A Public Service Announcement

... because I take my job here very seriously.

New Mommies, do not... I repeat... Do. Not. Neglect your annual dental cleanings and exams.

"Bor-ing", you say! "More examples of your mommy fails, Chels, more pictures of Laila, more merriment, more gingerbread lattes!"

I know, I know. I'm sorry to disappoint. This is not a fun topic, my friends, but neither was THIS:

What? You can't SEE the Hulk-like swelling on the left side of my face?! That is so strange because I certainly FEEL it. That's what 3 shots of Novocaine (or something like it!) will do for you!

No, this is not a fun blog topic, dear reader, but neither is one side of my face being numb from my chin to my eyebrows, trying to figure out how to blow my nose with only one functional nostril or dribbling iced tea (or better yet, drool) down my chin at any given moment. Neither is THAT.

So, with your best interest at heart, I'm writing this post to remind you that, even though it seems trivial, even though you THINK you're really good at brushing, flossing, etc., I'm here to tell you that missing those (at least) yearly dental exams will cost. In emotional distress, cold hard cash and pain and anguish.

Ok, well, thanks to modern analgesics, there wasn't TOO much pain and anguish but still. The emotional trauma of being told that I have 2 large cavities and 4 trouble spots was enough to make me want to go back in time, call a babysitter and GET TO THE DENTIST!!

Yes, I walked into that Dentist office two weeks ago feeling all suave, all cool, all I-havent-been-to-the-dentist-in-two-years-but-its-ok-cause-I-am-serious-about-dental-hygiene and got a major punch to the gut.

I'll repeat it just to further my point: Two (LARGE) cavities and Four Trouble Spots.

DON'T LET IT HAPPEN TO YOU, ladies!! Don't let it happen to you.

Turns out that pregnancy weakens your teeth, softens your bones and generally FEEDS cavities. Or something like that. Ya'll, I'm not a doctor. I just know this is true. I mean, I read articles from Baby Center. And stuff.

And then that BABY comes. That BABY makes it hard to find time to brush, floss and rinse with flouride twice a day. That BABY requires a babysitter! That BABY's naptime is the one break in your day and that delicious chocolate, those sugar cookies and yummy sweet tarts simply CRY out to you! Because you deserve the break! You have a BABY, for goodness sake! Can I get a witness?!

But, let's be honest, she's pretty cute so we won't hold all this against her. See?

Then:

 

Now:

Alright, do you get the picture? Go get those check-ups!
Laila and I will be happy to babysit.
After I clean the drool off my chin, of course.

Prewitt Family Dentistry, girls. Get there. And tell 'em I sent you!
1112 North Floyd Road
Richardson, TX 75080
(972).907.8157

(I met Dr. Prewitt at the park with our babies. She's precious AND she'll sing to you while you get your fillings. Bonus.)

Sorry for the un-fun post but, hey... at least I didn't talk about the election.
:) 

Monday Musings

There is something that I realized this morning I've never told you about. It's about Laila Grace (surprise surprise)...  Have I become one of those moms who only talks about her baby? Maybe so, my friends, but you can just smile and nod and think to yourself "bless her heart".

Laila LOVES music. I mean, she loves it. She especially likes if she can see the band playing. She loves being in church on Sunday morning and worshiping with our awesome praise band and she loves watching music videos that show the musicians rocking out. She loves to shimmy and wiggle and shake her little boo-tay. It's truly adorable.

She also loves playing music. She sings (into her princess microphone, pictured below), she drums, she plays the piano... and she writes her own lyrics.

(The pic is blurry because she just can't stop for a picture when the rhythm has a hold of her!) 

She writes songs about Jesus, about Trevor and I, about pasta (yes, despite all my praying, apparently, she inherited my love for carbs) and, yesterday, she wrote a song about how she wants a little house with a backyard, a garden and a little doggie... and then she added that she'd need another garden for her other doggie.  

When she sang that part, Trev looked a little downcast and my sweet sweet baby (have I ever led you to believe that she's anything but perfect??) said to him, "Daddy, what you sad about?" 

