Richly Blessed

The Waiting Game

2011-08-30T21:58:00.002-05:00

Death. It's such a strange thing to think so much about. But the past 3 days, it has occupied most of my thoughts both day and night. My dear Pepa is lying in a hospital bed on the 4th floor of the Carillon house. It's where people go to die. The minutes and hours continue to creep by and he continues to breathe and moan and slip in and out of sleep. I've never experienced anything like this before. The last time I lost someone this close to me, I was 12 years old. I remember being called out of my 7th grade math class and finding my dad waiting for me in the office. Mama Jo was dead. It happened so suddenly. The words felt like someone punched me in the gut and my eyes were stinging and I was searching for air. This came out of nowhere. No warning. Just death. But this is so different. We are all waiting for him to breathe his last breath. We know it's coming and his deteriorating body is somehow getting worse and showing signs of the "final stages." And we all just wait. The feelings are the same. My gut still feels pummeled, my eyes are still stinging. But it didn't come with one sharp blow. It's a slow, constant beating that has me reaching for air at every turn but finding no relief. Or maybe it's me that's holding my breath. I'm just waiting for the call or the text message. Surely I will get a call. Can you imagine hearing the AT&T default ding and reading those words across a phone screen? Like it's just another Facebook update or RSVP to Ava's birthday party. But maybe the death will bring about a release. Maybe the knot in my stomach from waiting will slowly go away. I don't know why he's still here. I don't know if he's hurting or scared or just ready to be gone. But God knows. And I have to trust that He's here in the midst of this waiting. He's doing a work or He's teaching a lesson or He's testing our faith. I don't know the why yet, but it feels so good to know that I don't have to know all the answers. I just have to try and find the breaths when they come. And I just have to keep waiting...until he's gone. And then I can start missing him. I can cry a different set of tears. Tears of loss and grief. There will be a few tears of joy for his heavenly homecoming. And I will try to be strong and help my kids understand and I will fail, and I will cry and that will be ok. And I will remember all the things I loved about him. And I will be thankful for the last few years he's gotten to spend making memories with my kids. Memories of peppermints and "rides" in the hospital bed. Of singing and dancing and laughing. Of quiet moments shared gazing out the window. I will have my own personal memories of his motorcycle, walking calves, calling him Ralph and him calling me Sydney. So many memories of life and joy. And those are the things that will make the death bearable.

30 is the new ???

2011-08-11T19:08:00.002-05:00

Well, 30 is the new age for me! Yesterday was my birthday, and it turned out to be a pretty good day. I've been a bit panicked about this one for quite some time, but as the big day got closer, I realized that it wasn't so bad. And when I crawled into bed last night, I realized I survived! It was a great day and although I just entered a new decade, I really didn't feel that much different. I am very much a list maker. Always have been. My sister, Paige, wrote the most beautifully amazing blog about me yesterday and it was a list of 30 things about me. As I read the things, I wasn't sure they were all true, but it made me realize how much I wanted them to all be, or at least feel like they were real to me. I've been thinking and I've decided I need a new list for this year, or really decade. 30 things I want to accomplish in my 30's. I'm still praying about what all should be on the list, but I'll go ahead and start. I'm sure some of them will seem silly to others or not make any sense, but the list is really for me. So here goes!

1. I want to continue to raise three beautiful daughters to know and love the Lord.

2. I want to be a better wife to my husband every single day. As I continue to learn things about him and as we continue to grow closer, I want to love him better and support him in every way that he needs.

3. I want to have really great friendships. This is something I don't think I've ever done all that well, but I want to intentionally work on it. I want to invest in people that are fun, like-minded, and at the same time challenge me to grow spiritually and in other ways. Life is too short to go through it alone. I want to purposefully choose people to be in my life that will make me a better person.

4. I don't want to yell anymore. I can't believe I'm admitting this in blogland, but it's true. I can be a yeller. It is the one thing about myself that I dislike the very least. I have a short fuse sometimes and before I know it I'm barking for no reason. I'm immediately remorseful and embarrassed. Raising kids comes with it's fair share of irritations, however, that is no excuse for me to yell. No more yelling!!

5. I want to read more. A few weeks ago, I decided for some odd reason to read Pride and Prejudice. I have never been a reader. I could spend hours vegged out in front of the TV, but lately, it just doesn't interest me. I downloaded the book on my phone and read it cover to cover. I was quite proud of myself for finishing the 418 pages! And now I want to read more! Any good suggestions??

6. In the words of Mary J. Blige, I want "No More Drama." I am finding myself at a place in life where I often ask myself, "what's the point?" What is the point in being mad all the time? Where is the fun in picking out flaws in other people? What is the purpose of keeping things stirred up in my mind and emotions to the point of feeling like I'm about to reach my boiling point all the time? The answer is simple. There is NO point! It is useless, wasted time spent worrying about things that are usually out of my control. And I have found that control is usually the culprit. Feeling out of control and grasping for it can cause this constant stirring of drama, that I just have no desire to be a part of. So, I am committed to living a life full of love, forgiveness, and believing the best of people. Isn't is amazing how God gives us the grace we need to walk out what He's called us to do? Isn't it even more amazing that He doesn't give us the grace to do other people's jobs and to live other people's lives?

7. I want to be healthy. Ahh, here it is. The constant battle for me. Weight. Food. Health. Self-esteem. These things all get rolled into one big ball bouncing up and down. Right now I am teetering on the "up" side of weight and food, and the "down" side of health and self-esteem. If I've learned anything about my natural self in the last decade, it is that I am NOT a naturally thin person. Over the past few years I have worked my tail off on two different occasions and lost a good amount of weight. As soon as I felt I had reached some goal or level of health, I started "rewarding" myself with all the yummy food that I so enjoy. It doesn't help that I love to cook. It is relaxing for me. It is a creative outlet for me, and I love it! However, before I know it, all the hard work is over and I start putting all the weight back on again. What the heck?? I saw a hilarious quote on Pinterest yesterday that spoke loud and clear to me. It said "Don't reward yourself with food. You're not a dog!" So true!! But if I jump through the hoops and lose enough weight I stick my little hand in my pocket and pull out a treat (or 5). This has to stop. In the past I have done really well with losing weight when accountability is involved, so I'm praying for God to show me who to be accountable to. I can do this!!

8. I want to take more vacations with my family. Vacations are some of my fondest memories growing up and I want my kids to have those. There is something about getting away from "normal" life and just having fun! My dream vacation is to go to Disney World with my family, my sisters and their families, and my parents. Can't you just see all those girls at Cinderella's Castle?? Photo-op for sure!!! I also want to go on more trips with my husband. There is no better way to reconnect than a few days away from work and the kids (even though I love them dearly!) preferably relaxing on a beach or some other beautiful location (I'll take mountains too. I'm not picky).

9. I want to do a better job of "multiplying" myself at work. Work for me is being the worship pastor at Church on the Rock. As much as I love actually leading worship in a service, I really get a bigger kick out of seeing other people raised up and released to do it. It truly gives me the proudest feeling! Is that wrong? I just get excited to see other people fulfill their calling and their destiny in the Kingdom. I feel like so much of what I'm "called" to do is changing to more of a mentoring role than an out front leader role. I still enjoy doing both and am blessed enough to have the opportunity to do both. I get to work with some of the most amazingly talented, anointed, humble, powerful worship leaders. It's really a fun job!

10. I want to write more. Paige wrote about it yesterday on her blog, and it got me thinking. I do love to write. I write songs, stories, thoughts, ideas. Whatever pops into my head. However, I don't make the time to do it as much as I would like. At one time I thought about writing a book, although I'm not sure anyone would read it! But it would be so fun to write!

Ok, I think that's enough for now. I've 20 more things to decide on and 39 years and 363 more days to do it. I think I'm good.

A dream becoming reality

2010-09-01T14:40:00.002-05:00

For so many years I have been asked, "when are you ever going to make a CD?" Similar comments for years and years: "I'll buy the first one" "Are you writing any new songs?" "Are you recording anything?" "You should really do something with that music." These were all things that I often told or asked of myself, but isn't God's timing always perfect? I remember about six years ago. I was done with college, not yet married, I had no idea what my life was going to look like, but there was music. Music had been there for so long. Honestly, at that point I thought I would be further along in my musical journey, but I didn't know where that would be. I just remember thinking, "as long as I make at least one CD before I'm 30." So, here I am, 29 years and three weeks old, preparing to record a worship CD tonight. It truly is a dream come true. But what I love the most about it, is that it's not just me. This is not my CD. It's a project I'm honored to be a part of and honored to lead with my husband. It is so special to me because it is simply our attempt to capture the sounds of worship that we get to be a part of every single week. It is us, our friends, our team, our church, our family. We have labored, sacrificed, given, and cried to see this thing come into existence. And now it's here. In just 4 short hours, we will hit the record button and my prayer is that we capture the heart of worship that our church family has. I hope to somehow convey through this CD our love for God. These songs are our prayers, our hopes, our desires, our love for Him. So today, my dream is coming true. I feel so expectant. The only thing I can compare it to is the day before I went in to have my babies. That feeling of knowing that your life is about to change in some huge way, and you have no idea what that actually looks like. I like this feeling. I'm a little anxious, but mostly just excited. Excited to continue this journey with my amazing husband, and with my friends who I get to lead worship with.

Let me just encourage you today, to search deep inside and remember those dreams that may be collecting dust somewhere in there. Life is always going to be busy. You are never going to get any younger. You will never have all your ducks in a perfect row. Sometimes, you just have to step out and go for it, right where you are. No matter what season of life. I'm so glad I stepped out in faith and said "yes!" to what God was asking me to do. It's such a rewarding thing. Far greater than anything that I could have imagined, because it's not just my dream, it was His first. It's what He put inside of me to do, and so He's equipped me to do it. I know He can do the same for you.

Thanks for letting me share. I don't ever want to forget how great it feels to be doing what I'm supposed to be doing. So maybe this blog can serve as a reminder for in the future when I've been sitting for far too long on something that God has asked me to do!

A few of my favorite things...

2010-07-18T13:16:00.002-05:00

When I was little The Sound of Music was probably my favorite movie. No, I take that back. It was Grease, but SOM was a close 2nd. I had a thing for musicals. I wanted to grow up and be Leisel someday in a play. Came close to that once, but it fell through. Ahhh, the dream that got away....

Anyways, in Sound of Music there is a song called Favorite Things. When I was around 14 I learned to play it for a piano recital. I HATE reading music (bad thing for a musician) so it was a humongous challenge for me, but I did it. I've had that song running through my head for some reason today, so this blog post will be about...you guessed it! My favorite things! (well, favorite things of this week)

#1- Seeing a friend fulfill a long time dream! My friend, Ruth Menefee and her precious family are in Colombia to meet and pick up their new beautiful daughter, Abi! I don't honestly know Ruth all that well, but she is one of those warm people who make you feel so great. You talk to her and you feel like you've known her forever. She is so open and friendly and in the most amazing, genuine way. The story of Abi coming to their family is incredible. You should follow Ruth's blog and read their story for yourself! You will be inspired by this mama's relentless courage and commitment to the dream God put in her heart!

#2- A much needed girls night! On Thursday, I went to dinner with two dear friends. These girls have been in my life for about 15 years, and I thank God for them! We laughed, we cried (only because we were laughing so hard), we ate some super yummy food, and we just had the best time. Thanks to my wonderful husband for keeping the girls and giving me a night off!

#3- Watching my girls play with their cousins. We are blessed so much wonderful family so close by. On Wednesday, we went over to my sister's house to let the girls play in the kiddie pools. It's so fun to watch them play together. I loved hearing their little giggles and shrieks as they splashed each other and waded in the pool. What a blessing to know that my girls not only have awesome cousins, but life-long friends!

#4- Reading my cousin Stacie's blog. This girl is seriously one of the most creative people I know! Her talent has always amazed me, even when she was really young. Now to see her as a wife, mother and artist...I love it! She is beyond talented, and you should check out her stuff here!

#5- Spending a fun afternoon with my grandmother- Mema had knee replacement surgery last week and she is spending some time in a rehab hospital. I took the girls up for a visit. Surprisingly we did not get kicked out, despite the loud screaming from time to time. It makes me so happy to see my grandmother's face light up as soon as the girls walk in the room. Ava did some ballet dancing for her, and Mema showed the girls her scar from the surgery. We all laughed and talked about what we wanted to be when we grow up over chocolate milk shakes (Mema wants to be a Mema, Ava wants to be a princess, a mom, and a musketeer. Taylor is undecided, but probably a nurse, and I want to be a chef when I grow up!) I love these special visits and it's always hard to leave because I know how much joy and therapy it brings my Mema when we come.

#6- Leading worship with my husband and an amazing team! We are working on a CD project and it is going pretty good. It is so much work and from time to time I get a little overwhelmed at the thought of all that still needs to be done, but then we have services like this weekend and I am just so excited and honored to be a part of such a great thing! I love that my husband is stepping out (although it is VERY hard for him) and singing and sharing the songs that God has given him. He inspires me everyday! I am one blessed woman!

I am looking forward to a great week and more favorite things! What are some of your favorite things this week?

Rainy Day

2010-07-02T14:05:00.003-05:00

I love the rain! It's quiet in the house, the kids are napping, I'm totally loving this afternoon.

I am planning a fabulous menu for Taco Night with Alan's family tomorrow. Got a call this morning from my mother-in-law letting me know she was on her way into town, like literally on her way. 30 minutes away. She lives in Dallas. So, in order to avoid the circus that is Alan's entire family trying to go out to eat, I have decided to invite everyone over here! It's more relaxed, the kids can play, and I don't have to tell the kids 12,000 times to sit down, keep your hands to yourself, eat your own food, quit coloring on your cousin's napkin, quit coloring on your cousin's clothes, quit coloring on your cousin's arm, quit shooting spit wads through your straws, eat your food, sit down, quit running around the table, don't blow bubbles in your drink...I think you get the idea. There's something about being at a table of 12 that the "energy" level just goes through the roof. I don't know if it's that they think they have a captive audience, so it's time to start getting major attention, or what. So, like I said, to avoid this, I am planning Taco Night! We will have fish tacos, steak tacos, and chicken tacos along with lots of yummy sides and toppings. I am feeling my love for cooking start to rekindle and I like it! Last night I made spaghetti with meatballs. I had never made meatballs before! It was fun and they were super yummy. I also ran across a cookbook that I got for Christmas that I had totally forgotten about. There are tons of recipes that I am dying to try from there! I like them because they all sound simple, not too time consuming, but really delicious. My kind of cooking!

I'm looking forward to the 4th of July. I would usually try to plan out every moment of the weekend, but this year I'm feeling more relaxed about it all. I think we'll just go with the flow. That's probably a good thing with this rain, because all the things I would have normally planned would probably not have worked out and then I would just be frustrated. What a waste of time to worry about things like that! I'm excited about hanging out with my family and just enjoying the holiday. My two oldest girls are singing with a little kids choir for the July 4th service at church on Sunday. I'm so anxious to see them perform! I know they will do a great job!

Well, I know this is nothing very exciting, but I thought I would post a little update since it's way too long since my last one. There's something about a rainy day that just makes me want to sit down and write. I think I'll go work on writing a song now. Enjoy your holiday!!

28 and counting...

2010-03-29T13:55:00.003-05:00

I have been on a mission since the first of the year. I stepped on the scale January 1st was slightly horrified at the number that came up. Honestly, I didn't believe it at first, but after weighing several more times and seeing the same number, I accepted it and decided it was time to take action! Thankfully, an amazing opportunity fell in my lap! A group called Weigh-N-Pray was starting up. It was a group of ladies committed to a weekly weigh-in, some prayer and accountability. It was just the thing I needed! Weigh-N-Pray ended yesterday and I lost 24.4 pounds!! Since the first of the year, I am down 28!! I have a few more to go, but I feel great, and I'm really excited about keeping it off! Now I have some shopping to do! All of my clothes are too big and my pants are falling off!

Oh My!

2010-03-18T15:50:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last blogged. Just so much going on these days. Honestly, I wish I wasn't so busy. I'm back to trying to figure out how to balance everything in life again. I think this is something that will continually be a part of my life. Maybe not constantly, but I foresee different seasons of it for sure. So, I'm on a journey of simplification. Trying to get things done without being too over zealous and piling too many things on my plate. I have not been doing a great job lately of the balancing and it caused a lot of stress which is I think why I've been sick for a week now! Don't really want to focus on the stressful things, so here are the things I've been working on lately that have brought a lot of joy!

Since the beginning of the year, I've been in a group called Weigh-N-Pray. It's 20 ladies on a journey of weight loss and accountability and encouragement. It has not been easy, but I have really enjoyed it. I've tried to lose weight many other times in my life, but for some reason, something really stuck this time. I truly sense a change not only in my weight, but in my thoughts about weight. My mindset is totally different. My eating habits have totally changed and my thought processes about food and my relationship with food have changed. It's a good feeling and the result is a loss of 23 pounds so far!

I am also super excited about my 5 year wedding anniversary! It's coming up on April 9th and Alan and I are going on a trip to celebrate! We will go the first week of May to Mexico for a week of relaxing and reconnecting. I'm ready for some time with my man and some time away to (hopefully) turn my brain off and relax!

Well, that's about it for me! Maybe I'll find to update again without a whole month going by!

Here I Am: 2-12-10

2010-02-12T08:38:00.002-06:00

Where I am: February 12, 2010

What I'm listening to: The sound of buttons on the jeans clanging around in the dryer in an otherwise very quiet house. And my dog chewing on some plastic toy she found in the girls toy basket.

What I'm thinking about: What a blessing it is that my little girls are still sleeping! Ava got up about 4 times last night (that's pretty average for her) and now she's sleeping in. I'm glad Molly Kate is still sleeping because last night she started running fever (again) and obviously did not feel good until it started coming down at about 10:00 pm. I'm glad she is getting some rest and her body is working on healing itself.

What I'm grateful for: Time to relax on this Friday! Now that I've gone back to work, my weeks are very hectic. Mondays and Fridays are my down time. I put in a lot of hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and my only breaks are the brief 30 minutes when I'm running to pick up kids and take them to the house before I have to be back at work, or when I'm running home, grabbing the kids and the babysitter, picking up dinner, dropping the babysitter off at home, and heading back to work. Did I mention this all happens in less than 30 minutes?? Those 3 days are pretty hectic, so I really enjoy a day like today when I can rest a bit. Weekends are equally busy since we have a Saturday night service and 2 Sunday morning services. Even though today is already filling up with several loads of laundry, a much needed trip to Sam's, and an unexpected but now necessary trip to the Doctor's office, it's still going to be a good day.

What I'm looking forward to: This weekend! My mother in law is coming to town (yes, I am excited about this). As far as Mother's in law go, she is pretty great. When she comes to visit, she just wants to spend lots of time with the grandkids so Alan and I always get to have some time to ourselves. We desperately need some time. We've gotten so busy since going back to work. I thought we were having a date night next weekend (we are in a babysitting co-op and trade off once a month going out/keeping kids) and have looked forward to it for a long time. It's one of those things that in the midst of the craziness and when I feel like I haven't had a real conversation with my husband in a long time, I can look at the calendar and say, "Ok, in 2 weeks we are having a date night!" and that kinda keeps me sane for a bit longer. So yesterday I found out the date night was cancelled and was bummed. Then my mother in law called and said she wanted to keep the kids on Sunday so we could go out for Valentines! Such a great treat!

I am also looking forward to this weekend at church. God put an idea in our hearts before we went back to work. I love creativity and incorporating it in our worship services. I love when we put on big conferences, not just for the bigger "show" but because I think that people are reached in lots of different ways. For some, the music speaks to them, but for others they may be more ministered to through a video or a dance. So, I wanted to start stepping it up a little in our worship times. Once a month we will have a BIG weekend (I don't know what else to call it). This weekend is all about love. So everything will be a little more "creative" and I'm really excited about it. We are also doing a new song that my husband wrote!!! He won't sing it, even though he did on the recording, but I understand his reasons why. It is such an amazing and worshipful song. I am excited to share it this weekend!!!

My current challenge: I have written a play/skit (not really sure what to call it). Basically it is a bunch of monologues inspired by real stories and people that I know. I shared it with my dad and he liked them. He said he wants us to do it for Easter. Every year at Easter we have one big service at the Civic Center. It is always a lot of work, but so rewarding because I know a lot of people are touched by the message that Easter is all about. So I am feeling very honored, nervous and challenged to put together a really great service for Easter. I feel peace about it though, because all of it has been very "God inspired." When I wrote the monologues I was very much in His presence and felt a creativity beyond myself.

I know this is getting long, so I'll wrap it up. Ava is now awake and wants breakfast, so to all my blog friends, have a blessed day!

Snow Day!!

2010-01-29T12:26:00.002-06:00

We are enjoying a fabulous snow day at the Rich house. We've worked in the studio a little bit, watched some cartoons, ate breakfast together (that RARELY happens!), and now I'm enjoying a little quiet time while the kids nap! I thought I would give a little update on what I've been up to lately:

Upcoming events I'm excited about: This weekend I was supposed to be leading worship and speaking at a Ladies Advance at Generations Church in Lubbock. Due to the weather, it has been postponed to the end of February. I am so excited to get to do things like this! It's fun to meet other ladies that love the Lord and love His presence. Next weekend, I get to go on a ladies retreat with City View to Ruidoso!! Again, fun time with other ladies and I get to lead worship for them. Something about these opportunities made me realize that I am an actual adult. I know that may sound funny, but for some reason, I still think of myself at times as a teenager or college aged kid. I start to prepare for things like this retreat and I think about what I'm going to share. Hi, I'm Leslie Rich. I'm married to a wonderful guy named Alan and we have 3 beautiful daughters. I am a grown up!! I am an old married lady with kids! Oh well, I love this stage of my life!

What I've been enjoying most lately: Speaking of college aged kids, I've been teaching a life lessons class each week for the LIFT students at church. LIFT is a 9 month discipleship program, similar to a Master's Commission. Honestly, my first thought was "yay! I get to teach!" I really enjoy teaching, I think because it makes me sit down and actually study and prepare something. I'm kind of a deadline girl. I need to know what I'm working toward and when it's due, or else sometimes things just don't get done. So, every Thursday from 9:30-11:00 I get to hang out with some awesome young people and just share some of my life experience. Again, this makes me feel old, but I'm glad that I have things to share. I tell them that they can learn one of two ways: from their own mistakes, or from someone elses. I am offering stories of my own mistakes to hopefully help them out in some way. I love that hour and a half of my week. Not just because I get to teach though, I have gotten so much more out of it than that. I always walk away from it inspired and encouraged, not from my own teaching, but just from seeing where these young people are at, and what God is doing in them during this intense time of commitment they are in.

