8 Minute Mile

Oh, those 3 words still drive so much anger in me. I can still smell the black track where I had to run this 8 minute mile.

When I was in high school, in order to even try out for the volleyball team (each year), you had to complete a mile in 8 minutes! I was quick at short distances and I did have volleyball skills, but what I didn't do well was running long distance, and to me, 4 times around the track was long!

Why bring this up now? I was in my Nia class the other day (another blog for another day) and I was thinking how hard it was on me. My mind quickly thought back to those summers when I was dreading going back to school and trying out for the volleyball team; I was always unsure if I could make the mile in 8 minutes. Every morning I would get up and "train" with my dad. When time came to try out, I always made the mile in 8 minutes, but just short of dying!

I never understood why we had to do this task, it never made any sense to me. I still don't understand why it mattered if I could run an 8 minute mile - I was a decent volleyball player and could add alot to the team with my sets and my serves.

Anyways, your thoughts welcomed. I would love to know what stupid things you had to do as a kid just to teach you a lesson. And maybe you are like me and still don't really understand what the lesson was supposed to teach!

Pictured is me and my best friends (Stacey and Catie) who played volleyball. The other part of our group was on the drill team. I had to put this picture of us in my car - man, I loved that car -- so many funny stories!

By the way, thank you for all of your emails and comments regarding Emme. It has been an inspiring week and I thank you for your words of encouragement!

How to "Start Over" on Your Parenting Skills or Style

Don't get too excited, I am not reveling any new or wonderful how to techniques, instead I am begging for some!

Here's why:

Here name is Emme. She is my beautiful, spunky second child. My oldest, Elle, was only 6 months old when I found out Emme was in my belly. Elle was only 15 months old when Emme came unto the world -- I was still trying to figure out how to parent the first time around.

Thinking of Emme makes me smile, but sometimes makes me a bit anxious. Monday night was a particularly challenging night with her. Everything she was doing was getting on my nerves and when I did try to play with her, she would hit me by accident. Emme is 2 and into everything, so that means she swings alot of toys and knocks alot of toys down. My head, elbow, foot and eye get caught in the middle of the tornado.

I went to lunch with a friend at work (Lakeysha) on Tuesday and admitted that I really didn't know what Emme liked. I told her that if Elle and I spent a day together, I know EXACTLY

what we would go do and pretty much how the day would go.

If I spent that much time with Emme, I wouldn't know where to start. It almost makes me tear up that I am even admitting this. I keep blaming it on the fact that Emme doesn't really talk, so I don't know what she likes or wants.

Lakeysha quickly called me out on that excuse and challenged me to go home and watch Emme and be patient with her and love her for who she is. Lakeysha also politely reminded me of what a "whirlwind" of a person I am. I am always preaching at work "I am who I am and I am not going to change." I also tend to "knock things down and swing stuff around -- in work terms."

I went home last night and started my quest to watch Emme and really get to know her. Instead of getting mad at her, I tried laughing. Instead of leaving her out of games with me and Elle b/c she is too "little", I embraced her littleness and asked Elle if we could play games that Emme likes.

That was only one night, so the challenge is really starting over with my parenting style with Emme. Do you have a good book suggestion? There has got to be one out there on parenting the 2nd child.

Joe and I never sat down and talked about how we were going to raise Emme -- it was never up for discussion; we were already raising Elle, so things should be the same, right?

On a side note, Joe doesn't have this same issue with Emme. They immediately bonded. Joe says it is because Emme is just like me.

Love your suggestions and feedback.

Here are some pictures of my Emme.

Don't Love Your Work and Do Your Family

This title comes from a sermon I heard this past week at Jenni and Brad's church, StoneWater. Which I am sure you can listen to online. Anyway, the pastor talked about working on our relationships more as opposed to "checking tasks off of your to-do list."

I must admit, my husband is pretty good at this. He is one of those men that was born to be a father. The pastor warned us "Don't love your job or your hobby and do your family" rather "Love your family and do your job/hobby." So, I must spend a moment bragging on Joe. Joe gets up and goes to work early so he can get home before 6 pm. When Joe has to travel, he goes to his location in one day and hardly has nights he has to spend away from the family. When he gets home, the first thing he does is kiss me (which I am not always so lovingly open for, because if you know me, I just get so tired and touchy by the end of the day) and then runs to the kids. He spends more time playing with them in one night then sometimes I do over the course of the week. I know I should be thankful and never take his affection for granted.

So, as a result of this message we heard, we are trying not to worry about the little tasks around the house knowing that we won't ever get it all done, and try to really pay attention to the girls and to each other for those few hours we have as a family in the evenings.

I remember my dad being at every event and I am glad that I married a man who values the same thing -- relationships.

The pastor also talked about Mary and Martha and I think my friend Stacy read and recommended this book "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" the review states "a fresh approach to the familiar Bible story, Joanna Weaver shows how all of us–Marys and Marthas alike–can draw closer to our Lord: deepening our devotion, strengthening our service, and doing both with less stress and greater joy."

Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Top: Elle and Spencer driving the jeep, this scared me a bit... I am glad I don't have boys, cause I am sure there would be much more scary times then this! I love the one with Carlee Jo and her grandparents after the dedication. Also, this is what a typical weekend looks like -- Joe playing with his girls, making them laugh.

I wanted to also let you know that I have started a praise and prayer wall in my cube at work. If you need me to pray for someone, please email me and I will post it up on my board and remember to pray for them on a daily basis.