Which brings me to another thing I don't think I've told you about, dear readers. Its about (big sigh) our house. Our house. Which has been on the market since the end of January. The END OF JANUARY. Today is November 5. This means that we are weary. Weary, I tell you!! Weary of showings that require a TON of work, weary of waking Laila Grace up from naps, weary of spending long amounts of time away from the house (usually at Starbucks... ok, that part I don't mind so much) and weary of a little habit I've come to refer to as "stashing".

Which reminds me, if you've invited us to something and we didn't show up OR we showed up without RSVPing OR we showed up without a covered dish, its probably because, at some point, I stashed the invite before a showing and forgot to find it again. I mean, I've become really good at stashing but its the remembering to find stuff again that I have yet to master. I've stashed a lot of mail, my friends, but the lights are still on so, apparently, Trevor has sniffed out and paid all the bills. What would I do without him? He is definitely a keeper.

 
And he's cute too, no?

So, yes, Laila is singing about wanting a backyard and a garden and a doggie. None of which we can have in this house but that we really want to have in our next house... (Minus the doggie for Trev. She's going to really have to pull out the puppy face on that one.) 

(Sigh.)

BUT! (Ever the optimist...)

We had a showing yesterday and I'm waiting for feedback, checking my email every, oh, three minutes or so.

In the meantime, we will keep singing. And praying. And working on Trevor about the dog issue, planning our garden and counting our blessings.

Happy Monday, dear friends!

Holiday Confusion, the Weather and a Confession.

Today is November 1st.
It is 82 degrees outside and I am wearing a tank top.
AND there is a gigantic Christmas tree inside Kroger.

So many, many things are wrong with this picture. Before I get to the topic of the Christmas season starting before Halloween even comes and goes (yes, the Christmas tree was up yesterday... alongside the witches, jack-o-lantern and goblin decor), let's talk about the weather. Do you Texans remember the Thanksgiving that it iced and snowed?! I will never forget "ice skating" with my cousins on my grandparent's cul-de-sac that year. That concrete was frozen solid and my boo-tay certainly felt it a time or two! So fun, so wintry (wintery?), so... holiday!

And, my friends, I have been a Texan long enough to know that, even though the temperature is 82 degrees on November 1st, it could certainly still ice over on Thanksgiving. So I won't give up all my aspirations of busting it on the cul-de-sac quite yet... In the meantime, I'll enjoy getting a little more use out of my summer wardrobe and basking in the sun like an iguana. Which is, if you don't know, one of my favorite pastimes. Basking like an iguana. Not busting it in front of my entire family.

NOW... Kroger, I have a bone to pick with you. It's November 1st!! A Christmas tree, really? If we're all tired of Christmas by the time that it arrives, I fear it takes some of the happiness and joy out of it, don't you? If I've already heard every single pop artist's rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" before I even have to don a jacket, don't you think we've moved a little fast?

By the way, don't ya'll think its funny that EVERYbody records that song? People's Christmas albums always make me laugh. In a good and appreciative way, of course. Check out some of this holiday cheer:

Sarah Young Frank, this one's for you. ;)

Elizabeth Seymour, this one's for you. ;)

And, this... This is for everybody. Nobody should miss out on this.

Priceless, eh?

So, anyway, I've been kind of snooty about this starting Christmas too soon thing, before the witches are taken down, before Thanksgiving has gotten it's proper due, while I'm still WEARING A TANK TOP, for gosh sake. I mean, this is NOT California, people.

BUT... alas, I must admit... I am a hypocrite.
Okay? Okay. Alright. I'll just 'fess up now before you find incriminating photos of me on facebook or something...

Yesterday, I enjoyed the HECK out of a gingerbread latte from Starbucks. 

Oh yeah, baby. As far as I'm concerned, Starbucks can start Christmas in JULY if they'll only sell me that incredible concoction known as a Gingerbread Latte; that creamy, delectable, Christmas morning tasting beverage that lights up my tastebuds with all kinds of comfort and joy. All kinds of good tidings. All KINDS of happiness and cheer.
Mmmm. Mmmm. Mmmm.

There. Fine. I said it. I'm a hypocrite.


