-n-cheese and you love it. You also love bread. You cried for a piece of bread the other day. A plain piece of bread! So I gave it to you to see what you would do. You ate it all.



We still haven't given you peanut butter, chocolate, or eggs. We get to try those in another month!

You're still taking a bottle of milk right before bed. It's the only bottle you receive during the day. You drink water or as you call it, "juice" in a cup throughout the day. We recently bought you a cup with a straw and you love it!



You have 6 teeth - still no molars. You love to have your teeth brushed and aren't biting Mommy anymore when I brush them for you. Thank you for that.

You still grind your teeth. YIKES!

You still have your paci. You have it during nap time or at bedtime. Or if you're sick, I let you have it whenever you want it. (LOL)



You are officially a toddler. You have been walking for quite some time. When you fall down, you get right back up and take off again. At times you try to run and it scares us to death! You're still a little wobbly.

You like to go sit in front of your bedroom door. You go very quietly and know that as soon as I don't hear anything, I'll be looking for you. As soon as I see you, you stand up quickly and open your bedroom door and run in. Like you've gotten away with something!

You can open all of the doors in the house. You get on those tip-toes and stretch those long arms to get just about anything you want.



You love to go into the pantry. You immediately grab a to-go cup and a can of sprite! You've never had sprite, but it obviously looks tasty in that green can.

You're a pro at getting on the couch and crawling off. Though you lost your mind last week and leaped off. You landed on your back and just laid there - staring at the ceiling. I busted out laughing and then you started laughing.

You love bath time. You get more water on Daddy & Mommy than on yourself! We cover ourselves with towels while we sit and watch you play. Trust me, it's necessary.



You're still shutting every door behind you. I'm still telling you no.

You can say Daddy, Mama, Nana, Papa, Pryce, hat, hot, shoes, juice, cheese, bath, baby, night-night, ba-ba (bottle), hi, yeah, no, no-touch, & bye.

You sign "more" & "food."

You're still nodding your head no, even when you're saying yes with your mouth. We're working on it.

You take very good care of your baby. You walk her, burp her, and push her in the stroller.



You're still scared of the vacuum. And I'm officially a bad mother because I've decided that cutting your fingernails while the vacuum is on = best idea ever. You sit very still and watch the vacuum...not moving a muscle. Brilliant.

Now when I ask "where's Daddy?" You point to the front door and try to open it.

When we ask you "Amelia, where's God?" You pat your heart. It's so sweet.

When we ask you a question that you don't know the answer - you put your hand up like, "I don't know - why you asking me?" (LOL)



You love to touch & pull on people's earrings. Your Granny said she was going to put earrings on you and hung these soft ornaments from your ears. You LOVE them. You bring them to me every day and want me to put them on your ears. I think it's so funny that you walk around wearing them.



I actually think you've started a fashion trend.



You love your new rain boots (Thanks Uncle Cary & Aunt Sara!)...you think they go with anything.



You've been sick with another ear infection. We'll be seeing an ENT this month to get an opinion on tubes. We're trying not to think about it until we talk to the doctor. We'll do whatever is best for you, we know that! :)



We can ask you to bring us just about anything and you go pick it up and bring it to us. You really love your Melissa & Doug farm animals puzzle and are getting better at putting the pieces in by yourself.

When we say, "check the mailbox." You go to the little mailbox on your little house and get the letters out.

We love that we can ask you what you want and so often, you can actually tell us. You understand so much!

We love you, beautiful girl.

Daddy & Mommy

Christmas Card Carousel

My sweet friend, Faith is hosting her annual Christmas Card Carousel! It actually started yesterday, but I wanted to hold off until everyone received my cards. I didn't get them in the mail until Tuesday. If you haven't received our card yet - this is what you'll be receiving soon!

Going to the mailbox in December is way more fun than any other time of year! It's always neat to see what card design everyone chose & to receive pictures of my sweet family & friends. My Uncle was sweet enough to take some pics for us. He is so patient and Lord knows we all needed patience on the day we took pictures. I was determined to get some pictures of our family of three on one of the downtown trolleys. We literally chased trolleys for 2 hours. HAHA! Seems like every time we would see one - we would have just passed it in our car, it was completely full of people, or we decided to go into a coffee shop for a little break from the cold. Alex was ready to pay any amount of money to the trolley that would sit there for a few minutes and let us take some pictures. It was quite humorous. Needless to say, when we saw this empty trolley coming - we took off running and my Uncle was behind us snapping pictures! HAHA! A shot of us chasing the trolley was going on the card - because I wanted to remember how stinkin' funny it was to get these pictures. The one of Amelia smiling so big (in the middle) is actually when she was in the car waiting for the trolley. She was so happy just to be out of the cold, I'm sure. I found this card on etsy and had the designer change the quote to a scripture that I chose. I'm very pleased with how it turned out.



You should link up and join in on the Christmas Card Carousel. Just click on the button on my sidebar!

From our family to yours....Merry Christmas!!

Love to all,

Choosing to obey...

Amelia has found a new infatuation with our trash can. I'm not going to lie. The trash can is cute. It's bright orange and I love it too. So much that when I saw it while on vacation, I had my brother tote it all the way home to Arkansas in the back of his truck.



She first just started to stand up by the trash can and admire it, and then started touching it, and then she did something that I never even dreamed she would do. She LICKED the trash can. I immediately said, "No Amelia...don't lick the trash can!!" While on my way over to snatch her up, she quickly got in one last lick. I'm gagging while writing this. I honestly thought to myself while carrying her to the living room, "what would possess her to LICK the trash can!??"

