Spending time with my LITTLE

So my little sister (as in ZTA), Mandy came to visit last night. She is a CPA (yawn!) and had a conference to attend in town today on preparing tax returns (yawn again!) so she decided to come up early and spend the night with us.

I was so glad to spend some time with her, though. I feel like I haven't seen her in forever, even though it's been just a month or two. I have lots of great memories with her, and she cracks me up every time I see her.

We got to look at some old pictures last night, watch part of the Carolina game, and talk about her wedding! She's getting married in November, and I get to be a bridesmaid- WOO HOO!

Hanging out with her reminded me of how different life used to be. Not that I would change my life AT ALL, but it's crazy to think of how young and stupid we used to be! Oh how times change! We've come such a long way from our sports cars and night's out in Rock Hill!

Even though our lives are totally different now, that doesn't mean we won't have even more fun memories to look back on one day! Here's a few of the old pics we enjoyed looking at last night. Just don't laugh!

Happy Birthday to an Amazing Husband

Dear Evans,

I can’t believe you are turning 27 today. It seems like just yesterday, we were 17 and dating. 10 years has really flown by!

I remember celebrating your 18th birthday, the summer you went to Paris. I remember celebrating your 21st birthday with Freddie and Angie, even though you may not remember that one  I remember celebrating your 23rd birthday, your first after we were married. I remember your 25th birthday, after just moving into our house and preparing for our son. And I remember your 26th birthday, your first birthday as a Daddy.

I just wanted to take a minute to remind you of how special you are to me. Words can’t even describe what you mean to me. I cannot imagine my life without you. You continually amaze me with the things you do and say, and the person that you are. I am so grateful for all the memories of the birthdays we have had, and I cannot wait to make even more memories with you.

You are the love of my life, and I hope you have an AMAZING day. You deserve it!

Love always,
jcd

I don't know how you do what you do
I'm so in love with you
It just keeps getting better
I want to spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever
Every little thing that you do
Baby, I'm amazed by you

Thankful Thursday (on Friday)

As usual, I have lots to be thankful for this week (Even though you wouldn't always know it by my attitude)!

1. I'm thankful for a new playgroup that we joined this week! We met today and had lunch and went to the pool. It was so wonderful to spend some time with some super mommas, and to let Clark spend some time with their kiddos. He had so much fun that he pooped out on the way home, but luckily he stayed asleep when I transported him to his crib!

2. I'm thankful for some new opportunities for my family(They have to be kept secret for now though)!

3. I'm thankful for getting to spend time with my husband last night while we watched Carolina send home the #1 ranked Sooners (U-S-C GOOOOOOOO COCKS).

4. I'm thankful for a great Bible study that I'm doing this summer. Hopefully I will pay attention and learn lots!

There are so many more, I really could go on and on...but we'll leave it at that for today!

Happy Friday, y'all!

Why I have a Love/Hate relationship with the South

Okay, so I love the South.

I love that when you order tea at a restaurant, they bring you sweet tea.

I love how friendly everyone is, even the people you don't know.

I love how everyone acts like family (and since lots of people seem to marry their relatives, they really are)!

I love fishing and hunting (GASP! Yes, I think it's okay to kill animals, especially when you are using the meat to feed your family).

I love THE Carolina- Go Cocks!

I even love trucks (Yes, My Daddy drives an F-150 and has a .30-6 (that's pronounced 30 ALT 6) just like the song!

I love BBBQ's, low country shrimp boils, and any excuse to eat cobbler.

One thing I hate about the south, is the HEAT! I hate walking outside and not being able to breathe. I mean, we expect this kind of heat for August, but in June!?!

So, we have this tree/plant thingy in the backyard that we wanted to take out. Well, being the super great wife that I am (Wink! Wink!) I decided to tackle this project so that Evans' wouldn't have to spend his time this weekend doing it. The only problem is that I can only work outside during nap time, and Clark naps from about 1:00 - 3:00 PM.

I barely got my part done (Ev is going to have to pull out the roots) before I thought I was going to pass out. (I guess that will be a project for early Saturday morning!)

Just picture me limping into the house, grabbing a Gatorade from the fridge, and laying down on the cold tile floor. Laying on the floor didn't help me to accomplish anything except realizing that I need to sweep!

Oh well, I can handle indoor projects year round!

We can't just let Mommy have all the fun!

Disclaimer: Do not read while eating!

After giving us an eventful Mother's Day morning, Clark didn't want to disappoint for Father's Day!