SO. In short, I'm hanging up my attitude, turning down all my self righteousness and heading out this afternoon to enjoy the sunshine, the latte and, perhaps, a Christmas carol or two.
After all, it is November 1st.

'Tis the Season, ya'll!

Life, Life, oh God, thank you for Life

May I just marvel awhile?

The little nerves at the back of my eyes are tingling because the tear ducts are warming up to let loose the joyful expression of my heart. You know that feeling, right?

God is so good. And He does such good work. May I list for you some miracles I have witnessed in the last week?

1). My sweet sweet baby friend, Adeline Camille Prewett had open heart surgery on Thursday, moved out of the ICU on Saturday and moved home on Monday. She is the daughter of my precious friend, Camille, and the little sister of Laila's bestie, Ellie Claire. I am completely in awe of how strong her little body is, how resilient and flexible she is, to have weathered two open heart surgeries in her short six months of life and to do it with so much beauty, joy and sweetness. Seriously, this is one SWEET baby. She always has a smile for Laila and I when we visit her... and she has inspired Laila to want a little sister of her own. "She smiled at me!" Laila marvels.
And it is marvelous. 
 Her life is a beautiful miracle and such a testimony of God's faithfulness. And her MOTHER. That woman inspires me every day, with her gracious humor, her vulnerability in sharing her feelings even when they are scary, her care for others in the midst of her own trial, her deep and true friendship. I am in awe of the goodness of God and so thankful for our friendship with this family.

2). Our Stella came home from the NICU on Saturday!! She's eating! She's growing! She's cooing and squeaking and sighing! All the wonderful things that she should do! And, technically, my sweet baby niece is only 39 weeks gestation, meaning she could still be in the warm, comfy cocoon of Kellie's womb. For growth restriction issues, they induced Kellie at what they thought was 37 weeks but may have turned out to be more like 35 weeks. Baby Stella initially had to go to the NICU because of low blood sugar but then they found that her suck reflex wasn't developed so she had to stay awhile. But what a little fighter! She is learning and eating and growing and we are so very very thankful. And Kellie and Clay and Stella are so BEAUTIFUL together. I marvel at the way God built this little family for the three of them and how His faithfulness, timing and grace are their testimony. Hallelujah! We finally got to meet this sweet angel yesterday and here are some pictures of Laila meeting her baby cousin...

3). Baby London Lisa Vaughn is here!! Oh how we prayed and prayed and prayed for this baby! And the Lord's timing is perfect. She is beautiful and healthy and Lindsey is beautiful and healthy and there is simply nothing better than that. "Every good and perfect gift comes from above"... Amen!

My friends, may your day be filled with joy and excitement and may our gracious God give you reasons to celebrate, as He has done for us. Hallelujah!

An Open Apology to All the Moms I've Judged Before

My friends, I'm not really sure what an "open apology" is... I tried to google it but I just found a lot of open apologies published on the Internet. Including one to the entire country of Iceland. So... that didn't really help me much. But, if an "open apology" is one in which the apologizer's heart is open and naked and splayed out for all to see, then I've appropriately titled this post.

This is my genuine and heart felt apology to all the mothers I've judged in the past. Here it goes.

- To the mother who ignored her tantrumming toddler in Target: I judged you. I'm sorry.

- To the mother who carried her toddler, kicking and screaming, out of the mall with one arm while dragging a 4(ish) year old child with the other: I judged you. I thought to myself "Oh, those poor children." I'm sorry.

- To the mother who's children have terrible table manners: I judged you. I'm sorry.

(Here's a big one. SUPER ouch on this one.)

 - To the mother who's child was so shy, she wouldn't speak to anyone. Let alone, crack a smile: I judged you. I thought you ought to teach your child to be friendly. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry.

 - To the mother of the set of twins who used to bite me in Kindergarten: I judged you. You really should have done something about that. But perhaps you tried really hard. Perhaps the biting thing was a heartbreaking issue for you. I shouldn't have judged you. I'm very sorry.

 - To the mother of the 4 year old who still used a pacifier: I judged you. I'm sorry. 