Job update: So, here's a little update on the job! It has been more of an adjustment for me than I thought it would be going back to work. I am working more now than I did before, so maybe that's what it is. I truly love my job and what I get to do. I even love more that I get to do it alongside my husband. He is so strong in the areas that I am so weak in! And he pushes me to be a better leader all the time. He has been the one to really stretch me and make me get out of my comfort zone on some things, but the result of that is so rewarding! Now that we've been at it for about a month, I finally feel like I'm starting to catch up a little bit, and I feel like we're able to start making some changes and trying some new things that we've been waiting on for a while. I'm glad some of the stuff that had to be done in the beginning is over because it's taken a lot of time away from being creative. The greatest thing about not working (except for being with my kids) was the extra time that I had to be creative! I had so much time to work on projects and music and it was such a wonderful feeling. I really think though that now that we're finding more of a groove at work, we are going to find more time for those things again. It certainly helps that we have the most amazing assistant ever! Hannah Haning is so awesome! I can just give her all of my unorganized, crazy lists and ideas and she makes them all come out so nice and neat and organized! She is the biggest blessing to Alan and I up at work.

Weigh-n-Pray update: I think blogged about this before, but I've joined a group of ladies called Weigh-n-pray. It's kind of this weight loss challenge, prayer/support group, with a $2000 prize waiting for the biggest loser! The money was huge incentive for me (even though I don't think I'm going to win!) and it helps to have other ladies on the same journey with me. I've lost a total of 4.5 pounds so far! And it's only been two weeks! We weigh in every Sunday, so I'm hoping I'll have more loss to report in a few days! I need to be a bit more motivated in the work out department. I really want a treadmill. I finally told Alan the other day that I had this unrealistic fantasy in my head that I would come home one day and there would be a treadmill all set up for me. I had dropped the hint at wanting one for so long and I realized he was going to do nothing about it, so I finally just came right out and told him! This is what I want you to do: go buy a treadmill, set it up, and surprise me! Still hasn't happened....not sure it will! Oh well, maybe some day!

Well, I think I'm gonna go make some grilled cheese sandwiches and soup for lunch. Enjoy your snow day!

New...

2010-01-18T09:11:00.002-06:00

I love starting a new year. It's like you get a fresh start, or a do-over if you need one. 2010 is definitely full of newness for the Rich family. So here are some of the new things we have going on.

First off, Alan and I started a new job! We are the worship pastors at Church on the Rock. I know many of you are reading this thinking, "isn't that your old job?" Not at all!! At least that's how we are approaching this job. Before I worked part time as the worship leader at COTR. Now, I'm not into titles, but I really feel like God wants me to take the new part about being a pastor very seriously. Being a worship pastor is so much more than just leading a song service. I really have a desire to pastor the people I am priveleged to get to have on our team. Over the last seven months, God has been teaching us so many principles on leadership and working with people. Now we know why! We are honored to get to pastor alongside some other incredible pastors at our church and even more honored to get to pastor some incredible people! This whole experience is keeping me very humble and in constant, desparate need for Jesus. It's a great place to be! We have so many exciting plans and ideas for the ministry and I can't wait to see the year unfold and to see all that God has in store.

Along with this new job, comes new pressure to figure out balance. Balance is a HUGE thing for me! When I was working before, I definitely allowed my family to suffer in the time department. We are so determined to not let that happen this time around. My kiddos will only be yound once, so I am going to enjoy it! And we are enjoying it!! We have three amazing girls and I am honored to be their mommy. Can't wait to see what God has for each of them this year!

2010 will usher in the arrival of a new me!!! I have struggled with my weight for the last 10+ years. For me, the battle is mostly mental, but I am ready to turn that all around. I can no longer use the "I just had a baby" excuse, since my baby is 14 months old! My good friend, Missy, challenged ladies who wanted to lose some weight and do it together through accountability, encouragement, and prayer. Initially my response was yes!!! I need all the help I can get!! And to top it off, the grand prize for the "biggest loser" is $2000!!! Um, that's pretty good motivation. I waivered a little bit in making the decision, because I was worried about the time it might take away from our already precious family time. But I wanted to lose weight, and did not want to attempt to do that (again) all by myself. So, I told Missy on Thursday that I wanted to do it. I barely made it in under the deadline. I weighed in that day and the journey began! I only had 3 days until the next weigh in since I joined late, but I was determined to do something. The "me" from the past would have said, "oh, I'll just wait and get started next week," all the while stuffing my face all weekend long, but I decided that "me" needed to go!! I started working out here at home, and counting my calories every day. Yesterday, was my first official group weigh in and......(drum roll, please)....I lost 3.2 pounds!! In 3 days!!! Can you tell I'm pumped? I really feel confident this time. And if I don't win the money, that's ok. It's a fantastic motivator, but just knowing that I have 19 other women going on this journey with me makes it so much easier and so much more fun! I also have an anniversary trip in April to motivate me. The thought of being on a beach in a bathing suit got my rear in gear, real quick!!! So, I may post updates from time to time. I WON'T be posting actual weight :) just weight loss!

Finally, we are thinking about moving to a new house! With interest rates like they are we were going to refinance our house. The more we talked we realized if we do refinance, we will be in this house for at least five more years. AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! I already feel like we are busting at the seams here, and as my kids get older it's only going to get worse. I like my house and I am very grateful for what we have, but we figured for the same payment we are making now we can easily get into a 4 bedroom house and a much nicer, newer home that is not always a project in the works (like our current house). With the kids at the ages they are at, I don't have time for anymore projects!! So, we are in decision mode and excited about the possibility of another new change!

In the midst of all the change and newness, I am glad that one thing remains constant. I serve a God who can not be moved, He can not be shaken. His mercies are NEW every morning and I choose to put all of my hope and trust in Him alone. Now, that's a good feeling!

Top Ten of 2009

2009-12-31T17:00:00.002-06:00

On this last day of 2009, I am remembering some of this year's best moments. Here is my Top 10 (or the best that I can remember!) in no particular order.

10. I wasn't pregnant this year!!! Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed being pregnant in the past, but I was glad to have this year to enjoy the kids I already have and no more growing inside of me.
9. Both of my sisters are pregnant this year!!! See, now I wouldn't want to be pregnant and steal their thunder!
8. Molly Kate turned 1. Where did that first year go? MK is the sweetest, most gentle spirited, precious little thing. You can not help but fall in love with her the moment you meet her. Amazing child. Thank you God for an easy one!!!
7. I have drawn so much closer to God this year than ever before, and because of that I have a clearer sense of my purpose and destiny than ever before. I love knowing that I'm right where I'm supposed to be and that's right in the middle of his perfect will for my life. It makes me want to draw even closer so I don't get off track! I feel more comfortable in my own skin than I think I ever have. It just feels so good to know you are doing the right things even if it sometimes feels like the hardest things you've ever done.
6. Found even more peace and grace to handle the trials and sometimes ugly circumstances that come with being a step mom. This year I wished to be able to adopt Taylor and that didn't happen. I'm not sure that it ever will, but God has carried me through every disappointment, every up, every down, and everywhere else in between and I made it! I'm still making it. God, I thank you for my precious oldest daughter, Taylor. Thank you for knitting our hearts together in a bond unlike any other in my life.
5. I am writing songs again! And some of them aren't half bad!! I have found a new love for music. It no longer feels like work to me. I don't have an internal struggle every time I sit down at the keyboard anymore. I just love listening to God and tapping into whatever He is speaking to me at the time and I love trying to express it in a song. I love being able to share my thoughts and feelings about life and where I'm at through the lyrics and the music. It's a real gift to find a renewed passion for songwriting.
4. I got to spend another great year with my grandfather. Last Christmas, Pepa was in the hospital and I wasn't sure if he would ever come out. He did come home and has made so much remarkable progress this year. He went from being on hospice care with very little time left to being released from hospice with the doctor's scratching their heads about his miraculous "comeback." Our conversations have gone from planning the music at his funeral to now just chatting about the kids and sharing all of our fun stories with him. Thank you Jesus for your healing touch and continue to pour it out on Pepa and Mema this year.
3. #3 is for Ava because she turned 3 this year! I love Ava Grace. There is no way I could put just one memory of her on here. We make multiple memories every single day! Her brilliance and spunk keep me on my toes and keep me laughing every minute. She is such an amazing kid and I can't wait to see what all is in store for her in 2010.
2. I have found a new love for cooking! It is a fun, relaxing hobby for me. It has been somewhat of a creative outlet for me and I really love it. We have made it a priority for our family to eat dinner together at home more often and it is so great! I love that we can all come together and share a meal and just be together.
1. So the #1 greatest thing that has happened to me in 2009 was a no brainer! 2009 has been the greatest year of my marriage (so far, I believe the best is yet to come)!!! Alan and I will celebrate our 5 year anniversary in April, 2010. This past year we have grown so close and more in love with one another. We have (finally) learned how to better function in our roles as husband and wife and I am constantly striving to find ways to better serve him. I love him so much and I thank God every single day for bringing me a husband that protects me, provides for us, encourages me, never lets me settle, sees all of the potential I have yet to tap into, and the list could go on and on... I love you Alan. I can't wait to see what 2010 has in store for us!

New traditions and a new friend

2009-12-23T08:51:00.003-06:00

I love this time of year. I think more than the actual holiday, I am loving spending so much time with my family. My girls are all out of school and we are enjoying each day together. It's so great to see my two oldest, despite their 6 year age difference (Taylor is 9 and Ava is 3) getting along so well. Ava has matured a little bit and doesn't annoy Taylor quite so bad. And when Taylor does need a break Ava just goes and plays with her imaginary friend, Halloween. Yes, her name is Halloween. Halloween showed up in early October about 3 weeks before the actual holiday of Halloween. I think Ava heard that word on TV or in a store and really liked the word. She had no idea it was a holiday, but I noticed her using that word a lot as she was talking to herself (she does that a lot too!). A few days later she introduced me to her new friend, Halloween. It took me a little while to figure out what on earth she was saying. She kept asking if Halloween could come over and play. I kept trying to explain to her that Halloween was a holiday and she just kept looking at me like I was stupid. "No mom, I'm talking about my friend, Halloween. I want her to come over and play dress up with me." My response was, "Ava, Halloween is a day where some people dress up and go get candy." Again, I got the "You're stupid" look. Once I finally realized that she had a new friend that was totally alive in her mind I quit trying to explain the holiday. I honestly thought Halloween would stick around for a few days, maybe a week and would be gone. Oh no...this was not the case. Halloween has become a pretty regular part of our day. If we go somewhere, Halloween comes along. I even have to buckle her in her pretend car seat next to Ava. Ava will usually give me an update on what Halloween is wearing that day. Occassionally, we set a place for her at dinner. She's gone from living down the street in her imaginary house to moving in with us. Now Ava has informed me that I have four kids: Taylor, Ava, Molly Kate, and Halloween. She thought it was a better idea if they were sisters. Is this unhealthy? Am I unknowingly scaring my child for life because sometimes I go along with her imagination and pretend Halloween's there because it's easier than fighting with a 3 year old about it?? I'm sure I'm not the only mom who's dealt with this, so any advice would be greatly appreciated! If Taylor is feeling especially ornery one day, she'll tease Ava about Halloween not being real. It usually ends in a screaming match with Ava in tears defending her new sister's existence. I'll give it a little while longer, and I'm hoping it just goes away. I mean, I know I'm not going to send Ava off to college with Halloween. And we probably won't even make it to kindergarten with her! Nonetheless, Halloween is here for now (even has a present under the tree, from Ava) and I'm not going to worry about it too much.

This year, we have decided to start a new Rich family tradition. We are going to have a special family day on Christmas Eve!! Every year we have sort of rushed through our little family's time to get to the bigger family events. On Christmas Eve night we have a huge Christmas with all of my cousins and family on my mom's side. Then Christmas morning, we go back to my mom's for Christmas with my immediate family, and then Taylor leaves for her other mom's on Christmas day after lunch. All of Alan's family is in Dallas, and we don't like to travel on Christmas, so we don't have to worry about somehow seeing all of them as well. So, this year, since we have our own little growing family, we've decided to make Christmas Eve a special day for us. It will actually start tonight. We are taking the girls to see the new Alvin and the Chipmunks, then to look at Christmas lights. We will come home and all open up our new Christmas pajamas and then in the morning we will wake up and have our own little "Christmas morning" of presents, stockings and a yummy breakfast. I'm really excited about doing something new and taking time just for the five of us. Don't get me wrong, I love our usual traditions with all of the extended family, but I think it's important to start some new things and have some things that are special for the five of us. We are going to spend most of the day in our PJ's, playing with all the new toys, watching movies, and just enjoying one another. At 5:30 we'll head to Christmas Eve communion at church and then on to the big family Christmas that night. I think it sounds like a great time!

I hope you all have a very blessed holiday. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hannakuh, or any other special day, I pray you find time to enjoy your family and the relaxed pace to sit and take some deep breaths! I know I will!!

Season of Thankfulness

2009-11-21T16:30:00.004-06:00

I love this time of year!!! So many things to celebrate and be thankful. I am enjoying all the blog lists and Facebook updates on what people are thankful for. I think I'll make a list of my own. These are in no particular order, just as they pop into my head.

- My husband, Alan. He is such an amazing companion to share this life with! He brings out the best in me and graciously puts up with me when the worst comes out. I am so grateful that God put us together!

- Taylor, my amazing daughter! I'm not sure what life would be like without her. She embraced me as her friend, and as her mom, and has shared her dad with me even though I'm sure that was a lot to ask of a four year old! Five years later, we have a great relationship that is a great mix of love, respect, and friendship.

- Ava Grace. Where to begin?? Ava is such a joy and anyone who has ever met her would say the same. I am thankful for Ava's spirit and the personality that I get to see more and more of everyday. She is at times a challenge for me as a mother, but I'm learning patience and how to (hopefully) be a better mom. Her wit combined with her genius brain amazes me and keeps me laughing every day! I love my Ava!!

- Molly Kate, my sweet little sweetie!! Is there a sweeter baby? MK is the perfect balance to her sister, Ava. She is mellow and peaceful and always so content. She makes my life easy and rich. I am so in awe and excited to see her little personality coming out more and more each day.

- Music. I am rediscovering my love for music. It is no longer a job to me. It is no longer just something I do from time to time. Music is a gift that God has given to me to explore and create and use to glorify Him. God is a creative God and I love tapping into the creative realm where His songs and melodies are waiting for me to discover. Does that sound cheesy? I'm not sure how else to describe this new relationship I have discovered with music.

- My family. Gosh, I love my family. I know I've already talked about my husband and kids, but I'm including my extended family in this one. I am beyond blessed to have the most amazing parents, sisters, brothers, in-laws, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, cousins....the list goes on and on. The older I get and the more people I meet, the more I realize that my family is definitely the exception...not the norm!! My uncle put it really well yesterday when he said our holidays were like a Norman Rockwell painting. We all get along and love each other and very rarely have drama. We genuinely love being together. My best friends in life pretty much all are related to me, and I like it that way!

- My church. I am blessed to be a part of an amazing local church. I know God chooses the local church to do a lot for His Kingdom and Church on the Rock is doing amazing things!! I am blessed to be a part of a family of believers who love to give and serve the body of Christ and the lost all around the world. I love the vision of our house and I am thankful that God is moving and having His way at COTR!

- My neighbors. I know that's a little random, but I just came in tonight after visiting outside over a huge barbecue pit with several of my neighbors. We chatted and laughed for over an hour. I am thankful to live on a quiet cul-de-sac full of families and older couples that love kids. My children can play outside and I don't have to worry. I just counted, there are 18 kids on our block of 12 houses! And Alan's sister's family lives on our street, so my kids are literally growing up with their cousins and get to spend lots of time together. We have 2 older widowers, 1 whose wife just passed away a few weeks ago, and I've had some really great conversations with them about life. It's the greatest block I've ever lived on.

- I'm thankful that we are getting out of town for a few days over Thanksgiving! I am looking forward to a little break and a time to reconnect with my family.

I hope you enjoy your holidays. Take some time and think about the things that enrich your life and be THANKFUL!!!

The Skinny Chef is here!

2009-11-02T21:31:00.003-06:00

I've decided to start another blog....all about food!!! That's right, food! I have found a real love for cooking and baking lately, so I'm going to blog about my adventures in food. So, if you're interested you can check it out here. Hope you like it!

The Basement

2009-10-28T07:52:00.002-05:00

Where I Am Today: in the basement.
Metaphorically speaking (since I don't have a basement), this is where I feel like I've been camped out for a few months now. At first I really enjoyed the quiet, aloneness of the dark basement. When I was in high school we moved to a new house. I got first pick of the rooms because my sisters had first picks at the previous two houses. Right smack dab in the middle of the house was a wonderful room with it's own little bathroom. Instantly I chose it, not because of the bathroom, but because of it's location. Literally it was in the middle of the house and had no windows! It was my cave and I loved it. I painted it dark blue and covered the walls with random stuff and could have spent every minute of every day in my cave. I got so used to the darkness that I had to put a towel over the clock and rolled up under the doors, because any hint of light drove me crazy. I'm weird, I know. So a few months ago when I started settling into the quiet, darkness of my new metaphorical basement, I was really happy! But somehow over time, the basement started getting musty and a little too dark and I started feeling like I needed to move that towel and let a little light in. The only problem was, there was no light to be found. At least on my own. The last few weeks I've been very unsettled and uncomfortable in my basement so I've thrown a few pity parties to try and liven up my living conditions. They didn't work. This past Sunday at church during the worship time I was once again desperately trying to find some kind of light to breakthrough the dark place I've been feeling like I've been in. Instead I got a little tap on the shoulder and there was a man waiting to give Alan and I a word. Over the span of my life I've probably received 100's of "words" from 100's of people. Some have been encouraging, some troubling, some down right crazy, and some divinely from God. As usual, I leaned in to listen and graciously receive whatever he had to say. Here's what came out of Royce's mouth.

"I see you guys in this basement. It's getting very dark and smoggy, and musty like basements that have been shut up for a while do. You've been wondering how much longer you're going to have to stay here. If you don't get a fresh breath you feel like you're gonna scream. All of a sudden I see this plate glass window on the ceiling of the basement and this rock just comes flying through the air and busts through the glass and floods the basement with light and fresh air. Then I see that basement moving and all of a sudden it's now the top floor of the building."

When he was done sharing with us, he quietly walked away and the worship team was singing this verse: "Because You're with me, because You're with me, because You're with me, I will not fear."

God is with me even in the basement. Even when I can't see Him or feel Him, He's there. In the musty, smelly, foggy basement, He's never left. And He has amazing ways to remind me of that. He'll use a man I hardly know or a song to speak straight to my fears and questions. I'm glad that I'm in the basement right now. Still waiting on that glass shattering rock, but you know, it's ok if it doesn't come right away. I know that God is right here with me, right where I'm at. And interestingly enough, I've written two songs this week! They aren't the generic sing-songy things I'd been writing in an effort to churn out some manufactured sounding "good" songs. These are really coming from deep in my heart. I'm able to just pour out what I've been thinking and feeling in a prayer like way to God. My prayer today is not for a quick release or a desperately needed breath of fresh air, but rather for contentment and a deeper trust in my God who is right here with me on this journey. It's my prayer for you today too.

On a great note: we finished a song!! It's actually Alan who has poured in all the time and work into it. And it's his song 100%! He wrote it, produced it and is singing it which was really hard to convince him to do, but it sounds amazing! I can't wait to share it with you all. Hopefully soon. Pray that we will find more time in the midst of Alan's job, our family, and everything else that consumes our life, to record. We have 4 or 5 songs waiting in the wings, ready to be recorded and a few others somewhere in the recording process. It feels really good to know I'm doing what God asked me to do even if I don't know the plan of how it's all supposed to work!

Songwriting Success!!

2009-10-10T19:36:00.002-05:00

Can I just say how great it feels to have a song written, recorded, and almost completed?? I say almost because if you know my husband he will be doing more tweaking and adding and subtracting and whatever else he does until it's perfect or until he's sick of messing with it that he'll finally release it and call it done. This song is called "Time to Fall." Alan had this great musical idea that he and our drummer friend, Landon laid down and he told me to write some words to it. He gave me the first line and the rest just came out. I love it when songs come out like that, because it's know it's God. His songs are sometimes labored over for days, weeks, sometimes even years, but mostly in my experience, they just flow out pretty easily.

We were at a bit of a stand still with recording for a while. Our house got hit by lightning about a month ago and our studio computer was fried!! We lost pretty much everything we had been working on. Truly it was a blessing because now Alan has the computer he really wanted for the studio.

Someone asked me the other day, "so, what are you doing with these songs?" That's a really great question!!! Our first goal is to record a 3-4 song demo and give them away!! We feel like we need to sow some seed into whatever this thing is that God is asking us to do, so that's what we're gonna do. We're sowing songs with the expectation that God will give us more and we're sowing resource with the expectation that God will bless us with every resource we need!!

So, be on the look out for more music to come from the Riches!

So there's the update! Songs are coming!

OMG!!

2009-09-26T16:07:00.003-05:00

Oh my goodness! I haven't blogged in nearly a month! I'm sure you all are wondering what I have been up to! ;) Well, I'll tell you.

What I've been up to:
Today I just finished up the City View Ladies Fall retreat. They asked me to lead worship and I enjoyed the weekend immensely! Marci Brinkley was their speaker and she was wonderful. Just so practical and down to earth and very open about her life story. It was refreshing to be with such friendly, God-loving women! Last weekend, I got to lead worship for the Church on the Rock Ladies Conference. I guess it's that time of year for women to get fed!! It was a great conference. In the midst of all this ministry my kids have been taking turns getting sick! I guess Satan just hates what God is doing and trying to get me distracted! That God for a husband and some other great family (uncle Josh!) to help look after my little ones while I do what I love to do, lead worship! Now everyone is on the mend.

What I'm looking forward to:
Well, next weekend is my 10 year high school reunion. Honestly I'm surprised at myself that I'm going. I was not a super social person in high school. In fact, I was probably quite a nerd even though I hat to admit it! I think every high school student does whatever they can to find a niche, a place to belong and fit in. For me, it was choir! Who would have ever guessed??? I wasn't just in the choir, I was ALL ABOUT choir. Show choir, varsity choir, choir president...yeah, that's right, I said it, choir president. There's a new show on Fox called Glee, and although I'm quite disappointed in some of it's inappropriateness, I can so relate. I was that choir geek, all the way. So anyways, next weekend is the reunion. Over the last few years I have been doing a little self-evaluation and I realized that there were some insecurities in me that I just didn't want to carry with me for the rest of my life. I kind of always assumed that people wouldn't want to be my friend or get to know me for weird reasons. Either I wasn't cool enough, I wasn't in their same social circle or whatever lame reason I could come up with. Really I was just insecure and uncomfortable in my own skin, and I decide NO MORE!! I think I'm a pretty cool girl. Who wouldn't want to be my friend?? So, I'm going and I'm dragging my husband (on his birthday!) and I'm going to talk to people and not discredit myself. It should be fun!!