Another thing she has started doing is throwing her cup onto the floor when finished with it. I've been working with her on handing it to me when she's finished or even better - just sitting it back down on her high chair tray. Today we went head-to-head over throwing her cup down. She would sit and wait for me to turn around and would be dangling her cup over the edge of her tray - with this look on her face that said, "take one more step towards me and it hits the floor." I would walk toward her and say, "no-no." She then quickly dropped the cup and just looked at me like, "what now, Mama?" We went round and round...she was in tears. I knew at this point it was no longer about making a mess on the floor - it was about obedience. The cup was staying on the tray. It's important to me that Amelia has boundaries and will never question what's going to happen if she disobeys. I believe she'll find security in that. She'll always have a choice, but will also know there will always be consequences. After several times of dropping the cup on the floor and having her hand spanked, I turned around and she was holding her cup up and was waiting for me to look at her. She then gently sat it back on her tray.



I'm not going to lie...I started crying. I said, "YAY AMELIA!!" "GOOD JOB, BABY!!" She then started cheering for herself, clapping her hands and saying, "YAY!!". We hugged and celebrated her obedience.

I know it's my job to teach Amelia, but God uses this little girl to teach me, as well. Things that I know, but may be currently ignoring. I sat there crying because she chose to obey. I was so proud of her. Because if she's anything like her Mama, she can have a strong will and would much rather do things her way than someone else's way. It's not always easy to submit in obedience. I know without a doubt, there have been times in my life that I chose to hang out around the trashcan and get one last "lick" in - making my Heavenly Father gag on His way in to snatch me up and give me a good spanking.

I can just imagine how happy it must make Him when I choose:
Right vs. wrong.
Obedience vs. rebellion.
Faith vs. fear.
Forgiveness vs. resentment.
Him vs. self.

"My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise." -Psalm 51:17

"Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!" -Deuteronomy 5:29

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." -2 Timothy 1:7

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you." -Matthew 6:14

“...Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." -Matthew 16:24

Love to all,

The Perfect CHRISTmas Season...

I love this time of year. Simple things make me very happy.

-Watching Amelia play w/her nativity.
-Hot chocolate with Alex after Amelia goes to bed.
-Christmas music.
-Christmas movies.
-Christmas tree.
-Christmas lights.

I've been doing my best not to stress over things that really do not matter. Trying to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. I've read several blog posts on the stress that this season brings and I can totally relate. We host my & Alex's family every year for Christmas. It took having a baby for me to realize that everything doesn't have to be perfect to have people into my home. Honestly, once I had a baby - perfect took on a whole new meaning. I mean, it's okay to lock the guest room while company is here - because it's filled with catering supplies and a messy closet.

It's really the perfect solution.

We had our Christmas card picture taken yesterday. Needless to say, it's not really the best idea to wait until December 7th and then take your baby outside in 30 degree weather and expect her to smile her face off.

But that's what I did.

Poor Amelia was such a good sport - she just couldn't smile because her face was frozen.



I would usually freak out afterwards and start worrying about having the perfect picture to go on our card, but everything we went through just to get a picture was so stinkin' funny - all I could do was laugh! Alex reminds me often to just enjoy the moment. Don't worry about the details in my head that I never had time to make happen. Just enjoy the now. All that matters is that as a family, we focus on what this holiday is all about.

The greatest & most perfect gift ever given.

Jesus.

No warm hospital for Him - instead a cold, smelly stable (where the animals slept).

No special monogrammed outfit for Him- instead swaddling clothes (commonly used for burial preparation).

No sweet crib w/custom bedding for Him - instead a manger (where the animals were fed).

I'm going to stop fretting about the fact:
-That my Christmas cards aren't designed, let alone printed & in the mail.
-That I have very few presents bought.
-That the presents I have bought - still aren't wrapped.
-That I haven't hung the garland over the dining room window.
-That my house needs a major cleaning before family comes.
-And on and on and on.

Because really - none of that matters.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." -Luke 2:11

Love to all,

34 years young...

Alex was out of town the first part of this week. We miss him so much when he's away. When he arrived home Wednesday evening, he had Chili's-to-go and flowers in hand. The man knows my love language. Food & Flowers.



Today is my 34th birthday. It has been a very restful day - thanks to my husband. He let me sleep as late as I wanted, which ended up being 10:00am!! We got around and headed out to lunch. We snapped a few pics with Amelia before leaving the house. By the way, this sweet girl looked her Mama in the eye yesterday and said, "Hi, Mama." Can you believe that!?? It's the first time that she has put two words together like that. Oh it melted my heart. I love her so much.



Alex and Amelia took me to Mimi's for lunch. Even though it was lunch, I ordered breakfast and a mocha latte. It was delicious! Amelia wasn't really in the mood to smile for pictures. It was her nap time, so she was a little solemn.



After lunch we headed to DSW and Anthropologie - where I tried on some fabulous boots, but didn't find exactly what I wanted. Since having Amelia, my foot has grown a half size, so I only have a few pairs of shoes that actually fit! I think I'm going to put my collection of size 9's on eBay - maybe I'll make enough to buy some new shoes. :) After trying on boots - we headed to Maggie Moo's. Amelia and I shared an ice cream cupcake.



We headed home after a trip to Sam's and Walmart. We chose to eat leftovers from last night. Pecan crusted chicken, red potatoes & salad. It hit the spot. Alex and Amelia gave me some precious birthday cards after dinner. They're so good to me. The perfect day with my sweet family.

I wanted to ask those of you who read my blog, to do me a favor? Faith's sister is engaged to be married next spring. They're on a budget and have entered a contest to win a free Wedding Photography package! I just love Faith and her family. It would be such a blessing to Grace if she could win this. Would you go to THIS SITE and vote for Couple #1 (Grace & Josh)? I would greatly appreciate it. It only takes a few seconds. You scroll down to the bottom of the page and just push on the button for couple #1...easy-breezy!! :)

Have a great weekend.

Love to all,