These are just a few examples of mommies that I, in all my righteous wisdom, have judged. And I had NO IDEA. Zero.
Of course, I never would have said any of these things aloud to these mommies. I never would have wanted to hurt feelings. I'm too "nice" a person for that... But I certainly thought they were missing the mark. I definitely thought that I could do better.

I am so so sorry.

Last week was quite possibly my worst week as a parent. It was a really really hard week. Let me just start by telling you what happened on Monday. After a very busy weekend as the Maid of Honor in a friend's wedding, I wanted to spend a lot of sweet, quality time with Laila. I told her we could go to Baby Bounce, which is storytime at the public library. We've been going since she was, like, 3 months old and we love it. It is a serious blessing. When we got there, though, Laila was not simply not obeying me. She was doing silly things that she knows not to do like putting the shaker egg in her mouth. Which is, my friends, totally gross! A million little toddler hands have been on those eggs and you know how children are... they're little carrier monkeys. No one likes having a sick 2 year old up in the middle of the night so I was trying to avoid her catching a pesky autumn cold. I told her 2 times NOT to put the egg in her mouth and, when she did it a third time, I said, in my best Authoritative Mommy Voice, "If you put that egg in your mouth one more time, Laila Grace, we are going home." And do you know what she did?! She looked right at me, y'all, and put the egg in her mouth.
An instant later, she took it out, squared her eyes on mine and said, "You're supposed to take me home now."

The GALL! The NERVE! The AUDACITY!

And do you know what I did? I majorly and completely Mommy Failed. I didn't take her home. Can you people believe it?! I DIDN'T take her home. I know. I know. You're all shaking your heads right now and judging me. It's okay. You're allowed. For this one moment, you're allowed. I judge myself!!

Here's the deal: I didn't want to leave. I was totally intimidated by the thought of being alone at home with this child. I was tired. I was overwhelmed. I was weak.

And, ultimately, it was unfair to Laila. Because she needs to know that her mommy is a woman who will keep her word. She needs to know that she cannot blatantly disobey and get away with it. She needs to know where her boundaries are so that she can feel secure within them. She absolutely and completely NEEDS me to follow through.

About 5 minutes later, I said to her, "Laila. Right now, Mommy is having grace for you. Grace is when you do not get the punishment that you deserve. You deserve to be taken home because you disobeyed but I am having grace for you and letting you stay at Baby Bounce."

Sounds good, huh? And, yes, grace is a concept that I absolutely want to teach. But, in this case, friends, it was a cop out. I can admit that. I was simply too lazy to follow through. And I was scared. Of my 2 year old. Sheesh.

On Wednesday, I status updated (See how I made "status update" a verb? My english degree entitles me to take such liberties) my feelings: "Parenting a 2 year old is really tough work. There is little room for weakness, double mindedness or distraction. I had better get it together. Seriously."

That particular statement was born out of the realization that, on any given day, my personality is given to distraction, flightiness, inconsistency, forgetfulness... It's all part of my charm! Hee hee. And, back in the day, when it was all about ME, the consequences of these tendencies were born by myself alone. And for the most part, the consequences weren't so bad...  BUT when you are parenting a 2 year old, you simply aren't allowed these sorts of luxuries. It turns out that it is really hard to be a Type B Mama. Can I get a WITNESS??

And, to think, all those years, I watched. And I judged. And I thought I could do it better.


(Dramatic pause)...


So, all of that was the bad news.
Here's the good news:
Taken from excerpts of conversations with two sweet friends:
Last week (AKA, the Week from "H" - "E" - "Double Hockey Sticks"):

First piece of good news: Someday, they will have 2 year-olds of their own.
Okay, j/k about, like, the sweet revenge part... But, no, seriously.

Second piece of good news: The effort and the heartache that is required to train them at this point is going to reap a reward. Our children will be better people. Our daughters will be better women for the good seed that we've sown. With blood, sweat and tears. Oh, the tears.

Third piece of good news: Even when we mess up, we're modeling humility and repentance. Our daughters will learn to be forgiven but they will also learn how to offer forgiveness. I always say that the most important words in a marriage are not "I love you". They are "I'm sorry" and "I forgive you". If I can have a hand in teaching Laila the power of forgiving others, then I will be investing in her future marriage. And that is worth it's weight in gold.