What's freaking me out:
Ok, I'm only slightly freaked out, but freaked out nonetheless. In my attempt to not count myself out of things in an effort to overcome some insecurities, I agreed (was talked into) to be the 4th grade Room Parent coordinator for Taylor's school. In the recruitment process, the lady in charge totally down played the weight of this role. "It'll just be a little party planning for the classes, a little coordination of the room moms, but really they're the ones who do all the work. Ms. Daniel thought you would be an excellent candidate. Blah, blah, blah." So I said yes! Well, I went to the first meeting and OH MY GOSH!!! There was a giant notebook with so much information about this "tiny little job." My initial reaction was major freak out, but I have decided to suck it up and get it together. I am totally capable of doing this job. So, I'm gonna do it, and I'm gonna do it with a good attitude and a smile on my face! Apparently being a head room mom is a bit cut throat (I know, ridiculous) and there is so much competition between some of these parents to one-up the others. So, my approach is going to be organized, positive, and all about the kids. I'll let you know how it goes...

What's new this week:
I'm teaching again!! Just one afternoon a week, I have 5 students, but I'm really glad to be doing it again. I have always loved teaching music, so it should be fun. Shout out to the wonderful Ally Hall who is not only the world's greatest babysitter, but she is so super talented and I can't wait to see where her talent and her love for the Lord takes her. That girl is a worship leader!! Her heart is amazing.

What I recommend:
Music: Right now I've been listening to a CD that my friend Marla gave me. It's actually her talented husband, Justin Barnard's CD Fightsongs. Great worship.
Books: Too bad I don't read!! Well, that's not entirely true. I just don't read often, however, I was given a book called The Organic God by Margaret Feinberg who was the speaker at COTR's Women's conference. I do plan on reading it soon! I'll let you know how it is, but if you already want to know, ask my sister Paige, because she's read it and she's always reading something!
TV: I would love to recommend Glee, and after the premiere I did recommend it to everyone I met on the street! But the last few episodes have been a little bit racy, and I'm not sure I'm gonna stay hooked. I still always love Project Runway and Top Chef, and now that PR has moved to Lifetime, they're on at the same time which is a first. The Office is back so I'm excited about that. I promise I do more than just watch TV all the time!!!
Food: Amish Friendship Bread!! My pal, Jennifer Watson gave me this bag with a bunch of goo in it a few weeks ago along with these instructions on what to do with it. 10 days later, I had some of the yummiest bread, and it makes more bags of goo to give away to friends! Let me know if you want your own bag of goo, and in about 8 more days I'll have one for you!!

What I'm missing:
Time with my husband!!! Alan's company is down to him and one other employee so he is working well over 40 hours a week which cuts into our studio time and time spent together. Plus of course I've been busy the last few weekends with ministry stuff, so we need to find some time to hang out and reconnect. His birthday is next weekend, so maybe I can surprise him with something. Any ideas???

Well, that just about sums up my life the last few weeks.

My life recently

2009-08-31T08:36:00.004-05:00

Have you ever seen a sweeter, cuter, more precious baby??? Love my MK!

What's been happening in the Rich household?

Now that school is back in session, I am trying to get really scheduled in many areas of my life. I will admit I have not always been Mom-of-the year when it comes to school mornings. I used to be very anti-getting out of bed before 8 am. My husband would get up and get Taylor in the shower, dry her hair when she got out and took her to school. All while I was usually snuggled up in my bed. Well, this year, no more!! I have decided that when the alarm goes off at 6:15, I'm getting up. Last week, I thought it would be so hard, but I honestly loved it! The quiet was so amazing! I would get up, get Taylor in the shower, make myself a cup of tea and just sit and read or pray and enjoy the total silence in my house. This is such a rarity!!! My plan is to keep it up! I am now on a mission to find a time to work out on a regular basis. If I will put it into my routine I can do it. I just have to make myself do it!
Taylor on the first day of school. My big 4th grader!

What does Leslie do with all her time now that she's not working??

Funny you should ask! I am really enjoying my life right now. I am once again excited about writing music. I have always had a love/hate relationship with songwriting, and right now I'm in the love zone. I think because I've made it part of my routine I am enjoying it more. Am I the only one who can't focus on things unless everything is taken care of and I don't have to worry about anything else during that designated time? I have found that if I want to work on music I can't just drop everything and do it whenever I get an idea or feel inspired. I have to set aside time, get a babysitter or let Alan occupy the girls so I can just focus on whatever ideas I have at the time. So far, it seems to be working. I'm really excited that the little girls will start Children's Day Out next week so I will have lots of time to work on music!!

Alan and Landon working in the studio!

What am I looking forward to in the next few weeks??

1. Ava's 3rd birthday! I can't believe my little girl is almost 3!! Where does the time go?? This week I have to get everything ready for her Dora birthday party.

2. Leading praise and worship! I'm going to be helping out the worship team at Church on the Rock Labor Day weekend. I am also leading for the COTR Women's conference September 18th-19th. I am really excited about it! I know God has some great things in store for both of these weekends and I'm excited to be a part of it!

3. Pajama Party!! During the COTR Women's Conference I am hosting a Pajama Party for all of the Jr. High and High School girls on Friday night! I am really excited to do this. I really have a heart for these girls because I know how hard it can be to be a teenage girl. I was once there!! I will be talking about friendship, and we are just going to have lots of fun. I have asked some of my friends to help me with it and I can't wait to see what all God does!!

4. Road trip to Dallas!! I am going to meet my cousin Angie in Dallas in a few weeks for some shopping, catching up, and some fun!! The really exciting part is that I get to go all by myself!!! I am super jazzed about having some alone time on the drive and spending time with Angie. Thanks to my wonderful husband for letting me go! He's really excited to keep the girls. He's such a great dad. I can't guarantee that they will have a bath everyday or that they will eat anything healthy while I'm gone, but I've just learned that as long as they're having fun and bonding, that's ok.

Finally, I will leave you with a few pictures of what's been going on. Some are of our fun, quick trip to Dallas last week. Alan and I went with some friends to see Hillsong United. It was super fun, and of course the concert was amazing!!

Alan and I waiting outside to get in!
Love these girls!
We have great friends. Patrick was squatting so he could be in the picture, and we could not stop laughing at him.

Hooray for awesome worship with Hillsong United!!!

The World According to Wal-Mart

2009-08-20T22:32:00.002-05:00

Wal-Mart is such an interesting place. I go to Wal-Mart often and it never ceases to amaze me. On my last visit a few days ago, I was reminded of so many universal rules, but somehow the Wal-Mart atmosphere just brings it all home. Like, for example, I was reminded again that there is someone for everyone out there. I was standing in the checkout line and the couple behind me were just so made for eachother!! They were so strange and I don't even want to share what their conversation was about, but they were such a perfect match for one another. It reminded me of the couple I saw a few months ago at Wal-Mart who both had the biggest wads of chewing tobacco in their mouths. That's right, the girl's wad was actually slightly larger than the guys. And of course I don't realize it until I ask them a question from behind and they turn around to reveal the disgusting hunk of nasty stuffed in their lower lips. Only at Wal-Mart.

On another recent trip, I realized that kids can sleep anywhere, especially a Wal-Mart shopping cart. I was slighty alarmed to see one boy passed out on the bottom of the basket covered in stuff! I guess because it was mainly toilet paper and spray cans of cheese his parents thought he wouldn't get too squished. I'm telling you, no matter what time of day you go, you can find a sleeping kid in a basket somewhere in the store. It has always amazed me the number of small children that get dragged out to the store way past a normal bedtime! And they are never happy. What 3 year old would be? Who wouldn't be upset if their mom got them all dressed for bed in their comyf little pj's and then said, "Ok kids, get in the car! We're going to Wal-Mart! Yes, I know it's after 11:00 pm, but we are running low on toothpaste and motor oil. Let's go!"

Ok, now that I'm sitting here reflecting (judging) on my Wal-Mart experiences, I can only wonder, am I one of these "Wal-Mart people"?? Let's go through the list: 1. I don't dip. 2. I never take my kids to Wal-Mart past 8:00 pm. 3. I've never covered up one of my kids in spray cheese. I think I'm good!!

I must say, for all of it's craziness and quirks, I enjoy shopping at Wal-Mart. It's really close to my house. I always save money when I shop there opposed to other stores. I love that I can go to one place and buy groceries, toiletries, electronics, clothes, lightbulbs, and anything else I might possibly need, all at the same time!!!

This is starting to catch on...Where I am...

2009-08-15T17:36:00.003-05:00

In the style of my fabulous big sister, I'm going to write a "Where I Am" blog. I always enjoy reading hers, and have enjoyed others lately in the same style. So, here goes!

Where I Am- Saturday, August 15, 5:37 pm

I am sitting in "my chair" on our sectional. Does everyone else have unwritten but understood seats on their furniture? I really love my couch/sectional. We've had it for a about a year and a half. It's the first "real" piece of furniture we've owned/bought ourselves. Everything else we've had has been hand-me-downs (which we are super grateful for, don't get me wrong!). I am watching my two little girls play on the floor, although I have to keep a very watchful eye on Ava
since she loves to torment MK for some reason. She starts out nice enough, but you can see it in her face when she's starting to get too "excited" and ready to pounce! Alan is asleep in "his chair" next to me and Taylor is crashed out in her room. She had her first slumber party at a school friend's house last night. I was a little nervous! I had met the girl's parents and they are very nice people, I just don't know them as well as I would like yet. But when is the appropriate time to grill people on their beliefs, personal family history, rules, regulations, blood type, mother's maiden name, credit score, etc.???

What I'm listening to:
This one is going first since I'm usually ALWAYS listening to something! Yesterday, I bought the new Hillsong Live CD: Faith:Hope:Love. It's pretty good. Here's the thing: I am the biggest Hillsong fan there is, but every time I get a new CD of theirs I have to listen to it several times before I'm a fan. I think it's because I have to learn the songs a little bit. I guess that's true about all music. Hillsong though always has songs that I learn and they get inside of me and become truth and life and then I really start loving the CD because I can worship with it instead of just listen to it. Every new CD they come out with I always say after the first listen, "It's not as good as the last one" and then a few weeks later I'm saying "It's even better than the last one!" All that to say, I still listen to the Hillsong United CD Across the Earth more, and it is my FAVORITE!!! Ok, other than Hillsong, there is a new live worship CD called Generations Unleashed and it is really good. I just love a good live worship CD. Something about capturing the dynamic of a corporate worship time. If done well, it's just so powerful!

What I'm reading:
This section will be short, because I'm not much of a reader. Alan and I have been reading "Crazy Love" by Frances Chan. We are both really liking it. It's one that makes you think. The most interesting thing I've read lately is my cousin Angie's blog.

What I'm watching:
I am probably more of a TV watcher than I should be. Right now, I am totally into Top Chef Masters and Design Star! Just finished up another season of The Next Food Network Star. I love competition reality shows, especially cooking shows! I also love Food Network Challenges. The ones where they make these incredible cakes that should take days in 8 hours. Love it!

What I'm doing:
Lately, I'm doing a lot of cooking. I think the TV shows are inspiring me. I've always enjoyed cooking and baking, but I've really found it therapeutic in some ways. Thursday night I hosted a Batch-Cooking Night at my house and we had about 20 ladies here! I couldn't believe we had such a great turn-out. I'm anxious to see how many ladies start batch cooking.

Alan and I have been spending a lot more time in the studio. We are writing songs and trying to find time to record them. I'm honestly VERY ready for school to start. I love the routine of it and I need a break! Is that horrible to say? Now that I'm not working I'm with my girls all day, every day. Please don't read this the wrong way! I love my kids! I know it is a huge blessing that I am able to stay home with them and I don't have to work a full-time job to pay the bills and have my kids in daycare everyday. I love my time with them. I think I need the mental break more than anything. It's hard for me to stop everything and work on music when I know there are 3 little people that must be attended to. It's hard to just shut myself off and not think about the laundry or feeding the girls or whatever else might need to be done at the time. This is not hard for Alan at all!! I'm sure anyone with a husband understands this! I'm just not wired that way, and I think that's ok. It will just be nice to have a routine where I can schedule music time when I know my kids are being well taken care of at school. The little girls will go to Children's Day Out 2 days a week and Taylor will be in 4th grade!

What I've been thinking about:
I think I've shared (or perhaps overshared) in another blog about adopting Taylor. This week we've had some issues come up with this. I don't really want to say a lot about it other than we just need prayer. Actually, just pray for Taylor. I will never understand all that she has to deal with and go through concerning the situation, but she is amazingly mature and thoughtful in the way that she handles it all. Regardless of what we want and the fight that may lay ahead, I just want God's will to be done. I think I'm still trying to decide what that is. The good thing is, I don't have to figure it all out. That's why He's God and I'm not.

What I'm excited about:
Alan and I are going to Dallas August 25th with some friends to see Hillsong United! I've been to 2 conferences and several worship nights of theirs over the past few years and I always get so excited to see them. It feels weird to say "see" them, because it's not like a concert at all. It's an amazing night of powerful worship that I always walk away from refreshed and refocused on what it means to experience His presence. Honestly, it's sad that I can't seem to achieve this sort of thing on a more regular basis, but I'm working on it.

Well, I'm off to make some Sloppy Joe's!!

Batch Cooking Night!

2009-08-11T22:28:00.002-05:00

I am very excited about Thursday night! I am hosting a Batch-Cooking "Tell All" night at my house. I have batch cooked for a while now, but this last time I did it, I cooked with someone new. She was fabulous! So organized, so together, it just made it even more fun! And when we were finished I came home with 46 meals to put in my freezer. We have saved SOOOOO much money just by eating at home more. And the food is good and much healthier than eating out all the time. After sharing a little about my cooking madness (on Facebook and Twitter) there was an overwhelming response to Missy and myself for pointers, recipes, tips, etc. So after thinking about it for a while, I thought, "Why not??" This may sound crazy, but I am actually very nervous about it!! I am no expert, so I am doing everything I can to be prepared and get all my thoughts straight so I can sound like I know what I'm talking about!

I think the reason I am most excited to do this is because I know it will bless others families. I know how much it has blessed mine! And not just all the food. It's a blessing of more time. Even though the two days of planning, shopping, and crazy amounts of cooking are a lot of time away from my family, the time that I save scrambling to get dinner on the table everyday is huge! It has also been a blessing for me to get to spend lots of time with different ladies. My first batch cook was several years ago with a dear friend, Jenifer. She showed me the ropes, and eased me into it. I realized that I could do it, even though it seemed like an overwhelming task. She is super mom by the way, raising four kids and all that goes along with that. But she made it seem easy and attainable. Now four years later, I'm still doing it! I've cooked several times with my sister-in-law and it has been good bonding time for us. You will talk about everything under the sun with a batch cooking partner!! After 14 hours of cooking chicken, browning meat, and opening cans, there's no telling what you will be talking about!! I found that to be true after cooking with Missy this last time. I also found Missy to be extremely gracious, putting up with my multiple mistakes. Note: It is important to "seal" the bottom of the bag BEFORE you begin pouring in the apricot chicken marinde!

It is a blessing to know that I am contributing to my family's well being. Now that I'm not working, I feel the need even more to "contribute." I feel like it is now my job to save us even more money, now that I'm not bringing home a paycheck! So all that to say, this Thursday I am excited about sharing the blessing that batch cooking has been in my life with friends. It's not too late! Let me know if you want to come and I will give you more details!

Nine Years Ago...

2009-08-01T21:45:00.003-05:00

Nine years ago today I was probably hanging out with some friends or my family. I could have been at the movies or the mall or the grocery store. I have no idea what I was doing exactly nine years ago today. I had no idea that my sweet, precious Taylor would be born the next day. I had no idea that one of my greatest heroes in life was about to make her big entrance on this earth. I had no idea that my life would be changing forever, but it did. Taylor will turn 9 tomorrow and even though I do not have the precious memories of her birth and seeing her for the first time as a little baby, she's still my sweet daughter. I do remember the first time I ever saw Taylor. It was a Sunday night about 7 1/2 years ago. I walked into the church foyer and saw the cutest little girl tottling around. I asked who she was and someone pointed down at the end of the room to a ping pong table that was set up and said, "That's Taylor. She's Alan's daughter." My next question was, "Who's Alan?" The person with all the information informed me that he was the guy playing ping pong. That was the first time I ever saw Alan or Taylor (at least that I know of) but I knew that little girl was special. I remember the months following when I got to know her better. I knew we had a special bond, me and Taylor. Every Sunday night, we would lead worship for the college ministry and after every service she would run up to me and ask, "Horsies?" We would go for long walks outside and look at the horses behind the church. She named them, Stick and Ball. I would bring her coloring books and crayons and little toys to play with while we practiced. I loved that little girl and I didn't even know then that one day she would be my daughter. It was impossible not to love her. She was just so precious! I have so many amazing memories of Taylor. Her 4 year old flamingo birthday party that I got to help plan. The first time she came and had a sleepover at my house after Alan and I were dating. The way she totally blew the marriage proposal by asking "Hey Dad, when are you gonna give her that ring like we practiced?" I love all these memories. Taylor is the strongest little girl I know. In her 9 short years she has been through more than I probably ever will in a lifetime. She has showed me the beauty of being flexible by adapting to whatever situation she was put in. She has showed me a quiet grace and thoughtfulness in her sincere desire to protect others feelings. She has had every reason to grow bitter or angry at certain situations, but instead she just chooses love. Despite all reasons against it, she still chooses love, and I know she always will. This week, I have the amazing honor of signing papers that will set the process of adoption in motion. I am so overjoyed to get to give this gift to Taylor. The gift of choosing her. I just always want her to know that someone did choose her. Really she is the one who is the gift to me. I couldn't think of a greater gift than being her mom. And even though I have considered myself her mom for over 4 years now, there's just something about making it official. Happy birthday sweet Taylor! I love you more than you will ever know. You teach me so many lessons every day and I am honored to call you my daughter.

Taylor and Alan

Taylor and Ava...she's the best big sister!!!

Taylor and Pepa

Birthday girl just having fun!

The New Journey

2009-07-23T15:50:00.002-05:00

My life has drastically changed in the last few weeks. I am no longer working at the place I had worked for 10 years. My schedule is completely different than it used to be, but I am adjusting. I have already felt more creative in the last week that I had in the last year! It's a good feeling to know that your life is lived in total trust and obedience to the Lord. I guess it has been all along, but I just realize it more now than before. I am excited about this "new journey" as I am calling it. I feel like I am doing what I should have been doing all along, I have finally just put myself in a place to do it. I won't lie, it is quite a stretch. Living on a budget in lots of new areas! Finances, time, routine.

The part about this change that I knew would come, and I wasn't looking forward to, was the loss. There is a little loss of identity. There is a loss of feeling important and needed. There is a loss of comfortability. All of these things are ok though. I think it's what makes me lean on God all the more. I realize that my identity is more than a "worship leader." I want to learn in this time to be a better mom, a better friend, and a better songwriter. I realize I am still important and needed in different ways. I may not get the weekly recognition and praise of being a "great singer" but my girls certainly think it's great when I change their diapers, or play hopscotch with them, or when we eat dinner at home every night instead of on the run four nights a week!

I don't know what all God has for us in the future, but I know that I can hear His voice and He is trustworthy. I am learning to worship Him in a whole new way. And I am learning that my worship means just as much to Him whether I'm on a stage in front of hundreds of people or in my kitchen dancing and singing with my girls. It's my heart He's after, and I have freely given it to Him.

This is a stretch for me, but I'm going to share a little bit of a song Alan and I have been working on. It is just a reflection of our hearts and our prayers lately.

Lord, won't You take me
To the place You've designed
Fashioned for freedom
From this broken life

Lost in Your presence
Is where I long to be
It's where I find purpose
Where I find my peace

Blessings to you all!!

Vacation!!

2009-07-13T13:51:00.009-05:00

Apparently I'm the worst picture taker...ever, so the vacation blog will not be as exciting as I had anticipated, but I will put a few of the (lame) pictures that I did remember to snap to capture these precious, once in a lifetime memories of the Rich Family Vacation 09!!

We (our cute little family of five) headed to Dallas last Monday. Of course we were right on Rich time with a 2 hour departure delay! Honestly, it was my fault this time. I'm usually the one freaking out because Alan waits until the last minute to do everything which cuts into my relaxation, vacation time. This time however, I was the procrastinator. I failed to get the car ready for the trip, so I woke up early Monday morning and headed out for a fill up, an oil change, a car wash, a vacuum, and an inspection. Yea, nothing like the last minute! I got the gas, drove through the car wash and was vacuuming when somehow, I'm still not really sure how, but I locked my keys in the car. There they were, sitting in the front seat next to my phone at 8:15 am. The friendly car wash worker was kind enough to take a break from the employee water fight that was going on and let me use their phone. After trying to call everyone I could think of, no one answered and I had to interrupt the water fight a 2nd time to ask for a phone book. About 30 minutes later the locksmith showed up and it was on to the oil change! I decided that my vacation had already begun and I wasn't going to get stressed about the getting there part. So we loaded up and headed to Dallas!! 5 1/2 hours to Dallas is about all our kids can handle in the car right now. Anything over six hours is just asking for melt downs and outbursts. I had surprised the girls with new "fun bags" for the ride so they had lots to do and enjoy on the way. Unfortunately our DVD player wasn't working, but it turned out ok, because we actually had some nice conversation with the girls! (imagine that!)

We arrived at the Great Wolf Lodge and hit the water park! It's a really fun place for kids of all ages. It was also super nice to have a hotel room just steps away that we could go back to for nap time!

Tuesday night we met Sarah for dinner! Sarah was my roommate for a long time before I got married and she is a dear friend. She loves my kids and they love her, and it is always exciting to get together and catch up. All I had was the camera on my phone, so the picture's not great.

We went to the Grapevine Mills Mall one morning and surprisingly I only bought one shirt! I decided I will have to go without my husband and kids to do some more serious shopping. Anyone up for a road trip??? The girls enjoyed the carousel and then we had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. It was so fun! The kids loved it. Well, not so much Molly Kate. All the noise and lights scared her at first. But she got used to it after a bit.

Wednesday night we met up with Alan's dad, his brother Chris, his wife Khristine, and their SIX kids. Yes they have six! She's Superwoman in my book! We had a great dinner with Brendenn, Braedenn, Brenna, Braylon, Braxton, and new baby Brooklynn! Trying saying that five times fast! I forgot to get a group picture of all the kids together though. :(

On Thursday, after a few more hours of water park fun, we packed up and headed to McKinney to visit Alan's mom. We had a great time with her at the beach club pool. We also had dinner with Alan's other brother Steven, and got to meet his girlfriend JulieAnne.