We made it to church without a hitch, where Evans sang an ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL solo. There wasn't a dry eye in the entire church. After church, we headed back to my Mom and Dad's for a cookout with both of our families.

Soon after eating lunch, Clark starting pushing, like REALLY pushing. We decided to wait until he finished his business to put him down for a nap.

Well, he pushed, and pushed, and pushed. For close to an hour.

It became obvious that he was going to need some help, um, getting it out. We tried sitting him on the potty, massaging his tummy, and carrying him around. My Granny went up to her house and brought back some suppositories. I totally felt like a Mom when Granny pulled one out of the bag and I wasn't even going to hesitate to shove it right in. (I didn't have to though, because she took care of that for me! That's why I love her!)

We waited and waited and waited, and still nothing. We decided to go ahead and put him down for his nap, hoping that stretching out and relaxing would help him. He fell asleep and when he woke up 2 hours later, there was still nothing. We could tell by this point that he was completely uncomfortable.

We headed home about 7:00, and as soon as we got him out of his car seat, he started pushing again. We ran him upstairs, stripped off his clothes, and plopped him down on his potty seat. He gripped the handles on the seat and with one push, he got it out! We cheered for him, and were so excited to see that instant relief on his face!

Fast forward 2 days....He started grunting this morning, so I ran him upstairs and put him on the potty again, this time he did a #1 and #2 on his potty. Now, I don't want to jinx us, but I'm kinda hoping for an early potty training. If not, that's fine, too. Who knows though, maybe all this "practice" the last few days will encourage him to use his potty seat more often!

Double Date? Yes, please!

Sounds kinda like a night of middle-school fun, huh?!? Well, it wasn't like the girls met the boys at the front of the movie theater or anything, but we did get to go out with some friends this weekend.

We had a dinner at church for the VBS workers from last week, so we headed out after to grab a few drinks.

Our first stop was Wild Wing Cafe. I LOVE their food, but we weren't hungry, so we ordered our drinks after waiting 10 minutes for a table. Not that the wait was bad, but we were surprised that there was a wait a 9:00. The drinks and the company were great, but about 30 minutes into the conversation, the band starts, and they are like RIGHT beside our table. Now, this may show that I'm getting older, but we really weren't interested in trying to yell over the band to hear each other, so we paid our tab, and headed for a quieter spot.

We went to a nice little restaurant called Blue Fin, and decided to sit outside since it had actually cooled down below 90 degrees! We started talking, and had the BEST time. We literally sat there for hours, but it was so great to talk to another couple who we have so much in common with. It was great to learn that we're not the only ones going through what we are going through.

It was 1:00 AM before we left, which was was past my curfew :) We can't wait to do it again soon, though!

Let's be real for a minute...

I’m currently doing a Bible Study called The Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee with some ladies from my church. We are only in the second week of the study, but I feel like I have already learned so much.

Everyone, especially women, since that’s all I know from experience, all feel these emotions we are studying about. Dr. McGee lists these common emotions as The Fear of Failure, The Fear of Rejection, Guilt, and Shame.

I know that all of you have felt at least one of these at some point or another. (Yes…even those of you who always act like you have it all together and look perfect)

My point for writing about this today is to let you know that you are not ALONE! As Mommies and Women, we have so many expectations put on us: whether it’s having a perfectly clean house, doing exactly what we should with our children, or planning the perfect party! (Not to mention looking good while doing all this!)

As I have been doing my “homework” this week for the study, I found it extremely hard to write down examples from my life of times that I have felt these emotions. It almost felt like I was admitting defeat. After I wrote them down; though, it felt like I had a weight lifted off my shoulders. I wanted to stand up and say, “My name is Jamye, and I am a perfectionist!”

I LOVED the section entitled “God wants us to be real.” I don’t consider myself fake, and I can’t stand to watch people who act like they are someone that they aren’t. If you don’t have everything you want, if you don’t live in the best neighborhood, if you aren’t a part of the best clubs or organizations, or if you just don’t have it all together…SO WHAT!

Just be yourself, and be proud of who you are. No one is perfect, so none of us need to act like we are. I believe that God put each of us on this Earth for a specific purpose. So don’t worry about the rest of it. Admit your shortcomings (I know, I know….that will be more difficult for me than anyone else)! Just know that we ALL have them, even those people who act like they don’t!

I really believe the more we share our experiences with other women, we can work to empower each other through the truth!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!