Yes, my friends, I do believe that the Lord is using these days. To build character, strength and patience. To tighten the bonds between Laila and I. To make us more like Jesus.
And I welcome it... mostly.

In the meantime, Mommies that I've judged, please accept my apology. Accept my heartfelt and genuine apology. And if you are a Mommy Judger, REPENT! Turn from your evil ways!! Recognize that nobody knows what it's like to be someone else, to "walk in their moccasins", as the plaque in my Granny's kitchen used to say. Let's encourage each other. As women, as mothers, as wives, let's take the energy we use for contempt and use it in love and grace instead. Let's help each other, build each other up, walk arm in arm, sing Kumbaya... Okay, we don't have to sing Kumbaya... but, seriously...

" Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."
1 Peter 4:8

Hugs!

Just stopped by to share this little piece of goodness.
We love our buddy, Micah Joe.
And the people he belongs to.
And his little brother too.

Happy Wednesday Evening!

Present with the Lord

This past weekend, we had the privilege of celebrating a dear friend's life and, as my Yaya would say, his "homegoing"... the glorious passage of existence from flesh on earth to the presence of God in Heaven. My friends, the memorial service was beautiful, lovely, exactly as it should have been. There were three elements that spoke deeply to my heart. The first part of the service was spent in worship... All of Jackie's friends and family just celebrating him by worshiping the Lord together, just exactly how Jackie would have wanted us to celebrate him. We sang a song, written by my dear friend, Jenny Ayers, called "Most High". One of the verses says, "I stand in awe and wonder in this place, for you are loveliness. I join with saints and angels, forever to proclaim in your presence..." (Ya'll, I have chillbumps as I type this)... As we sang that verse, I couldn't help but smile so broadly. I felt joy rush into my heart and overflow out of me as I thought about how Jackie was worshiping the Lord in Heaven and that, by worshiping Him here on earth, we were truly joining in with Jackie's song. This is so poignant because Jackie played with Trevor and so many of our dear friends on our worship team at church. How many times had they stood (or in Trevor's case, sat) on the stage together, unified, friends, worshiping Jesus in one accord? And I know that Trevor and my friends will miss being on stage with Jackie, pouring hearts out to the Lord... but, in that moment, it became so clear to me that any time we worship on earth, we will be joining our friend, as he spends eternity worshiping at the feet of Jesus. We are never closer then, to the ones who've passed before us, to the loved ones we miss so desperately, than when we worship our God.
What a marvelous mystery. What a precious reality.

The second part of the service that touched me deeply was Jackie's adult daughter's words about him. She used language of friendship, described evenings spent playing board games, watching baseball games, having talks... She described her mother and father as she and her husband's "favorite couple to hang out with" and said that her father was "one of her best friends". So beautiful. And doesn't that just speak to who Jackie was and who Wendy, his wife, is, that their grown children would want to spend so much time with them, that their grown children would describe them in such a way? And, of course, it made me think of my own daddy and mom, who we LOVE to be with, who we seek out, who we begged to come to Florida with us in September, just because we love spending time with them. What a treasure. What a gift. And it challenged me, friends. It challenged me to be the kind of parent who's adult children pursue. To be the kind of parent who is steadfast, committed (Jackie and Wendy's son, Taylor, played baseball all the way through college, year round, and Taylor testified that Jackie only missed one game. One game. In Taylor's entire career), FUN, wise, gracious... I'm inspired.

And, finally, Wendy's words about her husband. I won't share everything, in case it wasn't meant for all the internet to read but suffice it to say that these two were resolutely and solidly in love. They were truly companions, unified. I will say that, before Jackie died, I was so moved by how Wendy talked about Jackie's cancer. She called it "ours". When describing what was going on in Jackie's body, she said "us" and "we", as in, "we are experiencing pain in such and such place" because, as she said, "We are one. What is happening to Jackie is happening to me."

Have I mentioned that I'm inspired?
And grateful. So grateful for the friendship of this family, for the hope that we have because of Jesus and for the ways that Jackie continues to teach and influence me.

"To be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord" Hallelujah.