Fall Fun

So it's been way too long since my last post in which I decided to vent about my current situation. It's been a week or so and I've spent a lot of time in prayer. The answers are becoming clearer by the day and I'll give more details as they become available. For now I'll just say that I'm okay with the path I'm on, but there are going to be a lot of twists and turns along the way.

Anyway, enough about me. It's been ages since I've shared pictures of our favorite J.K. I kinda let the batteries die in the camera and kinda forgot to replace for like, oh say, a month! So, yeah, we've got a lot of catching up to do..

This past weekend we took a trip on The Pumpkin Patch Express.


It was a chilly fall morning and we had a blast riding the train out to the pumpkin patch with Miss Julie.


J.K. and his buddy Cooper loved the pumpkin patch.


They played in the hay.


And played in the hay some more. Notice Cooper lying in the hay behind J.K.


As you can tell, getting him to sit still for a picture with me was nearly impossible.


Then he found his pumpkin!!

After the pumpkin patch adventure we headed over to his Cici and Pawpaw's house for some quality fun time.


J.K. and Pawpaw played in the great, big yard with Piper the wonder dog!


They played, played and played some more.


Then it was time to walk back to the house and warm up. Could this be a more precious moment?

A Working Mom Needs to Vent

What is this life I'm leading? Wife, working mom, daughter, sister, aunt, grand daughter, niece, the list goes on and on. With each title comes a lot of responsibility. I think I have too many keys, too many areas of life for which I'm held responsible. I guess like most women, I'm tired. I need a break, but not just any old break. I'm not talking about a vacation. I need a change, but I have no clue how to go about making that change.

Like most, I want it all, but have realized that what I want and what I need are two totally different realities. I need more time to focus on my faith. I need to be the Mom that J.K. deserves. I need to be the wife that I promised to be. I need to show my parents how grateful I am for all they've ever done for me. I need to be the big sister to my little sister who needs me now more than ever. I need to deal with life. I need to acknowledge that I still miss my daughter every second of every minute of every day. I need so much.

And then there's that stupid money thing. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I'm very good at what I do and consider myself to be a pretty successful working mom. But that's just it, I KNOW I'm good at the work part. It's the other, more important areas of my life that I'm just not so sure about right now.

How do I make these changes? I have no idea, but I'll start with prayer. I'll start with turning to the One who knows my every move. I know I'll get the guidance I need, I just hope that my ears and eyes are open to His direction.

A Story I've Been Meaning to Tell..

J.K. and I spent the night at my parents house last Tuesday night because the hubby was working late and we were looking for a change of pace. After a night of fun with the grandparents the little guy and I headed off to bed. Anyway, their house sits back in the woods and has a tendency to be surrounded by woodland creatures big and small.

We woke up early Wednesday morning to head off to "school" and work. We say our goodbyes and load up the car for our 30-minute drive. As soon as I'm on the interstate the following conversation begins:

J.K.: Mama, bug!

Me: J.K. there's no bug in the car.

J.K.: (Pointing at the driver-side window) MAMA SPIDER!!

Me: (Looking at said window) HOLY #$@*!!!!!!!

That's right a HUGE SPIDER was crawling up the window of my car. I was freaking out until I realized that it was actually on the outside of the vehicle, which was even crazier considering I was driving 65 mph down the freeway!

So then our new spidey friend decides to travel back to the passenger window and scare the livin' daylights out of my precious little boy. He's SCREAMING at the top of his lungs "SPIIIIIIDDEEERRRR!!" (Apparently, he's not a fan.) And yelling for me to hold him. I drove 20 minutes or so down I-65 trying to convince this child that the spider was outside and couldn't get him. Needless to say, he didn't believe me.

When we finally made it home, I pulled J.K. out of the car and guided the spider to the ground for him to find a new home. I was afraid to attempt killing the little guy. If he could hold onto my car for 30 minutes at 65 mph, there's no telling what he would have done to me if I'd attempted to squish him!

So, now anytime we get in the car J.K. says, "Mama, spider? Car?" And I reassure that the spider is gone and can't hurt him. Poor little man.

I Love God Moments

Yesterday was NICU Nurses Day! I didn't know such a day existed until our Footprints Ministry coordinator, Kim, sent a reminder email. Since I'm not too far from the hospital I volunteered to be the delivery girl and take a special surprise to the NICU nurses that mean so much to us. This trip ended up being a God moment. I sent an email to Kim & Nicole from Footprints explaining the story, so I'll just copy and paste it here for you to read..

I just dropped off the cake at STV. It was quite funny. The nurses had no idea that today was NICU Nurses Day! They asked if we made it up! J They were very excited about the cake.

However, there’s more to this story than just giving a cake to the nurses. When I arrived at Publix to pick up the cookie cake I’d ordered yesterday I was told that they didn’t have it ready because their truck ran late this morning. I found myself getting frustrated because I was pressed for time, but quickly reminded myself what this cake was all about and to calm down. The lady quickly made the cutest little cake and I was very pleased!