Saturday night was date night! I surprised Alan with tickets to Keith Urban and my mother-in-law kept the kids. It was loud, but really fun.

We also got to visit a few churches while we were there. On Saturday before the concert, Alan and I went to Gateway in Southlake. We had visited before and really like it there. Robert Morris is great! Then on Sunday morning, we took the whole family to Fellowship Church. Totally different, but I liked it. The creativity in that place is unbelievable. Ava didn't want to leave the Kids Church area because she thought she was at a theme park! They were doing a series called "At the Movies" and we were handed a box of popcorn at the door. Everything was super over the top with excellence. I was impressed. It's probably bad that I go to these churches and slip into judging, evaluation mode. I guess that's been part of my life for so long that I can't help it. Both churches were great. A+ Gateway and Fellowship! I'm sure they are so glad to have my seal of approval!

I realize that there are almost NO pictures of myself, so I am putting the only somewhat decent one of me here. Keep in mind we were in water park mode, so this is not my finest look. I am well aware!

All in all, it was a great vacation! Sometimes I come back from vacation and I am completely exhausted. Traveling with kids is a lot of work, and even though we didn't have a whole lot of total relaxation time, it was a great trip! So worth it to pack for two days and have two days of laundry when I get home!

Sunday Edition Letters

2009-06-28T22:48:00.003-05:00

Dear Target,
I'm a huge fan of your store, always have been. Could you just do me one favor? Could you put the $1 section somewhere else than the front of the store? Every time I visit I spend at least $27 before I even get past the front door!! There are so many little things in that section that I convince myself that I need because it's only $1. Well, 27 must have items later, and my basket is full of kneeling pads for the garden, Spiderman stickers, and Hello Kitty highlighters. None of these things I need, by the way. Have you seen my garden? That's right, you haven't because I don't even have one. I don't even have grass!! But in the event that I ever do decide to have a green thumb, I will be well prepared with the knee pad. So, while I love a good bargain, could you help me out a little bit? I have diapers and formula to buy!

Dear Jillian Michaels,
Today at Target I purchased your 30 Day Shred DVD. While the appeal of fantastic abs like yours is pretty strong, the 20 minute workout limit is what won me over. Let's face it, I don't have time to be crunching, and butt kicking, and bicep curling for extended periods of time. And while we're being honest, even if I did have the time, I wouldn't do it. So, 20 minutes, I can handle. I do feel however that there should have been a warning against the consumption of burritos 4 hours within starting the workout. I guess this is common knowledge, but to a workout novice like myself, I did not think about the fact that 2 combination burritos 30 minutes before a workout was a bad idea. I'm sure other workout newbees would appreciate the warning!

Dear garage sale shoppers,
You never cease to amaze me. Oh the things you will buy! While my two day sale was less than stellar, I still managed to make some money and what's most exciting is that I got rid of my junk at the same time. JUNK, people!!! That's right, you purchased junk. Random things that have been sitting around in the closets, dark corners and cobweb covered shelves of my home. Had I known that the almost broken toys, old books, VHS tapes, and yucky old bras would bring in cash, I would have cleaned out those closets long ago!!! Power to the packrats!

Dear Brooke Fraser,
Hello from your new friend! I know we've never met, but we've been in the same room before. Of course you were teaching a workshop to 700 people and I was one of those people, but still we should totally meet! Here are a few reasons why I think we would be such great friends: 1. You like cooking shows. I like cooking shows. 2. You are a great songwriter. I want to be a great songwriter. 3. You are comfortable talking about your bowel movements in front of said 700 people in the workshop. I thought it was funny that you were comfortable talking about your bowel movements in front of that many people. 4. You live in Australia, I would love to visit Australia! 5. I'm sure there are many more reasons, but this is all I can come up with right now. By the way, I'm not a crazy stalker or anything, I have just learned some of these things about you from Twitter. So maybe we should watch some Food Network and write some songs together! Just a thought!

To the Dads in my life

2009-06-20T23:06:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow is Father's Day, and I have lots of Father's to celebrate! First, I'll start with my dad. He is such a fantastic father. I'm sad I won't get to see him at all tomorrow. He is on vacation with the rest of my family, but I'm sending lots of love his way! As great a dad as he is, I think he's an even greater granddad. My girls are so blessed to have him in their lives! The other day Ava told me to sit down because it was story time. She started telling me a story about two little Indian girls, Running Water and Happy Face. She went into great detail about the day the girls spent at the lake. I realized that this is apparently some ongoing story that my dad tells the girls. He gave them Indian names and makes up stories about them. Ava thinks it's pretty cool, and made up her own story time for me! They sure love their Papa Jack!

Next is my wonderful Pepa! I have posted about him quite a bit lately, and I am just grateful for all the time I get to spend with him! I am so glad that my girls get to spend time with him too. Even though it's hard to see him in such poor health, I know that I will look back one day and treasure these times that we get to spend with him. I know that my girls bring him alot of joy, so I try to visit him as much as I can. Here is the most recent photo of Pepa and the girls!

And finally, my wonderful husband, Alan! One of the first things that I fell in love with was how great of a father he was (is). Alan raised Taylor by himself until we got married when she was four years old. He is such an amazing dad to our three girls!! He just loves them so much and loves spending time with them. He loves to spoil them and he is a cuddler. If it was up to him I think all 3 of them would sleep in our bed every night! He just loves loving on his girls. Alan, thanks for being such a great daddy!

Happy Father's Day!!!

It's a New Day

2009-06-15T13:49:00.003-05:00

Well, today is a new day. I know everyday is new, but today feels extra new! I guess the cat's out of the bag now, and I would really love to get some of my feelings out, so here comes the blog! This weekend, the announcement was made that Alan and I are going to step away from leading praise and worship at Church on the Rock. It has been a very emotional week because we have made the announcement to several different groups and honestly it has been a bit exhausting. I think it was mainly because Alan was in Israel and had been gone for about 10 days, so I felt like I was dealing with all of the questions on my own. I knew when I made this decision that there would be a lot of questions and the only thing I really dreaded was having the same conversation 100 times!! Oh well, I knew it was coming so I just decided to suck it up and answer all the questions that people had with a smile.

It has honestly been received much better than I thought it would be. And I am soooo happy about that!! I have been involved in the praise and worship ministry at our church since I was 14 years old. I started leading worship for our youth group at that time. In the past 14 years I have led for the youth, the college, and the adult services at different times. I have loved my job mostly because of the wonderful people I get to serve with every week. My greatest friends are people on the team and during this transition they have all been so supportive! When you step out in obedience to what you know God has called you to do, there is always a fear that it will not be understood or well received. Our team has done just the opposite. They are excited about what is in store for me and Alan. In turn, I am very excited to watch them grow and step out in their giftings. I feel like a Mother Hen watching her little chicks hatch and grow into their own. I can't wait to see what God does through them.

So on to the burning question, "what are you guys going to be doing?" Well, lots of things! First off, we always want to be in a place where we can put our family first. With 3 growing girls, there are many times when being committed to something every weekend and 2-3 nights a week on top of work during the day, is just too much. The other main factor is our desire to write and record music. This is something that we've done a little bit of but haven't had the time to really dive in and see what is really there. All of these reasons don't compare to the number one and that is simply because we know God asked us to, so we want to be obedient. Worship will always be at the core of who we are and I hope to continue to have opportunities to lead worship, work with worship teams, teach on worship and whatever else God has for me!

Obviously there are some things about this change that are very hard. The unrelenting peace that I have had throughout this transition is what is keeping the smile on my face! I am so very excited about the things to come. Each step of this process just brings a new joy!! I am so glad I serve a God that is so much bigger than my little mind and I want to walk in His grace and peace always, and I know I am doing that now.

I can't even begin to express how blessed I have been at Church on the Rock. Back in October, 2007 we received a prophetic from Norman Barnes and part of that word was about what a great training ground it has been for us. I truly believe that. The opportunity I have had there has been incredible! I know that it will continue to be a place where we grow and have opportunity to serve and minister in different ways. The church staff and leadership have always believed in us and given us the freedom to try things. My dad (who is the Senior Pastor) has put so much trust in me and that has really empowered me to be a strong leader and trust in the gifts and the anointing that God has put on me. I am excited to see the blessings in store for COTR.

I don't think I even know everything that God has in store for us. That's what makes this fun. His plans for us are bigger than anything I could ever come up with and that's right where I want to be!!

Hardest question of the week.

2009-05-31T12:06:00.002-05:00

This weekend has been very busy! Alan left at about 4:30 am on Friday headed for two weeks in Israel! It is very much a God-ordained and orchestrated trip so even in my hesitation about handling the girls alone for 14 days, I am so excited for him. Yesterday, my cousin Jay graduated from high school. We went to the graduation and to a party for him afterwards. It was lots of fun with family and good friends.

On Friday, I took the girls over for a visit with Mema and Pepa. Pepa's daughter, Cynthia, granddaughter, Christy, and great-grandson, Riley were in town visiting from Dallas. His spirits are always up when Cynthia comes for a visit. You can tell they have a special bond. He had been asking to see the girls, so I wanted to go as soon as I heard that. We stayed for a good long while. At one point it was just me and Cynthia back in his room. He asked for me to come over to his bed and he asked if I would pray about something. Of course, I said sure. He then asked the hardest question I think I've ever been asked. He asked if I would pray about doing the music at his funeral. I have sung at many funerals before, even for family members (which is not easy for me, and usually results in tears or a complete breakdown). I had never been asked though by the actual person, and for Pepa to ask was a strange realization for me. With big tears in my eyes, I looked into his tear filled eyes and said that I would be honored to do that. I asked him if he had any songs in mind, and he said he would be thinking about it and wanted me to do the same. I then took his hand and said that we still had time to decide and he squeezed my hand and just looked away out the window. I don't know if I've ever had a conversation with someone like that who knew that they were dying, and that it would probably happen soon. I kept it together just long enough to load up the girls and get out of the driveway. As I was driving away, the Lord put a song on my heart. I had only heard it one time, because it was on a brand new CD that I had just gotten the day before. I hurried home, grabbed the CD and listened to the song again. I want to share the words of it because it has really ministered to me this week. I don't know if I will sing it at the funeral, but I think either way I will share it with Pepa and hopefully it will bring him some comfort like it has me.

Soon by Brooke Ligertwood

Soon and very soon my King is coming
Robed in righteousness and crowned with love
When I see Him I shall be made like Him
Soon and very soon

Soon and very soon I'll be going
To the place He has prepared for me
There my sin erased my shame forgotten
Soon and very soon

I will be with the One I love
With unveiled face I'll see Him
There my soul will be satisfied
Soon and very soon

Soon and very soon
See the procession
The angels and the elders 'round the throne
At His feet I'll lay my crowns, my worship
Soon and very soon

I will be with the One I love
With unveiled face I'll see Him
There my soul will be satisfied
Soon and very soon

Though I have not seen Him
My heart knows Him well
Jesus Christ the Lamb, the Lord of heaven

I will be with the One I love
With unveiled face I'll see Him
There my soul will be satisfied
Soon and very soon

Although I am not lying in a hospital bed knowing that my days are numbered, I realize that our time here on earth is so very short. What a great comfort to know that on the other side of this life is a place where we will see our Heavenly Father and spend eternity with Him. That brings me a lot of joy.

A visit with Mema and Pepa

2009-05-18T12:29:00.004-05:00

I have blogged a lot in the past about my grandparents. They are a very dear, precious part of our lives. Pepa is not doing so well. It is hard for me to talk about, but I just wanted to share some pictures of our last visit. I only had my phone, but I realized what precious moments these were and I do not want to look back and regret not capturing any of them on film.

Mema and Molly Kate

Ava loves Mema!!

Playing with Pepa.

These were my favorites of the day. Ava and Pepa just watching the birds, squirrels and the fish pond.

Quiet evening

2009-05-14T21:32:00.004-05:00

I am actually having a nice, quiet evening to myself. The kids are all in bed...finally! Alan is out in the studio jamming with Landon before he leaves for the summer. So I decided it is time for a blog! I don't have many exciting things to share, but it's still fun to write. I am on a mission (seems to be my lifelong mission) to get organized in my home. I have purged my home of so much junk in the last month, and there is still more! I never thought I was a pack rat, but I have just been hanging on to stuff, and I have no idea why! I cleaned out Alan's closet last week. Wow! Fashion wise, my husband has come a long way! I guess some of the things were in style about 10-12 years ago, and I honestly think he's been hanging on to them since then! It was so funny to hear him trying to justify keeping some of the items! I didn't realize guys had emotional attachments to some clothes! The worst were his old gig clothes. He would not let me throw them away! So, I added them to the costume section of my closet (I have quite a good collection!)

This is the jacket part of a polyester suit that is very dear to my husband's heart.

This is the lovely shirt that he would wear underneath the polyester suit. This picture does not do the silver flames pattern justice! And of course it's a nice rayon/acetate blend.

My personal favorite: the ocean/palm tree polyester shirt. The best part is the brand: Hoax Original. A hoax indeed!

This week I have moved on to my closet. I'm still not done, but I haven't had a chance to finish it up after I got started. I did get all of the maternity clothes put away. I decided there was no need to leave them out, because it is merely a temptation to slip back into the flowy, non figure showing looks that sound like a really good idea right now! Instead, I boxed them up and I think I'm going back to Weight Watchers this week. I had pretty good success with it after I had Ava and I'm certainly not losing weight just by wishing it! So, my plan is to go to the Mom and Me class tomorrow morning at 9:30. I can do it! (I'm giving myself a pep talk!)

This is my giant tub of maternity clothes. I even put away my FAVORITE elastic waist jeans. It was very hard for me. I would give them to Abby, but she is so tiny I don't think she will ever get into any of them!

I will leave you with my favorite picture so far this week. All of these pics are from my iPhone because I never think to carry my camera around with me. I'm glad I have it though, because I get to capture little moments like this one. Molly Kate and I were waiting for Ava at gymnastics and she was just being so sweet and looked so cute!

My Sweet MK

2009-05-07T21:21:00.003-05:00

Molly Kate will be 6 months old on Sunday! What a great Mother's Day gift! Half a year with the sweetest little baby! I can't believe how quickly time is flying by. Honestly, I feel a little bit guilty. I have done a terrible job of documenting her first year so far. I try to remember to take pictures, but by the time I get out the door with the baby seat, the diaper bag fully stocked with anything we might possibly need, Ava's sippy cup, Pull up, and her favorite stuffed animal of the day, I rarely remember to grab the camera! I'm going to work on that though. I have documented a bit of her cuteness in the last few weeks so I wanted to share!

Here is my little princess enjoying some tummy time.

Isn't she the cutest!?!

This is MK's first taste of "food." I don't know baby Oatmeal counts as food, but I think she liked it! She did really good with the spoon, and just kept opening up for more.

And here is my favorite picture of me and my sweetheart. I realized that I have very few pictures of myself with my kids. I guess because I'm always behind the camera. So on Easter I made Alan take a few of me with my baby girl.

She really is the sweetest natured baby. She rarely fusses or cries. She's just laid back and quite content all the time. What a blessing! I love you Molly Kate!

Twitteriffic!!!

2009-04-22T15:38:00.002-05:00

I jumped on the Twitter wagon a few months ago. When I signed up I only knew (personally) about two people on Twitter. At first I thought it would be just another social networking time sucker. I also thought "Who on earth would want to know what I'm doing all the time?" I guess I thought it's just like a Facebook status update, but at least on Facebook people can look at pictures of my cute kids. And to top it off, I felt like whatever I "tweeted" needed to be funny and witty. Oh the pressure! This was almost enough to deter me from the Twitter world, but I went for it. Now I can say, I really enjoy Twitter! My goal has secretly been to get more followers than people that I follow. I don't know why. I guess deep down I am attention starved! Not really, but why else would I want so many people waiting for my next tweet?? I am slowly giving up my Twitter dream, because I keep on finding more and more Twitterers that I want to follow. I have had to watch myself a few times. The world of Twitter can be a bit deceiving. Just because I can know what celebrities are doing at that exact moment does not mean that they care what I think about it. I found myself replying to a tweet from John Mayer at 3 am once while up feeding Molly Kate. At that moment I realized that maybe I needed a little Twitter break! I'm still trying to figure it all out, but it's pretty fun and much less time consuming than Facebook. Don't get me wrong, I still love me some Facebook!

So, to all of you out there wondering if you should jump on the Twitter bandwagon, I say go for it!!! And you should all follow me @lesliesrich, and just maybe my Twitter dream will come true.

P.S. If any one knows Soleil Moon Frye (aka: Punky Brewster) tell her to go follow my friend @JennPossible. She is on a Moonfrye mission!

Updates!!!

2009-04-13T09:32:00.006-05:00

I realize it has been way too long since my last blog post. Today, I finally moved some pictures from my camera to the computer so I have decided to share some memories from this past week accompanied by pictures! This last week was so busy! Preparing for Easter is always a ton of work for the Riches. This year our anniversary fell just 3 days before Easter. At first I thought we would just skip over it and celebrate later, but I decided that 4 years is worth celebrating!!! Here are some pictures of our wedding (by the fabulous Mark Umstot). I can't believe it's been 4 years! I love you Alan Rich!

Molly Kate turned 5 months old on Friday! I just can't believe how quickly she is growing up! Can I just say that I think I have the BEST baby ever! She is so easy and relaxed all the time. What a blessing. I love you Molly Kate Rich!

Yesterday was Easter! We had a great service at the Civic Center. In all the years we have done Easter at the Civic Center, this was the best. It was just so much easier than it has ever been. I can honestly say it is all due to the incredible team we have! I can't even begin to list everyone or this blog would take an hour to read. Taylor had a part in the play we did and she was awesome!!! She just might be a little actress in the making! The most special part about that was her mom and grandmother came to see her! My prayer since I've known Taylor's mom is that she will come to know Jesus. I know that God was doing a work in her yesterday and I just continue to pray that the seeds that were planted in her yesterday will grow into a beautiful relationship with our savior, Jesus Christ. Alan's mom drove in just to see Taylor in the play and had to head back last night, so we had lunch with her and the rest of Alan's family (I guess I should say my family too!) When we got home I tried to get some pictures of the girls in their Easter dresses (with very little success, I might add) and then we crashed! After our naps we headed to the park for an Easter egg hunt. It was a great day!

Nurses are mean people

2009-03-27T15:02:00.003-05:00

Today was Molly Kate's 4 month old check up. It was actually our second attempt at the 4 month old check up. On the first one, we found out she had an ear infection and had to do a round of antibiotics. So today, after rechecking the ears, she was cleared for the lovely 4 month shots. I hate when my kids get shots. Most mothers would hold their child, sing in their ear, lovingly pat them while they receive the shots, but not me. I am on the other side of the room. I am not afraid of needles or anything like that (I actually enjoy having my blood taken. I love watching it!). I, in no way, want my child to associate me with the pain that is being inflicted upon her. Now, my child is very smart. But in her 4 month old genius mind she can not rationalize that it is the mean nurse giving her the shot. If all she sees is my face in front of hers, shushing her and telling her it's all going to be ok, then that makes me the bad guy. So there I wait, on the other side of the room. When the shots are done, I swoop in and comfort her and save her from mean nurse Whitney. I am the hero. In her 4 month old genius mind she has not put two and two together yet and realized that I am the one who drove her to this place, and I am the one who undressed her and made her lay on that cold table. Nope, all she knows is that her wonderful mommy loves her and would never stick yucky needles in her. So I'm feeling pretty good about myself today!

Side note: Whitney is a FABULOUS nurse! It's just nice to have someone to take the blame for the awfulness of shots!

Letters I will never send...

2009-03-18T20:30:00.005-05:00

Dear man leaving McAllister's last Saturday night,

As a mother of three, I am constantly trying to stay on top of my children's well-being. Would you mind letting us get in our car and out of the parking lot before lighting up your cigarette? I'm not trying to be rude. Taylor is allergic to smoke, but my bigger concern was the oxygen tank you were loading into your car as the lit cigarette was dangling out of your mouth. The six other tanks in your truck bed were also a source of concern for me.

Dear American Idol producers,

I was under the impression from the last seven seasons of this show that you were running a singing competition. At least that's what Simon reminds us all of as he mercilessly rips into the contestants he feels can't sing on any particular night. So, you must understand my surprise at the finalists. Now don't get me wrong, there are some of your final contestants who are very vocally gifted, but I was so disappointed with the Wild Card show in particular. I know this was a few weeks ago, but as each new show airs I am just still so shocked at a few of the choices. I am working on my critical spirit, so instead of voicing my frustrations at the the contestants who did make it, I will just say that Ricky Braddie was robbed! That boy can sing and should have been put into the finals! But as Simon put it that night, you had to "cast" the show and that's when I realized that this show just like every other "reality" show on TV is far from realistic and you were simply putting the characters for Season 8 into place. I will continue to watch, but I am disappointed.

Dear Lubbock National Bank,

While I appreciate your efforts to keep fraud and theft at a low level, would you please give me a heads up before you stop the ability to use my debit card? Just because a card is used in another state doesn't mean you should stop it after two transactions. Do you know how embarrassing it is to be told "Your card is declined" at the Alco in Pagosa Springs, CO??? If someone were to steal a debit card, I doubt they would be buying $26 worth of coloring books, snacks and a Wolf Creek tourist T-shirt. And to make things worse, it was St. Patrick's day and two people dressed up like Leprechauns would not stop offering up their opinions on why the card was possibly being rejected! The Alco was my main source of entertainment this week. It's hard to go skiing with 3 kids, so my little outing was quite enjoyable until the whole check-out debacle. A little warning next time might be nice.

Dear Project Runway producers,

Enough of this network bickering already!!! The season has been filmed. The finalists have already shown their collections at fashion week, and still we have no show on the air! Now that Top Chef is over I need my Wednesday night 8:00 pm TiVo slot filled, not to mention I love PR and I am in need of a new season! I don't care if you stay on Bravo or move to Lifetime. Like I said, I TiVo the show so I can fast forward through the cheesy Lifetime movie promotional commercials. Just put the show on the air! In the words of Tim Gunn, "Make it work!"

Dear Facebook,

So many things to say to you. First of all, I really love FB. It is a great way to keep in touch with people. My dad even got a FB this week on vacation. It's pretty funny to watch his excitement as he checks to see who wants to be his friend every few hours from his Blackberry. My dad is so hip. I would like to request that you stop changing the layout of the home page! Every time I just about get it all figured out, there you go changing it up again! I don't care one way or the other, just keep it the same! I am tired of having to figure out where the birthday reminders went and where the friend requests have relocated. People want my birthday greetings and friend approvals! Keep it simple and the same for more than a few months this time!!!

And finally...