Crowded Bed

After a wonderful, full day in Granbury, the kids fell asleep in the car just as we were pulling out of Jenni and Brad's house. Joe and I were excited that the kids were already asleep and we would be able to transfer them into bed and then get some sleep ourselves! All was going well, when suddenly at midnight a very loud alarm went off in the house. Joe and I jumped out of the bed so fast it was almost comical. We had no idea what was going on. Was someone trying to break in, was there a fire, was it carbon monoxide?

The sound wouldn't shut off and we racing from room to room and Joe even got into the attic. The noise suddenly stopped and then came on once more for a few seconds. We had no idea what was going on. I went outside to see if I could see anything -- not sure what I was looking for, but we wanted to make sure everything was normal. As we were sitting on the stairs and at this time laughing because I started quoting Queen Latifa in "Bringing Down the House." When Steve Martin tries to wake her up, and she shoots out of bed in an awkward position and says "who'dat, who dere." So were laughing, but a little scared still, I looked up and noticed that the smoke alarm was blinking red -- this had to be what was wrong, just out of batteries.

Joe was not convinced, because at our last home if the smoke alarm needed new batteries, it just beeped occasionally and never let off a long, loud sound. Our neighbors scared us a while back by telling us that even though the garage door is up, you should still never let your car idle in the garage. We do this all of the time -- but now of course have limited the time the car idles -- so now were afraid, what if there is carbon monoxide build up in our house? So, I went to the detector again and it didn't show any warning signs of high levels.

I suggested heading back to bed; but Joe wanted to get the girls just in case there was a mysterious fire in the upstairs attic. So, we all slept (or didn't sleep) in our bed last night. Needless to say, we are all fine and so is the house. But, made for an eventful night. Has this happend to you? Would love to hear your story!

I hope to get some pictures up from this past weekend. It was so fun!

School is Cool and Impressive

Elle is obsessed with words that rhyme -- so this title is for her. Elle and Emme's last day with Jackie was July 31 and we do miss her tons! We are so thankful for everything she did for us these past 3 years, she truly was another additional to our family and took in the girls as her own grand kids!

We started Coppell Creek Montessori on August 1 and it has been wonderful. We have another wonderful "head master" whom we just adore. Spencer came with me on Wednesday to pick them up and he really liked the school too. The next morning when I was taking them to school, I told Elle "Spencer really liked your school" and Elle simply said, "Yes, I know. It impressed him." I have no idea where she gets her vocabulary -- it cracks me up.

Two praises for the day: 1) My sister called and her sono today showed the baby doing well and weighing 1 lb 8 oz -- and the placenta is getting good blood flow. She is 26 weeks - and we just pray she can go at least 4 more weeks! 2)My friend Catie had her baby last night. Thank you to all that prayed for her during this pregnancy and during her husbands battle with cancer - which he won!

Family Matters

I love my family -- not just Emme, Elle and Joe. But my side of the family and Joe's side. The Tinsley's and Ratliff's are very different, but similar at the same time. The bottom line is -- I am very lucky.

Here is a picture of what I have in our master bedroom. It represents all of the couples when they were first married. It is so neat to look at and for the ones that I was able to be apart of, it brings back wonderful memories of the wedding!

Brian, the newest edition to my family married my sister last year. This guy is amazing. He is kind, positive and full of life. He is interested and talented in music and knows alot of neat facts. I had the wonderful chance to hang out with him the other night at Papasitos in Houston - we had the best conversation. And the whole time I was thinking - I am so happy for my sister. I know marriage is hard and there will be bumpy times for them, but I am glad that they have each other -- especially with what they are going through now. The latest update with my sister is that she is 26 weeks along, still at the hospital and with blood pressure spikes every couple of days. My prayer is that this little guy can become more active over the next few weeks and that he stay put in Ann's belly for at least 4-6 weeks!!

Brad & Jenni - they are fresh on my mind because they came over last night. It was fun to have them spend the night on a "school night." The kids (Emme, Spencer, Elle and Carlee Jo) played and played. Excuse my naked girls -- but they are a bit messy with the fudge pops! Don't you like their designer dresses? Jenni and I have the best conversations, she is so down to earth and not judgemental at all -- and for those moms out there, you know how important it is to have a woman in your life who is not judgemental!

Well, back to work this morning .. it is truly been a great day. Today I wrote on my office board the verse "This is the day the Lord has made." Thank you Lord for my family!

Settling In

We moved to our Pedmore house in March and we are just now getting settled in and starting to decorate. I needed some time to get "used" to the house and figure out its personality.

For my first official post, I thought that I would go around the house and take some pictures of recent updates we've made. It's funny - you see your house everyday and you tell youself that you will never forget what the house will look like. Today, I was proved wrong. While waiting for the doctor at Emme's eye appointment we were looking through the pictures on my phone. There were some of the girls in our old home, it brought back a smile and good memories.

Here is our living room - we are on to our second set of pictures. We are trying to see what will look best in our home. This is a new couch, and it is so comfy, it is unreal! We just got this picture of the girls, it is the perfect element to our chimney!

Here is our bedroom. We just got these drapes.... in our old home, we got drapes the week we put our house on the market!

Elle's favorite color is green, so we modified the electric green that was in there to a softer green... although it doesn't appear to be too soft. I love it though!

Here is the girls bathroom... really pink, but I love it!

The picture above the toliet my sister gave me when I was in highschool. It has one of my favorite verses "I lift up my eyes to the Hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord maker of heaven and earth.

Here is Emme's room. Full of fun colors and Kelly Rightsell photos