As I was leaving the Customer Service Desk, one of the employees insisted that he help me to my car. I tried to tell him that I didn’t need any help, but he wouldn’t take no for answer. As he was walking me to the car he asked who the cake was for and I explained Footprints Ministry. He stopped, looked at me and asked what hospital it was for. I responded with “St. Vincents”. He said, “My daughter is in the NICU at Children’s.” So of course, I wanted to hear his story. It turns out his daughter, Emma Marie, was born at 33 weeks at Brookwood. She was transferred to Children’s after developing BPD. She has a trach and is on a ventilator. She’s now 6 months old. His wife has mild cerebal palsey and is battling post-partum depression. He said that their marriage is falling apart at the seams and the bills are piling up every day. It took all I had not to start crying for his family. I told him that we weren’t in Children’s, but that I would see what we could do. I mentioned the idea of giving him a gift card to a local restaurant and you would have thought that I’d offered him $1,000! He said that he’d love nothing more than to be able to take his wife out on a date again, but at this point he just can’t afford it. I don’t know what we can do, if anything, but I wanted to share this amazing story. He is a Christian and asked that we pray for Emma Marie and their family.

There’s no such thing as a coincidence. God meant for me to have to wait on that cake and He encouraged this sweet Daddy to help me to my car.

After sending the email Kim immediately replied and gave me the go ahead to purchase a gift card for a local restaurant for the family. I was able to do buy the card and get it to Emma's Dad before he went home for the day. It wasn't much, but he was so grateful and it warmed my heart to know that we were all following God's call. He amazes me everyday. I would ask that you be in prayer for this family and especially baby Emma Marie.

Here's a picture of the cake!

Things We NEVER do at Home

We've woken up every morning and eaten a huge breakfast.

After breakfast we've watched dolphins play from our balcony.

Then we get all greased up with sunscreen and head to the sandy shores.

Spend the morning hours splashing in the water, strolling (or running in J.K.'s case) down the beach and building sandcastles.

Then it's time for a picnic on the beach complete with sandwich, chips and/or goldfish crackers and a cookie (you must have cookies and goldfish on the beach).

Play a bit more.

Then head back to the room for an afternoon nap.

Wake up.

Head to the pool.

Splash in the pool for an hour or so.

Head back to the room.

Get ready to go out for dinner or just be lazy and eat in.

This has been our life the last few days. It's been a rainy one today, but that is just fine. We've watched football, taken a nap and even swam in the rain.

It's been a perfect vacation. :)

We're on Vacation and Life is Good

We drove south on Tuesday evening and spent the evening on the Avery Farm with MawMaw and the rest of the family. We spent Wednesday playing with the cows, chickens, geese and horses. However, I forgot to get pictures of J.K. playing with the farm animals. I'm such a slacker! :)


However, I did manage to snap a quick shot of J.K. petting a puppy.

After a nice morning in the country we packed up the car again and drove an hour further South and ended here..


Ahhh....yes, the beach. My most favorite destination in the world. The weather is great. The food is delicious as always and the view is splendid!


As soon as we made it to the beach J.K. and his Daddy started working on their sand castle buiding skills.


It's a rough life.

Baby Steps & Family Fun

Life in the Avery house has been..ummm..hectic lately, but who's house isn't a bit crazy from time to time? Between my travels, hubby's crazy schedules and a non-stop 22 month old there hasn't been much time for our little blog. So I guess it's time to play catch up.

J.K. is a sponge. It amazes me at how much he's learning everyday. I love seeing the world through his eyes. Everything is new to him. We drove past the mall the other day and you would have thought he'd just seen Time Square for the first time! He gets so excited at anything that's even slightly larger than life and it makes me smile!

This past weekend we had a great time as a little fam. We started bright and early Saturday morning with the 1st Annual Baby Steps 5K Memorial Run/Walk. The race was in memory of babies we've lost too soon, with proceeds going to our favorite grief counseling service, The Amelia Center. We had a team of 10 great friends and family who all ran and walked in memory of Olivia. The 5K was a huge success with more than 350 participants, which is great considering this was the first year. We ended the race on a high note when Cici's name was announced as the 2nd place winner in her age group! Go Mom!

While at the 5K I was given the opportunity to meet several other families who have experienced the loss of a child. Many of them are in the very early stages of their journey. Although it isn't a job I asked for, it gives me so much peace to have the strength to talk to these Moms and let them know that they will be okay. I sometimes forget that there are so many families dealing with loss everyday. Saturday helped me to remember that I'm not alone and that I should always pray for these Moms and Dads, even those I've never met.

Sunday was spent at church and celebrating my Meme's 76th birthday. My grandmother is one of the most beautiful women I know, inside and out. I hope to soon write a post just about her and explain just how great she is!

Without further ado, here are a few pictures from the Baby Steps 5K:


The babies getting ready for the big race!


Our little fam before the race.


J.K. and Daddy playing in the park.


Cici and J.K. celebrate her BIG WIN! She placed 2nd in her age group! GO CICI!


J.K. getting his leg painted because he wouldn't let the lady near his face!