Dear makers Boudreaux's Butt Paste,

Your product is fantastic. My girls have been diaper rash free since I discovered you. I only have one simple request. Is there any way you can make a lid for the tube that will not easily screw off? Your tube of paste combined with my curious two year old resulted in a 4 month old baby with an ear full of butt paste. I'm just saying, a better cap is something you might want to think about.

Yesterday...there's a shadow hanging over me...

2009-03-04T08:33:00.004-06:00

I haven't blogged in a while. This morning as I sit and try to decide what fabulous things have happened over the last week to write about, I can't remember much of anything before yesterday. I ended the day by sharing with Alan that I feel a really strong heaviness in my spirit. I can't pinpoint it. I thought it was because I went to a funeral earlier in the day. A dear friend, Rocky Green passed away from brain cancer. Rocky and I met and became friends in January 2000. He was a great friend, brother, teacher and lover of Jesus. He was always so consumed with God and His word and just doing whatever he could to grow closer to the Lord. He always inspired me in that way. I have lost touch with Rocky in the last few years as he moved away to Hawaii and then to California. When I learned of his diagnosis a few years ago I was so saddened, but one day not long after hearing the news I ran into his parents at a store. Their faith in God's total healing and positive outlook for Rocky's life, just boosted my hope. So when I heard of his passing last Wednesday I was just overwhelmed with sadness. I know Rocky is praising Jesus and having an amazing time in heaven, but the grief felt by those left here still makes it hard. If you think about it, say a prayer for the Green family today. Rocky was married last August and his wife, Jena is expecting their first child. Pray for his parents, his sister and her family, and his brother Caleb. For a few years of my life, Caleb was my very best friend. I never had a brother, but Caleb was the closest thing in my life to it. God brought Caleb into my life at a critical time. I was starting my second semester of college and was desperately needing to find a Christian friend. It was very hard for me to be what felt like the only light in a dark world all around me. And then Caleb came along. His light never dimmed and he introduced me to all of the other "lights" that were already there that I was too shy or scared to try and find for myself. At Rocky's funeral, Caleb sang one of Rocky's songs called Rest, and I sat admiring and grieving for my dear friend as he paid a final tribute to his hero in life, his older brother.

I'm not sure if this is the root of the heaviness inside of me. I suspect it is something more, but I'm not sure what it is. It could just be the tiredness and exhaustion I feel in my physical body. I think it's a combination of a lot of things. I faced another situation yesterday that just totally drained me. I drove away from the frustration and could literally feel some of the heaviness lifting off of me as I drove further and further away.

The bright spot of my day yesterday was a little bit odd. Taylor's mom, Summer had her baby late Monday night, so yesterday I took Taylor up to hospital to meet her new little sister, Avery Star. I know Molly Kate is only 3 1/2 months old, but she seemed so big compared to this little newborn. She was so beautiful with a head of dark hair and Taylor's cute little nose. I just held her for the better part of the hour we were there. What could have been and probably should have been a really awkward moment wasn't. There we were, Taylor, Summer, and I just sitting and chatting. God's grace is pretty amazing. I pray that Avery Star Tanner will come to know Jesus at a young age and that she will always be protected and loved and that God's hand will be on her always.

The day ended with a birthday dinner for my brother-in-law Heath. If you haven't met Heath, you should. You can read this to see what my sister thinks about her hubby.

Yesterday was full of one crazy event after another and honestly I'm glad it's over. Today my goal is to have a peaceful, relaxing day with my girls and just spend some much needed time in His presence.

Missing Out, or Not

2009-02-23T12:21:00.002-06:00

This past weekend started out as a pity party for one. The college/young adults group at my church was taking their annual girls retreat this weekend. I wanted to go so badly. Now, I am not in this group nor have I been for the past few years, but basically all of the girls that I am closest to including my two sister were going. Just the thought of a peaceful weekend in the woods was putting a smile on my face. I have learned over the last four years that when you have kids sometimes you just don't get to do the things you want to do. That still didn't stop my inner desire for selfishness and a weekend getaway with the girls. Well, needless to say, I didn't go. Alan was out of town until Friday night (on a "work" trip to Angel Fire with a friend.) He did have a little bit of work to do on a customer's house up there but he also managed to squeeze in a day of snowboarding. This no doubt added to my self-pity. As I woke up today though I started thinking about what a great weekend it has been. If I had gone on the girls trip, here are some of the things I would have missed out on.
1. A trip to the "spa" with Taylor. Ok, Fancy Nails doesn't really fall into the spa category but Taylor got her nails painted, complete with jeweled flowers on her thumbs and I got a desperately needed eyebrow wax. Taylor was such a huge help to me while Alan was gone so I wanted to treat her to something special and that's what she wanted to do!
2. A trip to Mardels resulting in the purchase of three new books. I am not much of a reader. I went to Mardel's looking for a gift for my mother-in-law and I ran across three books that I really wanted. I am already almost done with "Multiple Blessings." It is about the Gosselins (Jon and Kate Plus 8). It's my new favorite show to watch and so I picked up the book because the bright yellow 50% off sticker was screaming at me. (I am a bargain girl!) I am so enjoying this book. I like their show, but in the book you get a greater sense of their love and total dependency on the Lord. It excited me to think that maybe someone would pick up the book because they love the show and perhaps find Jesus in the middle of it. They are so unashamed about their love for God and they are so quick to acknowledge His hand in every part of their lives. It's a good, easy read. My kind of book! I also picked up another book by Donald Miller. His book Blue Like Jazz was a really thinker for me, and I liked that. So, I'm going to try out another one of his. Sorry, I can't remember the name of it right now and don't want to get up to go look at it. The last book was a total impulse buy at the register. It was a $4.99 special about organizing your home. God has really been working on me in this area lately and I felt like maybe this book we give me the extra umph to get to it! We'll see.
3. Worshipping at church. This was my weekend off at church. After I had Molly Kate I just felt so incredibly overwhelmed and knew that if I didn't hand off a little responsibility at work I would probably just crack and quit it all. Having two weekends a month off has been so great for our whole family. We have never been able to all come to church together and just sit and worship together. I didn't realize how much I was missing out on. Ava loves to come in for worship. She would rather sing first and go to class after, which is saying a lot because she LOVES her class, especially Ms. Louise! So, Saturday night we went to church as a family and I held Ava during praise and worship. On the third song I opened my eyes and saw her little hand raised. I smiled at her and she asked me why me and daddy raise our hands up. I told her that it was one way to praise Jesus and show Him how much we love Him. She really liked the idea of that, so she had her hand raised pretty much the rest of the time. If someone would clap she would join in the clapping. She said "Mom, does that praise Jesus when I clap?" And I told her yes, so she clapped and smiled and raised her hands. It was a really sweet time for me to get to teach my daughter a little bit about worship.
4. Great time spent with my husband. Alan and I watched a few movies together this weekend once the girls were in bed. Doesn't like great bonding time, but for us just to sit next each other and spend some alone time at home doesn't happen that often. We watched Fireproof. Despite the less than stellar acting it was a really good movie. The story was really good and made me appreciate the relationship that Alan and I have. There have been a few times in our marriage where I felt like we went through some similar things as the movie, but God's grace is always sufficient and we are now in a really great place. This weekend was great and we both really enjoyed spending time with each other.
5. Molly Kate's laugh. MK is the greatest baby! She is so joyful and I love seeing her little personality beginning to emerge. She is very chilled out baby. Unless she has gas, she's happy! Her little laugh is so precious. I can get her cackling and then she just laughs in anticipation of the tickling that is to come. I love it! I told Alan that sometimes I feel so unproductive because I spend lots of hours every day just sitting in a chair holding Molly Kate. She's either eating or we're just snuggling. He told me to just enjoy those moments because before too long she will be running through the house like a hurricane destroying everything in her path! (Oh wait, Ava's doing that now!) I do cherish the times that I get to just sit and rock her. I love the way that she looks at me with such total dependence and love. Isn't it amazing how much a baby just trusts her mother?
So, even though I missed out on a road trip and a weekend away with some awesome girls, I got to enjoy my family this weekend and that makes it all worth it!

A constant journey

2009-02-15T22:02:00.003-06:00

It is amazing to me the difference that one year can make. I have been reflecting on my own life today and I realize that I have drastically changed over the past year. No one else may ever know or realize it (well, my husband does) but when I think back to the way I thought and some things that I believed a year ago, I can't believe that I am the same person. This is all in a good way! It is just so good to know that I am hearing God really clearly on some things. Isn't that a refreshing feeling? Just having peace as I step out and obey Him, I wouldn't trade that for anything. The crazy thing about it all is that some of the things He is asking me to do are not comfortable for me. I am a girl of comfort! I come home and put on sweats or pajamas everyday because that is how much I like to be comfortable! But being able to step out and trust His voice even when it's stretching me like crazy, it's ok with me. I just love being obedient to Him and having that sense of peace all the while. I know this doesn't make a lot of sense, but it feels good to write it down. This old song is running through my head and it perfectly describes how I feel right now.
Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to take Him at His Word
Just to rest upon His promise
Just to know "Thus sayeth the Lord."
Jesus, Jesus how I trust You
How I've proved You over and over
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus
Oh for grace to trust You more
The more I step out in faith and trust His leading, the grace to step out even more is always right there. I am so excited to see what God asks me to do next, because it just feels good to be in this place. And I am excited to see how much closer I am in another year or two. Right now I know clearer than I ever have what God has called me to do. I guess I've always known the calling, but God seems to be revealing more of the details. It's like more of the "big picture" has been brought into the light and I'm so ready to tackle it head on! I just want what He wants for me. Nothing more, nothing less.

Crafts Are Not My Calling!

2009-02-12T22:00:00.002-06:00

Today was a very stressful day. When I tell you why, you will either laugh and think I'm joking or think I'm being dramatic, but nevertheless, it was stressful! For some reason I signed up at the beginning of the school year to head up the Valentine's party for Ava's class. I had no memory of doing so until last week her teacher said "Now, you remember you are coordinating the Valentine's party next week? Here are some names of the other moms that would like to help. Just give them a call." I guess at the time of "Class Party Coordinator" sign ups I was big pregnant and of the mindset that this would be a good idea and not hard at all with a 3 month old baby and a million other things going on in life. So, I smiled at Ms. Kristin and said, "Of course! Sounds great!" Thus the stress began. First of all, I am not a great delegator. I would much rather just do things myself not because I am a snob and think that I will do it better than everyone else, but because I absolutely hate calling people on the phone (especially people I don't know) and asking them to do things. It's right up there on my list with fundraising and dental visits. Well, I sucked it up and called. I delegated the responsibilities of paper plates, juice boxes, brownies, and fruit. I decided to handle the pizza and the craft. Yes, I had to plan a craft. How hard could it be, right? Let's skip ahead to today, past the week of fretting over the craft and going through about seven different ideas and stressing out over not being able to find white paper sacks at any of the five stores I went to. Let's just forget all that and get to today.

I woke up with my stomach in knots about this party. Honestly, what it all boils down to is my inherent need to please others. The thought of being judged and looked down upon because of a less than stellar Valentine's party for a group of two year olds was totally freaking me out. Luckily, the fabulous Abby watched Molly Kate so I didn't have to worry about that. So after spending the morning freaking out (again) about the craft and the pizza and how it was all going to work, I just decided to forget it and go to the party. We started the craft and it seemed good enough. Little heart shaped stickers on a foamy paper thing. Easy enough, right? Well, apparently I gauged the time for a craft like this based on my two year old. Ava will sit and work on a craft for hours. Literally, I have to pull her away from things like this. The class of two year olds was a little different. About three minutes into the craft the majority of the kids were bored and were up and running around. Alan was bringing the pizza for me since all the pizza places in Lubbock don't open until 11:00 (yes, I called them all) and I had to be at the school at 10:30. I was justing staring at the clock waiting for him to arrive as I felt all the other moms staring at me wondering what I had planned next for this delightful little party, because surely I had planned more than this craft. There had to be a game or something. But no, no games were planned. I called Alan at 11:04 and he was on his way with the pizzas. Praise God! By 11:12 he had still not arrived. I knew something was wrong. It does not take 8 minutes to get from CiCi's to Lakeridge Methodist church. I called him again and he said, "Where are you? I'm walking all over this huge school asking where the 'frog' room is (that's the class that Ava's in) and asking where the Valentine party is and people are looking at me like I'm crazy!" He had gone to Taylor's school with the pizzas. Their class parties are tomorrow and there is no "frog" room at her school. The laugh over this was by far the highlight of my day! So, Alan arrived with the pizza, we fed the kids lunch and cleaned them all up and I was done. I was so glad when they started getting the kids' nap mats out. Had I known that the teacher was going to chisel out an hour and a half of their day for my wonderfully coordinated party I would have been a bit more prepared. It's nice to know now that coordinating a party consists of more than arranging for someone to bring juice boxes and brownies. I just wish I had known all of this yesterday! I did learn one thing from all of this. Next year I will simply sign up to bring juice boxes. I can absolutely handle that. I don't think I could take any more stress over planning parties.

Vote for Ava!

2009-02-02T14:03:00.002-06:00

Hello friends! Could you all do something for me? Go to www.blogspot.denaehutsonphotography.com and vote for Ava!!! She is #19. If her picture wins we get a beautiful 11x14 canvas! I also think she's the cutest one on there, so go vote!!! You can find Denae's blog on my blog list. Thanks!

Ava on a good day

2009-01-28T07:51:00.005-06:00

After my last post about Ava and all of her madness, I decided I should share some stories and pictures of some really great days I have had with Ava in the last week. On Friday, we went to the Science Spectrum. She was so much fun to watch and play with and she was really well behaved there! I was pleasantly surprised. She loves to look at the pictures I took of her there. She calls it "The Dinosaur House" because of the dinosaur that they have there. She would not however let me take her picture with the dinosaur. She didn't want to get too close.

This is the "roller coaster" that Ava loved so much.

The water area was so much fun!

Look out Karin McKay. You've got some competition on your hands!

I took this one on the way home.

Yesterday, the girls and I played in the snow/ice! Our neighbor Mike had his four wheeler out and pulling all the kids on a sled behind it. It was so much fun. I wish we would have a really great snow day, with actually snow, not just ice balls and a few flurries here and there!

Here is Ava on the sled with Luke and his mom, Amy. She was the brave one who volunteered to ride with the little kids!

My little snow angel!

These are just a few of my favorite recent Ava pictures.

Ava at Luke's birthday party on the carousel at Mr. Gatti's. (saying "cheese!" of course.)

Ava wanted to try and wipe herself but didn't quite finish the job.

Ava is "driving" to Aunt Stacy's house. (Stacy lives on our same cul-de-sac about five houses down, so please don't report me to CPS for letting my two year old sit up front and hold the steering wheel for a distance of about 100 yards.)

My next post will be all about Molly Kate! Ava just gives me so much to talk about that I find myself writing mostly about her. So in the spirit of not neglecting my other children I will post more about them soon!

12 things

2009-01-23T21:41:00.003-06:00

Ashlee tagged me and I've enjoyed seeing other people's 12 random facts, so here goes!

1. If I had to start over "career"-wise, I would go to culinary school and become a chef, probably a pastry chef.
2. I have seen every episode of every season of The Office, Project Runway, Top Chef, and Gilmore Girls. Probably Friends too, but I'm not totally for sure on that one like I am the others.
3. My favorite movies growing up were Robin Hood, Mary Poppins, and Grease.
4. I HATE clowns. I wouldn't say I'm afraid of them, they just totally creep me out for so many reasons. I can't stand to even see a picture of one.
5. I am slighty OCD. I count the lines of the numbers on a digital clock, and I always want it to come out to a multiple of 10. I have lots of other OCD tendencies but I don't want you to think I'm a total freak.
6. I love to go to the nail salon with Taylor. We enjoy getting pedicures and bonding time!
7. I really miss my dog, Nash. He was the greatest dog in the whole world and I hope whoever has him realizes how lucky they are to have him. Deep down I wish he would come back.
8. I am not a very good friend. I am working on this though! I am quite an introvert and really love being by myself, but I know that there is great value in friendships. So, I am working on being a better friend and more of an initiator.
9. My Wii fit age is 44. This depresses me. I am working on it. I may write another blog about my Wii fit experiences to date.
10. I have always wanted to learn to play the drums and the mandolin. Maybe someday.
11. Probably my all-time favorite movie is That Thing You Do. I can quote the entire thing. There are so many funny lines in it, and I never get tired of it. If you haven't seen it, you should! Just a few favorite lines: I wonder what happened to the Oneders. There he goes, off to write that hit song Alone in My Principles. Do you know what these are? Presidential flashcards???
12. I need a schedule. My life works much better when I have a routine and a schedule to go by. Especially the more kids that come along!

Well, that was fun, and kind of hard! Now I tag Paige, Jennifer Watson, and Jennifer Beamer!

A challenging day

2009-01-21T15:42:00.004-06:00

I never thought I would be writing a blog about my two year old that made me cry today. If you know Ava, you know that she is a sweetie with lots of personality and is perhaps a genius of some sort. You probably also know that she can be very strong willed and a tad demanding at times. Well, her behavior the last few months has gotten pretty bad. She has bitten several of her friends among other various attacks. Everyone has just chalked it up to her adjusting to the new baby sister at home. I am doing my very best at disciplining her. Maybe God is giving me a taste of my own medicine because I used to laugh at my mother when she would spank me, or maybe it is from all those times I have looked at other people's kids and said (under my breath) "I would never let my child act like that." To all you mothers that I have secretly judged, I apologize. I realize that sometimes no matter how many spankings, time outs, toys taken away, and any other creative form of discipline I have tried, some kids are just challenging. Even in all my efforts to be consistent I am just at a loss of how to deal with this child!

Our troubles today have included but are not limited to: make up smeared all over her face, hands, and the carpet...twice, running through the house with a pair of scissors...twice (two different pairs), coloring a ceramic vase with blue crayon, coloring on the arm of my couch with a pen, yelling at me to "shush" and telling me I was being too loud. This one really got to me. She just sounded so mean and hateful. During her nap, I raided the entire house and have found all the scissors, markers, pens, and makeup and they all have new homes on the highest shelves in my house. So, if you think about it, say a prayer for Ava Grace and for me. I need a little extra grace right now to deal with this "spirited" child!

Hard to believe such a sweet girl can be so vicious sometimes!

Picture Tag

2009-01-20T22:41:00.003-06:00

Kelsey tagged me, so here's the deal.

1. Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on the computer.
2. Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag 4 people to do the same
5. No cheating. (cropping, editing, etc)

This is a picture of Ava at 20 months right after she dumped an entire box of Fruity Cheerios on the kitchen floor. This was before Alan put our wood floors in. I am reminded of how hideous our floors were for so long! Of course Ava just picked them up off the floor and continued snacking. She still does this by the way.

Now I tag Marla, Dominika, Angie, and Stacie!

My Little Troopers

2009-01-14T16:06:00.002-06:00

This has been a bit of a bummer week. On Monday, Ava had to have her skin tested again for allergies. We wanted to see if she had possibly outgrown her peanut allergy and to see if she had any outdoor allergies as well. The peanut allergy is still there and she also is allergic to egg whites! This was news to us. She has eaten eggs many times (she loves them!) and products with eggs. Luckily she is not allergic to any grasses, weeds, dogs or cats. So after having her back pricked with about 50 different allergens (she did great by the way!) we had to get her blood drawn so they can test the severity of the two food allergies. This was the yucky part. Thankfully I had Alan with me that day. He held her when they were taking her blood which is good because on the first arm they blew the vein. I'm not even sure what that means but that's what the lady said as she yanked the needle out of her arm. Alan is so patient and just held Ava and was keeping her as calm as he could. I am stressing out in the corner glaring at the lady sending her telepathic messages to get this one right or I might start digging needles into her arm. I don't do well when my kid is screaming and they are trying to get a gallon of blood out of her. Seriously, they took so much blood I wasn't sure if there would be any left in her little body! So, that was Monday all before lunch! Tuesday was Molly Kate's turn. She had her two month check up and had to get four shots, two in each leg. There she laid just smiling and cooing (she's cooing now! It's the cutest thing ever!) and then out of nowhere BAM!! The first stick she just looked at me and turned really red but by the second one she was screaming. Again, I can't stand anyone hurting my babies and making them scream. Unfortunately I was alone this time and teared up a bit myself. After her shots I picked her up and she didn't cry much more. She was such a good little baby! My girls are troopers!

Just a little update on Pepa. I snuck Taylor and Ava up to see him Monday afternoon. He got a good report on a CAT scan that morning and was in a good mood. He asked if he could see the girls so I smuggled them up to his room. He was so excited to see them! He and Ava are great buddies. He took her for a "ride" on his hospital bed. They went up and down for about 30 minutes and Ava never got tired of it. They laughed and had a good time. Ava kept calling him a "major rockstar" which is from Alvin and the Chipmunks, her favorite movie. I think it was really good for Pepa. It seemed to lift his spirits even more. Keep praying and maybe Pepa will get to go home soon!

More Wal-Mart and a lovely breakfast!

2009-01-08T16:13:00.003-06:00

Obviously my New Year's resolution was not to blog more. This is my first of the year. I have been busy trying to get back to "normal". I put it in quotes because I'm not really sure what normal is for us now with three kids. Yesterday felt like a very successful day for 3 reasons. #1- I got to take a shower by myself in peace. #2- I went to Wal-Mart with Ava and Molly Kate and made it out of the store with only one meltdown per child. (I will elaborate more in a moment.) #3- I got the groceries unloaded and put up before anything frozen melted! Wal-Mart is an adventure with two little ones. I talked Ava into getting one of the giant carts with the two seat thing on the front so she could sit in it. It was new so she thought it was exciting. I felt like I was wheeling some giant, industrial cart around, I was just glad that she wasn't running loose putting random items into my cart. I checked out once and found a tube of Aspercream in the basket. I do not use Aspercream and have never purchased it. Ava told me she picked out a new toothpaste for her and that's how it got there. The excitement of the new cart didn't last very long and I eventually had to buckle Ava down so she would quit trying to escape. This of course resulted in a mini meltdown followed by glares and looks of disdain from other shoppers. Molly Kate decided she was hungry in the middle of our shopping even though she had just eaten before we went. We quickly went to the dressing room and I asked the lady if I could use a dressing room to feed the baby. She looked at me like I was crazy and then decided to let me in the smallest room available. I tried to distract Ava with reading a book she brought but she was more fascinated with the feeding process like she'd never seen me feed Molly Kate before. She kept announcing very loudly "Molly is eating your booby, Mom!" (Sorry if this is an overshare, but I thought it was pretty funny...not so much at the time, but now I can laugh about it.) We finished the feeding, finished the shopping and made it out without too much more drama.

Today, Ava decided she wanted to cook me breakfast. She got a little kitchen for Christmas and has been making oatmeal and coffee for us everyday. So here are some snapshots of our lovely breakfast. Daddy was invited too. So were her Bee and Nemo Pez dispensers. She's a big fan of Pez right now.

Daddy is enjoying his oatmeal.

Ava is praying for breakfast.

Nemo and Bee are having a nice time.

Someone Special

2008-12-30T22:31:00.003-06:00

Almost two weeks ago my grandfather was put in the hospital with pretty severe pneumonia. After a day or two in a regular room he was moved to ICU as his condition was just worsening. The worst part about it all is when his spirits get down he just seems to lose hope that he will ever get out of the hospital. When I went to visit him a few days ago, I was not prepared for what I saw. This giant of a man (in my eyes) was so frail and in so much pain. He had this huge respirator mask on his face that made it almost impossible for him to talk which only caused him more frustration. The mask kept him from wearing his glasses and his hearing aids, so the frustration just mounted. When I went up to visit he said he was not eating any more because he was just going to die right there in that bed. This was so hard for me to see and hear. What was so amazing was to watch my grandmother who is not in great health herself sit there and just rub his head and his arm trying to keep his frustration level down. She just kept saying positive things and smiling at him. She is my hero. I will have to write a blog about her later. Pepa is by no means a perfect man, but in the last two years I have made an effort to make my grandmother and him a bigger part of my life. Since I now have kids of my own, I have wanted to make sure that they got to know their great grandparents. I have tried to go see them at least once a week and try to take them dinner from time to time. I'm not trying to brag on myself, I just want to do whatever I can to help them out and bring them a little joy. Ava has become quite attached to her Mema and Pepa and they are so enamored with her! Even when they are feeling really sick they love to see her. They have always said that she is the best therapy. Every time we go over Taylor cleans their fish pond in the back yard and Ava just performs and puts on a show for them. She also has some books over there that she gets out and Pepa reads them to her every time. These times are so precious to me and I know that I will never forget them. I am praying for you Pepa! Get well soon so we can come over for a visit!

Ava and Pepa on Halloween.

Taylor and Pepa on Halloween.

This is my favorite picture! Ava and Pepa were taking a water break one day this summer.

Tomorrow and things to come...

2008-12-18T21:53:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow I am going on a weekend shopping trip with my mom, sisters and Molly Kate. Alan is keeping my two big girls here at home. I can't wait! I have wanted to just get out of town for so long now, and going with my favorite peeps just makes it that much better. We have done this a few times, just a girls trip, but my most memorable one was a few years ago. The four of us (this was before kids) headed off to Dallas to find my wedding dress and bridesmaids dresses. I realize there are stores in Lubbock with these sorts of things, but any excuse to hit the road and Dallas malls, we take it! I found my dress pretty easily. We went to David's Bridal and I saw it in the magazine thing and just new it was the one I wanted. The lady kept bringing me other things to try on and I kept asking for the dress in the magazine. That's what I wanted! The bridesmaid dresses were not so easy to find. I just had my two sisters in my wedding party, so I was looking for something a little different than the usual bridesmaid dress. I happen to be an expert bridesmaid. I have been one myself seven times. I know that is a ridiculous amount. I am not that good of a friend, but apparently I either look really good standing up there next to the bride or people just really like me. Either way, I have quite an extensive collection of dresses. And let me just say that when a bride tells you she picked a dress that you can wear again it's not true. Where are you going to wear a hot pink, rinestone encrusted dress (Kelsey)? Adult prom???

Ok, back to the shopping. We looked a lot of places and after a while it just got very comical. One dress that I kind of liked, my sisters could not stop laughing in. Paige had to remind me that Pepa would be at the wedding and the amount of cleavage the dress was creating was not acceptable in the presence of my grandpa or anyone else for that matter. I just liked the color of the dress and didn't notice because they were laughing so hard and I couldn't figure out why. I know this weekend trip is going to be fabulous and full of more wonderful memory making moments!

And let me conclude by saying that I have loved being a part of every wedding I've ever been in. The girls all mean so much to me. And the dresses that each one picked were perfectly fitting for them and their weddings and I was so honored to be there for all of them.

Ok, the next blog I post, I'm going to try and make it a picture blog. Here are the pictures I am working on finding, just to give you something to look forward to.
1. The new haircut (see previous blog for more info.)
2. Some pics of me in these bridesmaid dresses.
3. The "Squirrel" collection (hopefully this will include me in my squirrel overalls, Ava and Molly Kate in their squirrel outfit)
4. Pics from our shopping trip!
5. Anything else I might run across that might bring you a bit of holiday joy!

Queen of Denial?

2008-12-17T08:04:00.002-06:00

It's amazing what covering up some gray hairs will do for you! Yesterday, I got my hair cut and colored and I don't feel like an old lady anymore. It was getting really bad and had to be done. It's a little darker than I thought it would be, but I know it will fade out a little bit after some washes. The cut is the interesting part. I didn't want it any shorter, so we just did a little trim, but I took the plunge and went for bangs! Not just sweep it to the side, long bangs, but full on bangs! I haven't had bangs since the third grade. This was back in the day of the forward and backward curl followed by lots of teasing to achieve maximum bang height. The reason I gave up on bangs at the ripe old age of eight was because of my cow-lick. (I don't know if this is how you spell it, but I spell it like this because my dad told me I got my "cow lick" after a cow licked my head when I was a baby. I don't know what else to believe or how else to spell it, so just go with it!) The cute, poofy, super-teased bangs were cute on most girls, but not so much on me. Because of the before mentioned cow lick, my poofy bangs were always off to the side. Ok, back to the new cut. The bangs are working and not going off to the side. Thank God for straight irons! After the cut, I got mostly positive reactions. This always makes a girl feel good. I did however, get three comments that it looked like a wig. Now, normally I would just stick with the positive comments and ignore the wig ones, but all three wig comments were from family members, so my thought is this. Does it really look like a bad wig and my family are the only ones being honest with me? Are all of these people who are giving me positive feedback lying to me? Are these people really my friends???
Here are the wig comments:
Dad: "Ooo, cool. Cleopatra wig. Didn't you ever see Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor? Cleopatra wig!"
Taylor: "You got your hair cut. It looks like a wig. At least the gray hairs are gone."
Alan: (shocked look on his face followed by an attempt at a graceful recovery) "It's different. I like it. It almost looks like a wig." (more attempts at recovering from shocked face and previous comments) "I mean a nice, expensive wig. Not a cheap one."
What is that? Sheer honesty is what I think it is. So all of you so called friends out there who said you liked my hair, I don't know if I can believe you. My sister did tell me that she did not think it looked like a wig, but she could be lying to me. She knows I'm in a hormonal postpartum state still, and maybe she is trying to salvage my feelings. Regardless of the comments (good or wig-related) I like the hair. I think that's all that matters, and if not, the bangs will grow and we can all go back to normal some day!

Loving to cook

2008-12-12T12:25:00.002-06:00

I have had cooking/baking fever lately. The only problem is that it is almost impossible to cook anything in a house with two little kids at home all day! Ava wants to help, but there is not much a two year old can do and it's still too hard to gauge Molly Kate's nap times which is when I try to get all the cooking out of my system. I realize I should be using this time to clean or do some laundry or napping myself, but I just gotta get in that kitchen and cook! Yesterday I made Cake Balls. I got the recipe from my friend Marla's blog. She got it from another blog. Anyways, they were such a huge mess to make that I nearly gave up and just pitched it all in the trash, but I perservered! So now today I am finding reasons of why I need to go eat another cake ball! It was definitely worth the 24 hours of red-stained hands from rolling the little balls. Luckily, I sent most of them with Taylor to school. She had to bring treats for her class today. And tomorrow is my grandpa's birthday, so I'm taking some to him this afternoon! Which brings me to my next cooking endeavor. My Pepa's favorite snack is Jalapeno Poppers. Not the frozen ones you buy at Sam's in a jumbo box of 4 dozen, but real, homemade ones. He will fire up his grill at 3:00 in the afternoon just to cook 2 or 3 jalapeno poppers. So, I made some for him today. Again, this is not a great thing for Ava to help with, and of course she wanted to. It's hard to explain that the seeds I'm scraping out are very hot and she can't touch them. And then I have to explain to her why she can't eat raw bacon. We are just wrapping the peppers in it to cook.
Two nights ago, I cooked Chicken Fried Steak for the first time in my life! Alan thought I called his mom and asked her how to make it. He didn't believe that I just knew how to do it! Actually, I owe it all to my dear friend, Twila. Twila used to stay with us when we were little when my parents went out of town. My mom was quite the health nut when we were little so I had never had Chicken Fried Steak, or at least never seen it made in my house. So when Twila came, she introduced us to the world of high-calorie, high-fat foods! So, Tuesday night, I did it! Homemade gravy and all! It was really good too, surprisingly!
I have many more items on my cooking wish list this week, so I'll let you know how it all turns out. If you have any fabulous recipes I need to know about, let me know! I love to try making new things.

Christmas Tag

2008-12-09T21:33:00.003-06:00

I have decided to start my own little game of "blog tag" with a Christmas theme!
1. What is your favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
2. What is your favorite Christmas album? Harry Connick Jr. "When My Heart Finds Christmas". The new one is good too, I just haven't gotten as into yet.
3. What is your favorite Christmas gift you have ever received? Cabbage Patch Kid when I was six
4. What is your favorite gift that you are giving this year? I am giving Alan The Office DVD board game. I really wanted for myself, but I figured I could give it to him and I could also enjoy it that way!
5. Favorite place/location to look at Christmas lights? Our old neighbor's tree on 80th Street!
6. Favorite Christmas treat/candy? homemade caramel corn
7. What is your funniest Christmas memory? Probably the first Christmas I was married. I had told Alan that I wanted to start a Christmas tradition for our family and all get new Christmas pajamas to open on Christmas Eve. He said he would buy some for me. So, on Christmas Eve night we got home from our family party and went to open our Christmas pj's. Alan realized that he forgot to get me some pj's. I was very upset. At this time in my life I was a bit more of a control freak and not as in control of my emotions as I am now! I then realized that there were no presents under the tree with my name on them. Taylor had presents. Alan had presents. No presents for Leslie :( I was obviously very upset. So Alan decided to run out to get me something. Since it was Christmas Eve and about 11:30 pm he found himself at Walgreen's. It was the only place open. So that year I got a watch and a bottle of perfume. I don't wear perfume and the watch accidentally got thrown away with the pile of trash from all the presents because I left it in the sack it was wrapped in and Alan gathered everything up and threw it all away before I realized it. I did get some pj's that year though. Alan went and found these two old red t-shirts he had from when he umpired Little League baseball. He somehow cut them and tied them together to make a long gown thing. Looking back on it all now it is pretty funny and he hasn't forgotten to get me a Christmas present since then! On a side note, that same year, Taylor got a rabbit that she accidentally killed in less than 48 hours. Long story, sad Christmas.

Ok, now I tag....everyone!

2008-12-06T14:23:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, Molly Kate her first official photo shoot with Aunt Paige. Paige is the unofficial photographer of the family for many reasons. 1- She has the best camera. 2-She actually remembers to bring her camera and use it at family events. 3- She really is a great photographer. 4- My pictures usually end up with someone's head cut out of the picture or all blurry because about the time I'm about to click the pic Ava either runs out of the picture, runs through the room doing something crazy, etc. So all that to say, here are some pictures of Molly Kate!

Now that you've seen my little angel, here's a little update about life with three girls! It is quite an adjustment! Not only are Alan and I now outnumbered, I can not figure out how to get anywhere on time! No matter how early we get started, it seems that something comes up and keeps us from getting out the door when we need to be. I guess it's all a part of the learning curve, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Taylor is such an amazing big sister! She helps me so much with the little ones. Ava is doing a really good job of adjusting to no longer being the center of everyone's world! She really loves her baby sister. Molly Kate is so easy!! I could not have gotten an easier baby! She rarely cries. She just kind of grunt/squeals when she's hungry. That's it! So easy! My girls are so wonderful!

It's finally Christmas time here!

2008-12-04T17:23:00.003-06:00

We finally put the tree up at my house! After weeks of thinking about it and days of saying we were going to do it, it is actually up!!! And miraculously Ava has not ripped off every ornament within her reach! I guess my lessons in manners are paying off because today she asked if she could break one of the ornaments. I of course said no and she replied with a really sweet, "Please, Mom?" I really love my tree and I'll tell you why. It's not a really pretty tree. My mother always has the most beautifully decorated, amazing tree. My sisters have both inherited this decorating sense for their trees, but mine is not so much. It's a fake tree with lights, and little bit of ribbon and then the ornaments. This is what I love so much about our tree. I put up all the ornaments, even the semi-ugly ones the kids have made because they either have their pictures on them or just because they made them! Then we have our snowmen. Beginning the Christmas right after Alan and I got engaged, I bought a cute ornament with two snowpeople in love. The next year, our first Christmas as a family, I bought a little snow family ornament. I have continued the tradition and it made me so happy to see all my little snow families! This year I get to buy a snow family of 5!!

Today was Ava's Christmas program at "school." I have a little video I thought I would share. She did such a good job! While most of the kids in her class were crying, she was doing the motions and semi-singing. My little girl is growing up!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T10:34:00.002-06:00

Well, I was going to write a "Thanksgiving Letters" addition, but after reading my friend Liz's blog about all the things she is thankful for, I thought I could hold off on my sarcasm for a while. I will do a "Holiday Letters" blog another day filled with silliness and sarcasm for the whole season. So today, here are the things I am thankful for!
1. My husband. He is a loving, hardworking, devoted, passionate man who loves Jesus. He is an incredible father to our three beautiful girls!
2. My kids! I have the three most gorgeous, fun, amazing girls! I never thought I would have three daughters, maybe because I came from a family of three girls. I really thought a boy would be in the picture by now, but God knew exactly what I needed! I love my precious girls! Taylor- you are so amazing! Ava- you make me laugh all day long! Molly Kate- I just love snuggling you! I can not wait to see what you three grow up to be like.
3. My family. My parents are the best ever. I love this stage of life. We are great friends, and yet they are still such a wonderful prayer covering and encouragers in my life. My sisters are amazing. Paige- you are my hero. The gifts inside of you are so much fun to watch come out. Kelsey- you always make my day. What a great mother you are. You inspire me with that every day. My brothers-in-law are so much fun and my niece, Madi, is the cutest! I love that she knows who I am and she smiles when she sees me.
The rest will just be a list, because I could literally go on about all of these things forever!
My church- my other family, my job- I get to do what I love and use the gifts God has given me to serve Him, my extended family- greatest in the world!, my friends- what a blessing, health- sometimes I forget how blessed my family and I are to be in such great health.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Observations

2008-11-23T23:16:00.002-06:00

For some reason I can not seem to go to sleep just yet. Maybe it is because I have been on the computer forever. I started out watching an old episode of One Tree Hill on thewb.com. Then I checked facebook, myspace, 3 different email addresses and of course the blog. Do I really need that much social networking??? So, now I thought I would just share some random thoughts.

First, I noticed in my last post a picture of my husband with Kate. He is wearing this silly orange trucker hat that he got at Home Depot last week. He got the notion to trim up our trees a little bit, which they desperately needed. Of course by the time he was done, two entire trees are now gone from my front yard. He just didn't see any use for them anymore, or he got really chainsaw happy. Back to the hat. When he went to buy the chainsaw, apparently the hat was on a display with the kind of saw he bought. He asked the Home Depot guy if they sold the hat and they didn't. This was the only one they had, and it had just come for the purpose of the display. I guess the guy saw how sad Alan was that he would not be going home with a bright orange, Stihl chainsaw hat, that he took it off the display and let him have it. So, now Alan wears it all the time. He really likes the hat even though he looks a little redneck wearing it.

My second observation is of my new baby girl. While she is sleeping she will out of nowhere start panting like a dog. It is very loud and at first it kept freaking me out. I would jump up to go check on her in her crib, but she just lies there asleep, panting. What is that all about???

My final observation for the night. I have changed so many diapers today that I lost count. Of course the new baby needs lots of diaper changes. Ava started wearing pull ups because "she's a big kid now" and likes to go on her little pink potty instead of in her diaper! Yay, this is all very exciting, except that she doesn't understand the concept of just pulling the pull-up down and pulling it back up when she's done. She takes off every piece of clothing from the waist down (pants, socks, shoes, and pull up), goes potty, and then tries to put on a new pull up which always results in both legs in one leg hole. She then runs around the house naked from the waist down because the pull up is all bunched up around the waist. So I haven't really changed her dirty diapers, just re-pull uped her about 15 times!

Baby Kate update

2008-11-21T20:28:00.003-06:00

I realize I have done a terrible job of documenting my sweet new baby's first few days of life! She is now 10 days old and is doing great. She is such an amazing baby. She hardly ever fusses or cries and she is sleeping pretty good at night. Here are some pictures of her trip home from the hospital and the first week at home!
Heading home from the hospital!

Proud big sister!

A visit from Aunt Paige.

Snuggling with daddy.

10 days old!

Christmas already???

2008-11-17T16:02:00.002-06:00

I just got on to check a few blogs from my lovely friends, and three of them were blogging about putting up Christmas decorations!!! Now, I love Christmas time SOOO much. A few years ago I decorated for Christmas the first week of November. The downfall to this was that by the week before Christmas I was tired of it and was ready to take it all down. So, I've learned to wait a bit on the decorating, but I guess I didn't realize that it was already time to start decorating (unless these three friends of mine are just crazy Christmas people and have jumped the gun! I don't think this is the case.) Well, now I'm just not sure what to do. I still can't believe that Thanksgiving is a week from Thursday, so maybe I need to get it in gear and get the tree up. This all seems a bit overwhelming since I just had a baby a week ago. I will say that the baby is not the difficult part. It's the two year old who is trying to adjust to the new baby! Maybe tomorrow I will blog about the adventures of the new baby and the two year old! I am surprisingly not exhausted yet and have been making myself do things that I like to do during Ava's nap, like reading blogs or maybe putting up a Christmas tree!

So far so good!

2008-11-15T17:25:00.005-06:00

I don't have a whole lot to write about. When you have a new baby your day pretty much consists of feeding her, changing her diapers, trying to get a little rest and this cycle is pretty much all you do on a regular 2-3 hour rotation. So, that's been my day with the occassional crazy from Ava, but that is to be expected. So here are some of my favorite pictures of my precious Molly Kate and some of her new family members!

Kate is here!

2008-11-12T11:29:00.003-06:00

My precious little one has arrived and I finally have a few moments to myself to share her pictures with the world via blog! First of all, we decided to call her Kate. I know there may be some confusion. On day one, it was Molly Kate, but as the day went on it just wasn't fitting. It's quite a big name for such a tiny little girl. I was a little freaked out since we had already turned the birth certificate papers in! So, on day two we went with just Kate and it is perfect! Kate is the name I loved all along and we put Molly with it as a first name which I still love. It was just a lot to call her, so Kate it is! Molly Kate means "pure joy" and I can not think of a better way to describe her. She is just so beautiful and content and has brought me nothing but pure joy! So, here she is world: Molly Kate Rich!

10 more hours!

2008-11-09T21:06:00.003-06:00

I am officially in the final countdown. We are talking hours people! So what do you do the night before your baby is born? Well, I guess you blog! I'm really anxious, nervous, excited, did I mention anxious??? I'm not really sure how much sleep I'm going to get tonight. I am just so ready for her to be here!
I am going to try and get my mind off of tomorrow for a little bit, so I'm going to write about something totally off subject! This morning at church, the sermon was part of a great series we are doing on Family. Today was all about honoring your marriage and your spouse. I never thought of the two being separate, but I now see that I have to make sure I'm honoring Alan and not just honoring the marriage covenant I have made with him. Alan is so incredible. I don't think I've ever written a blog about him. I tend to write about funny things and stupid, meaningless things, but I want to share a little bit about my amazing husband. Abby really inspired me with her last blog and after today's message, I see how I need to be more intentional about honoring him sometimes.
I thought about making a list of all the things I love about him, but I think I'll just speak more from my heart. When I first met Alan in early 2002, the first thing that stuck out to me was that he was a dad. You don't see too many young, single fathers raising a daughter. He was and is still such an incredible father. I know he really wants a boy, but he is a great "girl dad." My dad is a great girl dad, so I know that these are a rare and special breed! I met Taylor when she was just about 18 months old and we have always had a special bond. Even before Alan and I ever dated or anything, Taylor and I were connected. I guess God knew what He was doing! I just loved seeing this young guy bringing his baby girl to church, loving God, serving Him in so many ways, and just having an amazing attitude about everything. I'll never forget a few years later when Alan asked me on our first date. My stomach was fluttering, my heart was pounding, just so many emotions. Maybe I'll share more of our story in another blog. Since the beginning of our relationship I have never doubted that Alan loves me. There are times when Satan tries to lie to me and tries to get my emotions all stirred up into thinking that maybe he doesn't love me anymore, but I know that's just not true. He is so faithful, so steadfast, and so wonderful. I am truly blessed to have such an amazing husband. Is our marriage perfect? Not by a long shot. We have had plenty of ups and downs and I'm sure there will be many more, but from this day on I am going to do whatever I can to honor him. With my words, my actions, and my thoughts. And tomorrow we will welcome our third little girl into this world! I am so excited to get to share a life and a family with this wonderful man!

Time for an Update!

2008-11-07T06:42:00.002-06:00

It's been a few days since I last blogged and technically I didn't include anything of great importance in my last round of letters. Since I am such an important person with so many important things going on, I better catch you all up (please note the sarcasm, I don't really think that highly of myself). This was my first "official" week off of work. I led worship on Sunday and have taken off ever since. I have noticed a big change in myself over the past year or two. Honestly it feels really weird to be "out of the office". This week I have felt so out of the loop. There was a time when this would have greatly upset or offended me. If something is going on, I need to know! And everyone involved definitely needs to hear my opinion on it, right? This used to be my attitude but lately, I just really don't care! Not in a bad way. I do care about what's going on, but I don't feel like I need to put my two cents in anymore. Whatever gets decided is fine with me! This is actually quite a liberating feeling. My husband has pointed out on just a few occasions (sarcasm again) that I can tend to be a wee bit controlling. I have really been working on this because that's not who I want to be. I've always considered myself a very laid back person, but the last 4 or 5 years I have gotten myself a little tightly wound if you know what I mean. I'm just trying to learn to relax and stop trying to control every little thing. Whatever happens, happens. I'll do my part and sit back and just let everything else take care of itself. And I will be happy with the outcome!

Yesterday I had a slight freak out. I think it all snowballed because I decided to do too much yesterday and on top of it all, I was keeping my niece and nephew for part of the day. I won't go into a lot of detail, but this just added more to my plate than I could handle at the moment. So in typical Leslie fashion, I started a project!! I rationalized in my head that if I stayed busy I wouldn't notice the 4 screaming children in my house so much. I put the baby bassinet together and did a fantastic job if I can brag on my pregnant self for a bit. I was on a roll so I kept going. We bought a chest/trunk thing for the nursery. It has been sitting in the garage for two days now (in a box...in pieces). I decided I wanted it put together at that exact moment (this is the controlling thing I was talking about) and since Alan was not going to do it at that exact moment I would just do it myself! I'm a pretty handy girl so I got my screwdriver, wiggled the box into the house and opened it all up. I'll give you the Readers Digest version. I got most of it done, but could not finish the last piece. It really required two people, but I was impatient. So, I tried to finish it myself, messed up several times, and now Alan has to fix it for me anyways! Oh well.

I know this is getting long, but when you can't sleep and have nothing else to do but lie here and be assaulted by the growing baby inside of you...you keep blogging! My plans for the next few days include:
1. finishing the chest for the baby's room (this is actually on Alan's list)
2. put the double stroller together (again, this is really on Alan's list)
3. find a few more things to put on Alan's list.
Sounds like a good last 3 days of pregnancy to me!

Letters for the last week of pregnancy

2008-11-02T20:50:00.003-06:00

Dear Ben at Star Nails,

Thank you for the fabulous pedicure you gave me today. I should probably be thanking Abby who gave me the gift certificate for the pedicure on my birthday in August, but today you were the one with magic hands my friend, so the thanks goes to you. Let me also say thank you for not making me bleed. The last two pedicures I have gotten have come with a fair share of pain and blood. You however drew no blood today. Kudos to you, Ben! And by the way, is that your real name? Ben? I'm just wondering because our favorite chef at O'Hana is named Kevin. Well, I would hear other people talking to him and his name was obviously not Kevin. Perhaps this is just an easier name to pronounce than his given Asian name. You see, Kevin left a few months ago. After a few sub-par O'Hana chefs we have found another fantastic one, and would you believe it, his name is also apparently Kevin! Maybe they just call their best chef at the time Kevin. Ok, I know this has nothing to do with you, Ben. I was just wondering. Anyways, thanks for the great pedi experience. I am loving my "Dutch Tulip" toes!

Give me ten!

Leslie

Dear Texas Tech football team,
Great game Saturday. You nearly put me into labor. I'm not sure if I can watch the Oklahoma State game this week if it's going to be as nail-biting as the Texas showdown. I just can't take the chance that another last minute amazing Harrell to Crabtree pass won't push me over the edge and send me to the hospital early. I'll see what I can do, but I may have to step out if it gets too exciting!

Wreck 'em!
Leslie

Dear registered voters,
Go vote tomorrow. If I can waddle my way to the voting polls, so can you. Maybe without the waddling. VOTE!!!

Leslie

Dear maker of the baby sling I bought yesterday,
I am slightly doubtful that your product will be a success. The problem is that I will not know for sure until the baby arrives. Your sling is not much more than a glorified pillowcase (albeit a very cute pillowcase. Your design was by far the cutest, which is of course why I bought it). Part of me thinks that I could have made this very sling in 8th grade Home Ec. I am going to give it a try, but do you have some kind of guarantee that my baby isn't going to slip out? I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'll let you know how things go after I watch the instructional DVD and try it out on a real baby.

Dear high heels in my closet,
I have not forgotten about you. I see you everyday, and I still know you are there. Hopefully, very soon we will reunite. I am slightly concerned that my foot may have grown a bit more with this pregnancy and some of you may be cleaned out of the closet and I will have to find new homes for you. Please know that this saddens me as much as it does you. We've had some great times in the past, and I am ready for a reunion tour. Thanks for you patience as I have shown extreme partiality to my flats over the past several months.

Missing you,
Leslie

Dear elastic waist jeans,
I wish I could forget about you. You have been there for me the last few months, but I am ready for our relationship to take on a new look. I can't stand the way you fold under my belly anymore. I can't stand the fact that you have to be tugged at and pulled up an average of 56 times a day. It is time for buttons and zippers again. My fear is that this will not happen as quickly as I like, so I will still wear you from time to time. I'm sorry if I don't sound grateful for all that you have done for me lately, but it's time to move on. I'm just not that into you anymore.

Stretched out,
Leslie

and finally....

Dear gray hairs,
Enjoy your last few weeks. You have come on very strong the past two months. Well, your reign of terror and aging are about to be over! When this baby gets here, you are out. I will do whatever I can to look like a 27 year old again. I realize that your texture is totally different than the rest of my hair, but I don't care. As long as I can be a brunette again, I'll take the wiry, crazy little hairs that have taken over my hairline. Just say no to salt and pepper!

Push it!
Leslie

2 Posts for the Price of 1

2008-11-01T11:58:00.005-05:00

I have been meaning to put up pictures of the girls "new" room for quite some time now. I finally moved the pics over from my camera, so here they are!

New bunk beds, paint and bedding. The girls especially love the top bunk!

Ok, now onto Halloween. Taylor decided to be a cheerleader this year and Ava was a bee. If you asked her she said "Just like the Bee Movie." She is really into this movie right now, and I must say I enjoy watching it with her. It is pretty funny. We started the night out with a visit to my grandparent's house. They just love it when the girls come over, and of course they wanted to see them in their cute costumes. Here are Taylor and Ava with Mema and Pepa.

We then went to Hallelujah Night at church!

Ava and Madison, the flower and the bee.

Taylor got her face painted. The other side said "Go Crabtree." Originally she wanted to go as "Crabtree's girlfriend" for Halloween. I didn't even know she knew who Crabtree was. And I wasn't sure how to dress up as a college football player's girlfriend. She is such a funny kid sometimes!

My niece and nephew, Bella and Karson.

Ava's favorite thing was the jumper and the big blow up slide.

We had a great time!

Lots of randomness!

2008-10-29T22:57:00.003-05:00

The past two days have been so crazy. Life has slowed down somewhat, but I need to get in gear on some baby stuff. The nursery is SO not ready. The problem is that I have no motivation to do it. I have a new cute dresser, but have not put any clothes in it. I got the antique looking daybed out of there, but still need a mattress for the bed I am using. I am still waiting on the blanket chest that I ordered to come in. I keep telling myself that as soon as that comes in I will get busy, but I'm not sure that I will. It's just lots of little things that add up to one giant mess of a room. I only have 11 days left to do it!!!

To top it all off, my sleeping patterns are a little out of whack. Last night I will chalk it up to the fact that at one point both girls were in our bed. I think that was from about 3:00-5:00 am. Taylor slept with us the whole night because she was scared of the noises the dishwasher was making. I told her it was just the dishwasher. She explained to me that she wasn't afraid of the dishwasher, just the noises it was making. Ava woke up around 3:00 just crying and saying "Mommy, I need to snuggle you." So, of course I went and got her and put her in bed with me. It's hard enough to sleep with an enormous belly! I wake up every time I turn over. And then when Ava starts flailing around and kicking me in the head, I put her back in her bed. We have to go through our usual bedtime routine again even though it's 5:00 am. She doesn't know the difference though. Some days I am wide awake at 6:30 and other days I can not even open my eyes until 9:00. It's terrible, I feel like the worst mom, because Taylor practically gets herself ready for school. Alan gets up and dries her hair and takes her to school. I just wake up every ten minutes and check to see if she's brushed her teeth and has her school bag ready. But getting out of bed seems like an absolute impossibility. I usually want a nap around 4:00 pm and around 8:30 pm I get this second wind and I find myself cleaning the kitchen and trying to get caught up on laundry all while putting the girls to bed. There is no rhyme or reason to it all. I think God is just trying to get me ready for the new baby, because Lord knows any normal sleeping patterns will be out the window!!!

Tomorrow my plans include a little bit of work to wrap things up before I take maternity leave, a pedicure (hopefully!), and getting Taylor's costume for Halloween. Taylor has quite the social calendar these days. She stays busier than the rest of us it seems like. We just found out her grandfather just moved back to Lubbock, so he wants to take her to dinner tomorrow night. Her grandmother wants to see her at least once a week, which is fun for Taylor because she gets to go see her horse when she's with her Mimi.

One final random thought. I thought I would share a funny story that happened to me a few weeks back. My hubby got me a "Pea in the Pod" massage from this new day spa called "The Woodhouse." It was a really nice place. Too fancy for me, but it was still a fun treat. I went in and they got me a robe and slippers and showed me where to change and a locker to keep my stuff in during the massage. Then she told me to go through this door once I was changed. So I got my robe on, locked up my stuff, and went through the door. It was this fancy room with super rich wood and furniture and this fireplace. The lady brought me some water in a fancy glass and told me that my masseuse would be in to get me in a moment. I was the only one in the room, so I chilled by the fireplace, sipped my water and relaxed. The girl came in and took me to the massage room. It was just a normal massage. It was nice and relaxing. When she was done, she told me I could put my robe back on and go back to the "Quiet Room." I assumed the quiet room was the room I had been in before. So, I got up, put the robe on and opened the door to the "Quiet Room." Well, this time there was this older, bearded guy sitting by the fire, reading a thick, leather, hardback book, drinking a glass of wine....also in the spa issued robe and slippers. All he was missing was a pipe. It was the most awkward moment. I sat in the chair the furthest away from him. I started to realize that the girl did not give me any further instructions. Was I supposed to wait in here for something? Was she coming back to get me? Was someone going to come get this guy? The awkwardness went on for about five minutes and I realized that no one was coming for me. He showed no sign of leaving any time soon. He was just enjoying his wine and his book and the fire. I got up and went back to the bathroom/locker room. I got my stuff, quickly changed and got out of there!!! It was such a weird experience. The old guy never made eye contact with me, but it was still a little creepy being in our spa robes chilling in the "quiet room" together.

Bizarro Sunday

2008-10-27T10:12:00.003-05:00

Does anyone remember the Seinfeld episode where Elaine is in Bizarro world? Well, yesterday was Bizarro Sunday. I vaguely remember the Sunday of last year's Pursue conference being a little wacky also, but yesterday was just crazy!!! First of all let me say that the Pursue Conference was so fantastic. I have to give major props to my sister Paige for her spearheading of the entire event. Also to Kyla who works harder than probably anyone else at the church and makes things amazing!!! I would work on anything with these two girls!!! Of course there are countless others who amaze me and absolutely rock my socks off. Maybe I'll write another blog about them tomorrow.

So, back to Bizarro day. We got to church at 7:30 am for the usual sound check and run through of some songs before the service. I honestly was in no rush. We had already led worship 4 times in the last two days in the same room, so we were all kind of taking our time. Once we got started there was a crazy buzzy, feedback sound. The sound guys were pretty sure it had something to do with the electrical end of one of the guitar amps. I don't know anything about this stuff, so I was just waiting patiently for them to figure it all out. After many failed attempts, Randall was just about to crawl under the stage and see what could have possibly happened overnight to make things get so crazy. About that time they kind of realized that they had traced it to the wrong channel or something and it was the acoustic guitar. Turns out, the battery was dead and it just needed to be changed. So, about 12 seconds later we were back at it.

We had run through most everything we needed to and it was almost 8:45, which is when I like to be done so that people can come in and we're not up there singing. Well, we are finishing the last song and here comes my dad down the hallway with a vacuum cleaner. If you don't know, my dad is the Senior Pastor of the church. He has never been one of those people who thinks he's above any job, so I guess he saw something that needed to be vacuumed and just took care of it himself. So, here he comes 15 minutes before the service with his vacuum. Plugs it in and proceeds to suck up something that was bothering him right in the door way. I have no idea what was there. Then it got funny because some ushers saw what he was doing and were trying to help or grab the vacuum or something and it just looked like this little circus in the doorway. It was quite funny.

Ok, here's the big kicker. We started the service differently because we were wrapping up this conference and we wanted to make it special and what not. So, we start with all the lights out and I am standing right at the front edge of the stage. I start to sing "Hosanna" and we show this awesome video of people's faces from all over the world. It just really sets the tone for what we were wanting to get across, just focusing on God and on the people who break His heart. Anyways, that song goes good, and we start into song #2. I am not actually leading this song so I'm kind of standing back a little bit. I guess my eyes were closed, because I felt Kyla push my back. I just figured I was about to run into something behind me so I scooted up a little bit. Well, she kept pushing me and I looked out and my dad and sister were both on the front row telling me to come here. I thought it was really odd because we were in the middle of the song. I thought maybe they just needed me to announce something so I'm kind of looking down at them and then Paige says, "Come here, NOW!" At this point I think I must be in trouble. My first thought was that maybe my shirt was see through or something crazy like that. I walk down to where they are, mind you the song is still going. At the same time they both say, "Your zipper is down." So, here I am, on the front row, having just drawn attention to myself by walking off the stage in the middle of a song. Luckily I had muted my microphone before they both announced my fashion faux pas. I kind of half way hid behind my dad and zipped it right up! Now my dilemma was how to get back on the stage. Should I go around the side and try to sneak on? Should I just walk straight up? And then I started realizing that I had opened the entire service by myself in a spotlight, dead center of the stage. I am 37 weeks pregnant, so I am already attracting enough attention to that area of my body with the planet that has become my stomach. Oh well, no time to worry about this now, I just decide to haul it back up there, right up the middle of the stairs and kept on singing. BIZARRO DAY!!!

I decided that if that was the worst thing to happen to me all day, then I was doing pretty good. It could have been worse. I had nightmares the entire week before the conference that my water was going to break on stage in the middle of worship. Now that would have been embarrassing!!! I survived Bizarro day and now I can rest for a bit. I have two weeks until Molly Kate arrives and so now I can focus on getting ready for her arrival!!!

Break My Heart

2008-10-21T06:45:00.002-05:00

I think God is really trying to get me ready for the Pursue Conference. We have an amazing worship team for this year's conference. We have been having lots of extra rehearsals and learning new songs and I am just so excited to see how it all turns out. Well, the whole theme for this year's conference is "Break Our Hearts for What Breaks Yours." I have really been praying this and believe that God can totally do this in all of us. My thought on what this looks like though has been all about the lost, hurting people in less fortunate countries.

This week, God has totally rocked my world with all of this. I get really excited thinking about what I can do for people in other nations, but God showed me (again) this week that there is a huge situation staring at me in the face right here in Lubbock.

Most of you know that I am a stepmom. It feels weird to say that, because I don't feel like a step mom. Taylor lives with us full time and as far as I'm concerned she's all mine! I love her more than anything and the whole "step" label just feels weird for me to even say. Anyways, Taylor's birth mom, Summer, has always been a big prayer issue in my life. The whole process and journey that I have gone through (and continue to go through) concerning Summer is quite elaborate. First, I dealt with anger toward her. How could a mother act the way she does? How can one person be so selfish? These are all questions and issues that I struggled with and dealt with and now feel such peace about it all. God's grace is so amazing. That's all I can say about it. It's all a testimony of God's grace being enough in each situation. After the anger phase then I just felt sorry for her. Sometimes I still do even though I know that she has chosen the life she has and her choices and actions are why she is where she is at in life.

Now, Summer is pregnant. This has been a very trying time for me, because it is hard to see how Taylor has had to deal with it. Overall, she is very excited about a new sibling. My issues of course go back to Summer. Without going into all of the details, she is currently living with her ex-boyfriend who is fresh out of jail for drug dealing. He is not the father of the baby. Can you imagine the conversations I've had with an eight year old about all of this??? Things you never thought you would have to discuss with a third grader! What "breaks my heart" about this entire situation is that Summer will not go to the doctor for prenatal care. My assumption is that she is back on drugs and I just can't stand the thought of that. Since I am also pregnant I realize the weight of the responsibility of creating and sustaining this other life. It is a huge thing, but wow, what a blessing!!!

Every time I think about what I can do for the orphans in Africa, or the prostitutes in India, God redirects my focus to Summer. I don't know why this is the one situation in my life that I will probably always have to deal with, but I know that God has purpose for it all. So, if you think about it today, please pray for Summer. Please pray for the unborn child that she carries. This is Taylor's little brother or sister. My prayer is that #1- the child gets here safely and drug free and #2- God will protect Taylor from too much information and more than her little mind and heart can handle.

Room Swap

2008-10-20T12:50:00.002-05:00

It has been busy around here the last week. Most people get a nursery ready before a new baby, but instead we have just redone Taylor's room. Or I should say Taylor and Ava's room. The plan is for the girls to share a room. So far it's working out, but maybe that's because Ava hasn't actually slept in the new room yet. We got the girls bunkbeds. Ava is just not quite ready for a big bed. Or maybe I'm not ready for her to be in a big bed. Even with rails, there is still a chance of escape, and the way Ava has been acting lately she would definitely be on the run all the time!!! So for now, they share a closet, a dresser, lots of playing space, but they still sleep in different rooms. One step at a time!

Now I need to get busy on the nursery. I decided to keep everything pretty much the same since Ava's nursery was so cute. If I can get through this upcoming weekend I will get busy getting the baby's stuff in order!

Speaking of this weekend, I am SOOOOO excited about the Pursue Conference! Last year was so great, but I think this year is going to be even better!!! If you are not sure about coming or not, just come! I promise your life will be changed.

Compliment....I think.

2008-10-16T18:54:00.002-05:00

On Sunday, I got a really nice compliment. Two of my dear friends told me that they had been talking about me over the weekend. It all started with a trip to Forever 21. Apparently there were a few girls in the dressing room with a screaming baby in a stroller. After lots and lots of crying and no attempt from any of the girls to console the baby or to even break away from trying on things, the baby proceeds to puke in the dressing room. At that point, one of the girls offers the baby a cookie and some juice. Not really a great idea right after the baby has thrown up. Well, one of my dear friends can't really handle things like throw up. Just the sound of it sends her into the gagging state. She and the other friend were frantically trying to get their own clothes back on so they could get out of the dressing room and escape the whole scene. The girls and the baby had left by this point, leaving the poor teenager with an after school job at Forever 21 to clean up the mess.

So this brings me to the compliment. Thank you for your patience. They told me that they decided I was the coolest mom they knew and that I should teach a class or something on it. Here are three of the qualifications they came up with that earned me the title in their eyes.
#1- I continued to live my life even after I had kids. Even though to me it feels like everything slowed WAY down, they said I just seemed to keep going. I bring my kids along and didn't put everything on hold just because kiddos came along. I have always felt like it was very important to just include them in the things in our lives that are very important to us. I don't think it's an accident that Taylor has her own guitar and Ava thinks she has to sing songs on a microphone, preferably on a stage. Alan and I decided long ago that since worship is a huge part of our lives we wanted to include our girls in it too.
#2- I don't obsess over little things. This includes things like eating things off the floor. Honestly, I decided long ago that things like that don't really bother me. I know about germs, I know about disease and all the nasty things could be living on the floor. I think that this practice of the 5-second rule is a big reason why my kids are rarely sick. In all of Ava's two years she has had a few ear infections and excema. That's pretty much it. I don't think food off the floor really contributes to dry skin, so I can pretty much rule that one out. Now let me clarify that this only includes food that has just fallen. I do not promote making a buffet out of things that have been on the floor for an unidentified number of days. I'm sure there are other things, but this seems to be the best example.
#3- My friends think that my kids are cool. I guess this is a reflection of me. They think I'm cool, so that makes my kids cool. I think they're pretty cool.

So that's pretty much it. I don't think I could teach a class or anything. And I should probably also say that these two friends don't have kids themselves. One of them never wants kids and the other one is in no hurry. She actually doesn't want to birth her own kids. That part freaks her out. So, I'm not sure how valid their opinions are, but I will still take the compliment!

A Momentous Occasion!!

2008-10-14T11:54:00.003-05:00

This weekend Alan and I (with some help from my cousin, Kimberly) painted Taylor and Ava's room. Yes, it will soon be both of their room although Ava is in denial. When asked if she likes the new pink and blue walls in her room she says "Oh no, mommy, my room is over there. This is Tay-Tay's room." We'll have to work on that. As we were clearing things out to get started, Alan and I faced "THE PILE." Yes, it deserves all caps.

You see, Taylor has a soft spot in her heart for animals. She dearly loves all species, all breeds, all kinds of animals. This has carried over into a love for stuffed animals. For years her collection has grown to the point of nearly overtaking her room (and she has a big room people!) So, we looked at the pile and thought. I am a little more caring at times than Alan and decided she would have to get rid of at least 10 0f them. (You see THE PILE consists of at least 60 stuffed animals). Alan was appalled. He said, no way, we're getting rid of all of them. Keep in mind Taylor was out of town this weekend, so she missed this whole interaction (thank God!) Since we couldn't compromise, we just threw them all into Ava's room and started painting.

Well, last night Alan told Taylor that she could keep 10 stuffed animals and the rest would no longer have residence at our house. She nearly choked on her Frito Pie and then with teary eyes said "Daddy, you can't do this to me." They really are special to Taylor. She can tell you where she got every single one of them, who gave it to her, how old she was when she got it, what she was wearing the day she got it, etc. But she finally admitted that she was outgrowing them a bit and she would do it. Alan gave her a 30 minute deadline to make her 10 choices. After a full 30 minutes of going through THE PILE she came out with 12. She couldn't decide between a few of them. She was completely torn up about it. So, Alan giving into his softy side agreed that 12 would be ok. So, now our mountain of stuffed animals is down to a mere mole hill. And what blessed me the most is that Taylor wants to give all the other stuffed animals away at Adopt-A-Block on Saturday. She said that she needed to find special homes for them and give them to kids who probably didn't have as many toys as she did. Taylor, I am so proud of you!!!

The Unusual Blog

2008-10-11T09:29:00.003-05:00

I don't usually blog about things like this. I like to keep it light and humorous, but I'll be honest and let the blogging world in on a little secret. I have been very down lately. I guess the lighthearted blogs were a way of showcasing the fun things in life. The things that make me smile and I could retreat for a short time into the happy things and just laugh or smile. But today, as I woke up I just felt so sad. For different reasons, none of which I feel I need to share in this blog (I'm not that open of a person), but then something caught my eye. I was checking the usual sites (email, myspace, facebook, blogspot) and then I decided to go to biblegateway.com. It's just basically the bible online but you can search in all kinds of translations and compare, so I like to use it. The verse of the day was Psalm 62:1-2 "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."

I just started to cry (again). Lately I have felt so shaken. And what makes it most difficult is that I don't want anybody to know so I try even harder to appear strong and immovable. I could feel myself starting to slip though. It's hard to keep that up for weeks on end. At times, you just have to be human, let your guard down and be vulnerable, I guess.

I went on to read all of Psalm 62, and I would like to share it with you today.

1 My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
3 How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down—this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
4 They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. Selah
5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God [a] ; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah
9 Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11 One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong,
12 and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.

I love that I can pour out my heart to Him. I even try to keep that to myself at times and just assume that God has other things on His mind. But He is the one place I can go to and just pour out my heart and find peace, hope, and rest. My other favorite part is the end. "You, O God, are strong, and You, O Lord, are loving." The two things I seem to be most deficient on lately are strength and love. So, to know that God is both of these things and I can stop trying to find strength and love in outside sources is just a load off my back! I've known all of this, but somehow I get to the place where I need to be reminded. So, maybe you need to be reminded today.

On a side note. There is a cat at my back window. It has watched me type this entire blog. I hate cats. Every time I look over at it, it just licks the window. I guess God likes to keep things humorous after all.

Football!!!

2008-10-10T21:53:00.005-05:00

Ok, I'm really not a big Texas Tech fan, but yesterday was Tech Day at Ava's PDO. She got a Tech cheerleading outfit as a gift a while back and has never worn it. Like I said, we don't really go to any Tech events or any other events that require a two year old to wear a cheerleading outfit. So, I was excited to put it on her yesterday. She was so excited and kept throwing her arms up yelling "Go Tech!"

We also went to our first Monterey game this season last Thursday. It was Alan's birthday and we couldn't think of anything to do. My cousin, Jay is a senior this year and it was fun watching him get to play on Varsity! It seems like just yesterday he was in YFL!

Jay is #13 (on the left)

Letters to people at Wal-Mart

2008-10-08T18:36:00.002-05:00

Dear checker,
I want to commend you. I truly believe you are the greatest employee I have ever encountered at Wal-Mart. I have come to your line many times before. Sometimes I will even wait a little longer in your line, because you are so pleasant!! My only comment would be to fix your name tag. I believe your name is Jahava, but the letters are a little faded and crooked and I can't quite tell if that's right. Plus, I've never heard the name Jahava, so I'm wondering if this is correct. Either way, you are fantastic! You know every number on every piece of produce. Most of the other checkers always have to revert to the "cheat sheet." I understand that there are a lot of numbers to memorize, but bananas, seriously??? If you can't remember the four digit code for bananas, we have bigger problems! Doesn't like every single shopper purchase bananas? But you Jahava, you knew the code for flowery kale! I am impressed. Kudos to you on your checking skills. And your bagging!!! You actually understand that I put things on the counter in a certain order and you bag things so they make sense. You do not put canned goods in the same bag as the loaf of bread! (This has happened to me before, bread on the bottom.) You keep frozen things together and boxed things together. This makes my grocery put up so much smoother. So my hat is off to you! Thanks for doing a superb job!

Satisfied customer,
Leslie

Dear kid at the lobster tank,
Please do not pretend you are also a lobster and pinch my kids when they come over to check out the lobsters. It is hard enough to avoid a break down in Wal-Mart with a two year old without you clawing her!

Keep your pinchers to yourself please,
Mad Mommy

Dear lady with the two carts,
I'm not even sure where to begin. Are you buying for two separate households? Are you trying to keep your refrigerated items separate from your non-refrigerated items? I do not understand your method. Maybe this stands out to me because I personally witnessed you knock over a Fruit Roll-Up display after nearly taking out the Halloween candy aisle. Seems like one basket might be best next time.

Dear guy at the door with the petition,
When a pregnant lady with two kids and a fully loaded basket are trying to get out the door, please do not block the exit and ask me if I'm a registered voter and if I would like to sign a petition about alcohol sales in Lubbock. Personally, I think Wal-Mart is a crazy enough place without an entire alcohol section! I'm just thinking of my shopping sanity at this point! I don't need you to continue to pressure me and give me your speech after I already said that I'm not interested. Pregnant lady, two kids, melting popsicles. Out of my way please!

Hurried shopper,
Leslie

Dear shoppers who don't return your carts,
Return your carts!!! That is all.

So as you can see, it was an eventful day at Wal-Mart. I didn't even go late at night which is when most of the craziness happens!

Tag, I'm it!

2008-10-08T13:46:00.002-05:00

I was tagged by Kristi to write a blog about my husband's favorite things. So here goes.

His girls.

Wakeboarding.

Watching the Cowboys.

Playing guitar.

Collecting guitars and amps.

That's all I can come up with right now. Sorry, I don't have pictures for the others! So, I tag Denae, both my sisters, and Jennifer.

Things I like

2008-10-05T21:26:00.003-05:00

I just read my sister's blog and I am reminded of how incredibly smart she is and how incredibly shallow and lazy I enjoy being at times! Paige gave a very long list of book recommendations that she has read over the last few months and I realized I haven't read anything recreational but a baby name book, a few magazines, and I finished an entire Kakuro puzzle book. I can't even make my own list of recommendations, because I don't really know if I recommend these things, they just happen to be the mindless things that I enjoy at the end of the day when I am exhausted and want to completely "veg" out.
#1- Kakuro. I am a total nerd on this one. I got a Kakuro book at Barnes and Noble a few months ago and just finished the entire book (150 puzzles). It was the green belt book, so now I feel prepared for the next level, brown belt. That's right...brown belt! If you don't know what Kakuro is, look it up. It's fun.
#2- A few shows I like to watch on TV. During the day, my TV watching consists of the same Backyardigans DVD mixed in with Veggie Tales from time to time. So the only time I get to watch TV for myself is at night after the girls are in bed. I pull up the DVR list and pick from my recorded favorites. These include (in no particular order) The Office (ok, this is definitely #1), Project Runway, The Soup, Top Design, and I think that's about it right now.
#3- reading blogs. This is my new favorite computer pasttime. I'm kind of over myspace. I enjoy facebook, but not quite as much as the blogs. I have some great ones of my friends right on my blog page, so check some of them out!

Ok, so those are my current "recommendations." Pretty lame I know. Maybe I should start reading more. I want to read "The Shack" but haven't picked it up yet. Any thoughts on this book? I've just heard a lot about it.

Who needs a Lap Band!

2008-10-01T07:52:00.002-05:00

I've discovered a new way to eat less. Grow a baby inside of you! Apparently your stomach will be shoved into some tiny corner of your insides and you can only eat about three bites before feeling stuffed. And if you eat more than those three bites, no matter what it is (cereal, chicken, grapes) chances are you will have intense heartburn and a reflux feeling that will make you think twice about eating more than three bites! I must say though that Tums are a great friend to me right now. They don't seem to count in the three bite rule, yet they get rid of the burning sensation growing in your throat. Is this an overshare? Sometimes I don't know if I cross the line. Just thought I'd share since I'm sitting here having over done it with a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. Bring on the Tums!

The green bean face-off!

2008-09-29T15:49:00.002-05:00

Motherhood is such an adventure! Especially when you are raising two kids at very different ages. Taylor came into my life (I officially became "mom") at the age of four. I had no idea all the things that I had missed, but Ava is giving me a crash course every day! I realize I am probably biased, but Ava is pretty stinkin' smart. She talks in these elaborate, complete sentences lately. And she calls me "mom." Not mommy or mama, just mom. "I'd like to watch a movie now, Mom." or "I'd like a fruit snack, Mom." I can have these entire, in-depth conversations with a two year old, and what's funny about it is I'm not sure if many other people can understand fully what she's saying. She speaks pretty clearly, but I think I know some of her words just because I'm around her all day.

We had a big moment last night. Let me preface this by saying this is a spanking story. Yes, I believe in spanking my kids. I don't abuse them, but I do give them spankings when the situation requires it. So, lately Ava has been testing me on every level. She pushes me to the limits and sees just how far she can take things. I always said I wouldn't be a "threatener." I honestly have bad mouthed other parents for threatening continuously to punish their kids, but never following through. That was before I had a two year old! So, last night after Ava had spit out all of her green beans and telling me "No mom, I don't like that. I'm not eating that." We went back and forth several times. Alan can straighten her out with just a look, but she does not respond quite the same way to me. Alan tells me that I have to be consistent or she will always run over me. So, I stuck to my guns and gave her a spanking. Now, Alan says that Ava is just like me, so I shouldn't be surprised that my spankings don't do a lot for her. I used to actually laugh at my mom when she gave me spankings. I thought it was funny! I'm not sure what the difference was last night. I have spanked her on many occassions, but she didn't seem too affected by them. This time, she really cried and looked at me and said "That hurt Mom. That spanking hurt my bottom." I told her it was supposed to hurt a little bit, or she would never learn her lesson. We finally had a breakthrough! Don't worry, she has no bruises, I didn't spank her too hard, but it finally worked! She finished all of her green beans. It was actually comical. She really didn't like them, but, she ate them. She shuttered and made faces the entire time. She even kind of gagged a little bit, but she ate them!!! Advantage: mom!

Veggie Tales!

2008-09-24T10:08:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I took Ava to see Veggie Tales Live! We had a great time! We met up with our friends Jonah, River, and Marla and the kids really enjoyed it. I think the moms enjoyed it almost as much though! Here are some pics of our fun time!

Getting ready for the show!

I think Ava clapped the entire first half!

Intermission....get ready for the hats....

Jonah got Larry Boy...

Ava got Bob...

The stars of the show, Bob and Larry!!!

Ava's favorite, The Cheeseburger Song

Hooray for Veggie Tales!

Heading home after a fun show!

Daily Blessings

2008-09-23T07:52:00.003-05:00

Well, yesterday I whined a little bit. And as I got in bed last night, ready to crash I started thinking about all the little (actually, huge) blessings throughout the day. First off, my amazing friend/cousin Abby offered to keep Ava for me yesterday. This was so helpful as I had about a million things I needed to get done and doing them with a two year old can be a challenge. So Ava had a great time with Abby and Jantzen and I got a lot of things checked off my list! (you know I love that!) I bought bunk beds yesterday so all my kids will have a place to sleep when baby #3 gets here in 7 weeks!

There were lots of other great blessings, but the other one I want to comment on is my sweet Taylor. Last night we were picking up the house because the cleaning lady is coming today (I know I'm spoiled, my husband lets me get someone clean the house every two weeks!!) Getting the house ready to be cleaned is a lot of work in itself. Well, I was absolutely exhausted and Taylor just took over! She told me to sit on the couch, came over and put my recliner up and she went to town! She cleaned her room, Ava's room, the living room, even my room! She then brought me some water and got the laundry out of the dryer! I just couldn't believe it all. She helped me fold and put up the laundry and then said, "I'm going to get ready for bed now." Taylor has always been a great kid, but her amazing attitude last night blessed my heart so much! As a parent it makes you think "Finally! I've done something right!" So last night I went to tuck her in and took her a little bit of money and told her that she had worked so hard and had earned it. She told me she didn't do the work to get money, she just wanted to help me out. What an angel!

Dry Spell

2008-09-22T07:59:00.002-05:00

I guess I'm in a bit of a funk. I find myself just getting through each day and being so glad when it's time to go to bed. And then when it's time to get up, I just want to keep sleeping. 7 weeks from today little Molly Kate will be here, so I am very excited, but still have so much to do to get ready for her arrival and not a lot of motivation to do it. Here are things that I am currently avoiding:

1. Laundry- hate it. Always have hated it, but really despise and loathe it right now. If I could think of stronger words to use, I would use them right here.

2. Picking up Ava's toys- this is a never ending task. No matter how many times I throw everything back in the right basket, I turn around and it's all back out again. I told myself to just let it go and do it once at the end of the day, but by that time, I just want to go to sleep!

3. Buying a new dresser for the baby's room- the nursery is a breeze this time. I am keeping everything the same except for the ghetto dresser that we bought for Ava and is falling apart. Drawers are literally falling off. Knobs are missing. This thing needs to find it's way to the dumpster...fast! But do I want to go find another one....not really.

4. Consolidating Taylor and Ava's stuff into one room- My goal was to do this during the summer. We need to buy a bunkbed for the girls and I need to move all of Ava's stuff over. None of these things have happened. I also need two giant toy boxes. One for each kid so they can keep their mounds of stuff separate (see #2) but again this is a project that has yet to be done.

Did I mention I only have 7 weeks!!! Ok, I'm feeling a little bit motivated. Or a little bit overwhelmed, one of the two.

Here are things that I want to do, but really help me in no way accomplish the things that need to be done:

1. Go to the Fair- I know this sounds ridiculous, but I want to go to the Fair. Take Ava through the petting zoo, eat a corn dog (new craving), see the cows (yes, I like to look at the cows), and top it all off with a fried peach pie.

2. Go get a pedicure- I got two gift certificates for my birthday to get a pedicure and I think it's time I use them!

3. Go get a massage- again, I have a gift certificate and I think the Pea in the Pod massage sounds really good right now.

4. Go see Veggie Tales Live with Ava- this is something I am actually doing tomorrow at 3pm! Ava is so into Veggie Tales right now and I can't wait to see her little face watching the giants legumes dance around!

5. Take Taylor out to ride her horse- Taylor got a horse for her birthday from her grandmother, and I have yet to see it. She wants to go out riding today, and I think we should just squeeze that in!

Ok, there are my lists. I am quite the list maker. I will write things on my list for the day that I have already done just so I can mark it off and see how accomplished I am. Now you all know how crazy I am!

Scary Day

2008-09-14T13:59:00.002-05:00

Today has been a little scary for me. Last night, I got in bed and had a few false contractions. No big deal, just a little tightening in the stomach. And I've read and been told that they are perfectly normal. Well, today at church I was singing in the first service and they started up again. This time Molly Kate wasn't cooperating and she just started pushing and kicking like crazy every time my stomach would tighten up. All the while, I am trying to hold it together and keep leading worship. I was just trying to breathe and all I wanted to do was go lay down, but I kept going. So, once we were done singing I think it all hit me and I got a little panicked. Then I really had trouble getting a breath! I grabbed my mom and freaked out a little bit more because for some reason it's ok to freak out in front of your mom. Finally, I was able to calm down a little bit, the contractions let up and I could breathe again! So, now I am at home laying down watching HGTV and making all kinds of plans for remodeling my house. Thanks for all the comments, text messages, emails, etc. I am feeling good, and Molly Kate is staying put for two more months!

I guess it's official, her name is Molly Kate!

Big Day!

2008-09-09T17:11:00.002-05:00

Well, today was another milestone. Ava started "school" for her second year. She goes to PDO at Lakeridge Methodist. I decided to post a few First Day of School pics and I'm also putting up some of Taylor's first day, because I forgot to when she started!

Ava's birthday!

2008-09-08T21:17:00.006-05:00

Hooray! Ava is now officially 2. I can't believe it. Time has flown faster than I ever thought it could. We started the celebrating on Saturday with a fabulous Backyardigans party! Honestly, I don't have a lot of great pictures of the party. I was a little busy trying to keep the party going. 2 year olds don't stay focused on one thing for very long. So after we had some yummy snacks, including Goldfish, carrots and ranch, mini Nilla Wafers, fruit snacks, juice boxes and of course cupcakes, we moved on to opening presents. Ava really was a trooper. I realize that it's kind of cruel to expect a two year old to understand that she gets to open the present, but then has to move on to the next one without getting to take the first present out of the box and play with it. But, she did great. After the presents, we moved outside for a "parade" down the block. Basically, it was the kids in wagons and on tricycles riding down the sidewalk. After that, we had a Uniqua pinata. If you are not familiar with Backyardigans, Uniqua means nothing to you, but if you are a fan, you realize I am talking about the little pink creature (I'm not even sure what kind of animal she is supposed to be.) Following the pinata, we took the party inside for some dancing! We cranked up the Backyardigans music and the kids had a blast dancing around the living room. All in all, it was a great party. One that I hope Ava will remember and enjoy looking back at the pictures. Like I said, I didn't get a lot of pictures, but my sister Paige put up a blog about the party and she is the unofficial family photographer, so she has some good pics.

Ava with Grammy (Alan's mom) The spread...gotta love 2 year olds favorite foods!

Ava and her friends, Noah, Jonah, and Annie.

Today, was the "real" birthday. Ava and I had a fun day. I did try to take some pictures today to document this special occasion. Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl!

We started the day with Barney! Ava even got to talk to Papa Jack on the phone.

He is in Africa, and was sad to miss her birthday :(

Lunch with GiGi at Markey Street. Ava just wanted "Roni" for lunch.

Cupcakes...Round 2!

Ava finished off the day with lots of snuggles and loving!

Pregnancy Confession

2008-09-03T18:02:00.003-05:00

I have a confession to make. I have denied it for quite some time now, but I can not keep up the lie anymore. I have an addiction to Starbucks Apple Fritters. It is the one and only thing that I constantly crave. Everyday I find myself wanting to pull through the Starbucks drive thru and order one. I don't let myself everyday, but I would be honest and admit to a 3-4 fritter a week habit. Last week I had already hit my 3 fritter limit and it was only Wednesday. I was on my way to church and instead of driving my usual route, I found myself headed down Quaker and about to turn in to Starbucks. I denied myself the indulgence and from 82nd and Quaker all the way to 98th and Slide I was thinking (obsessing) about the apple fritter. So my compromise was to pull into the 7-11. I thought I would just grab something to drink and be on my way, but I got distracted at the pastry display. Unfortunately, Starbucks has not packaged and sold their apple fritters to 7-11 stores, so I left the aisle with an enormous blueberry muffin. And then, as if it couldn't get any worse I had another slight craving. What better way to top off a high calorie, fat loaded blueberry muffin than with a pack of hickory flavored beef jerky? So there I was at the register, purchasing the muffin and beef jerky. I got nothing to drink, I was just trying to fix the fritter craving. I refused to look at the labels. I did Weight Watchers for a long time before I got pregnant again. I know the numbers, I can imagine the points. I'm pretty sure that I maxed out a few days worth of points on that little 7-11 trip. I'm sure the apple fritters are no better. I will admit that I'm doing better this week. I actually have not had an apple fritter at all this week! I realize it's only Wednesday, but I'm going to see how long I can make it. I'm sure the fact that I'm thinking enough about them to devote an entire blog to the apple fritter still proves that I have a problem, but I think I'm making progress!

Family....it keeps growing!

2008-09-03T07:56:00.003-05:00

We have had a very interesting last two days around my house. On Monday, I found out that we have a nephew that I didn't even know about! One of Alan's older brother's has a son named Matthew. No one in Alan's family has seen him since he was three years old. Alan was just a kid at the time, so he doesn't really remember that much about him. I was kind of freaking out. I was asking Alan "why didn't you ever tell me about him?" Of course Alan's response "I forgot." Well, Matthew found Alan's sister through myspace. He found Alan, but his myspace hasn't been checked in about 6 months. Matt is really anxious to catch up with everyone. He is about to be 18 and just wants to know his family. I don't know the whole story or what all has gone on in the situation, but we have decided that today is a new day, and this kid is family. So, we were super excited when he called Alan last night! They talked for almost an hour, just catching up. Matt has just moved back to Waco. He has lived in California the last few years, but is back in Texas with his grandparents. After the phone call, I checked myspace and he had added me as a friend. Late last night we got a message from him. He called Alan's dad (who happens to be about 20 minutes away from him) and they are going to meet today. Alan's dad was crying on the phone when he called. It is just so exciting to see God working and I hope that Matthew will feel love and acceptance and a place to belong in this family.

Daddy's girls.

2008-08-30T17:58:00.004-05:00

Here's the real blog for the day. We went to the wedding of Adrian Davis and Cori Barker today. Adrian and Alan work together, so it was exciting to see him get hitched. And Cori is such a sweetheart. They were absolutely made for eachother! Before we left I took a few pics of my hubby and my sweet girls. It's not very often that we are all dressed up and in the same house, so enjoy the pics!

My sweeties!

Daddy's little girl, Taylor!

Daddy and Ava.

Being silly!

We love our daddy!

Saturday Morning Fun

2008-08-30T17:49:00.003-05:00

So, this is what my husband and I do for fun on a Saturday morning...don't worry it's G rated! Alan has been growing a beard and finally decided to shave it off today (YEAH!!!!).

This is the gotee.

And the handlebars... my personal fave!

Scary mustache circa 1985.

And of course, the Hitler.

Hillsong Conference

2008-08-28T17:57:00.002-05:00

I've had several people ask me how the conference was, so I thought a blog update might be in order. Alan and I along with 7 other fabulous members of the worship team traveled to Houston this past weekend to be at the Hillsong United Conference. The conference was so great. This was actually my second to attend a conference. Alan and I and three others went to Orlando last November. At first, I thought the Orlando conference was better, but after thinking about it I realized it's because everything we heard there was new information. There was so much stuff shared it was like I couldn't absorb it fast enough! I realized that in Houston, some of the same things were shared, so initially I didn't feel like I was getting as much out of it. The last night (Saturday) was amazing though. The service was like this drama/monologue with video and it was so incredibly powerful. The most amazing thing about it was how simple the message was. It was all about relationships and how God had created us for intimacy. It talked about how we stereotyped people and missed out opportunities to show them God's love just because we assume things about them. In the end, it all came back to just realizing how much God loves us. If somehow we can wrap our tiny brains around that, then loving others is just a reflection of His love for us. What a simple concept! Why is this such a hard thing to do? The service ended with the song "How He Loves Us" by John Mark McMillian. It is such a powerful song. I love it and just meditating on the simplicity of the words touched me in such a powerful way.

The other thing that I really loved about this year's conference was the focus on Hillsong's I Heart Revolution. I've known for a long time that they are big on worship and justice and how the two go hand in hand. Lately I've been studying that on my own and trying to get a better grasp on it all. I think it all boils down to just understanding the heart of God. His heart for people, His heart for the world, His heart for the lost and broken and suffering. I've been catching little glimpses of it through stories from my sister. If you don't know my sister Paige, she is amazing. That's not really an adequate word to describe her, but it's all I can come up with at the moment. She oversees the Missions ministry at our church and she travels all over the world. Sometimes I'm jealous of her and all the places she gets to go and the things she gets to do, but I know that there is no one else in this world who could do it the way she does. I also know that God has me in a season of life to stay home and raise my kids and love people here where I am at. Anyways, Paige has most recently been to Thailand and India and has shared some incredible stories of God's power at work in those countries, especially in the women. I just love hearing stories about God's work in other nations. And I am beginning to realize that we have not even tapped into all that God is calling us to do for these people who are less fortunate. I think it goes so far beyond food, clothes, and shelter. Sometimes just loving people can make a bigger impact than thousands of orphanages or missions organizations ever could. It all comes back to love. That is God's heart. He created us to love and to be loved. Anyways, back to I Heart...they just talked about how if we ignore those hurting around us, then our worship is pretty much useless and worthless. I don't think they actually said it in those words, but that's my interpretation. So all in all, it was a powerful conference. God is at work in Hillsong church, but greater than that, He is at work all over the world. The thing I love about Hillsong is their humility and understanding that it's all about Him. I have never once felt a sense of performance or hunger for fame at any of their "concerts" or conferences. They just genuinely seem to love God with everything and they are so honored to worship with people and bring glory to the King whether at home in their church or across the world.

I will leave you with one final verse, because I can't get away from it, or it won't get away from me. It was shared at the conference and as a worship leader, it definitely has me thinking.
Amos 5:21-24 (The Message)
"I can't stand your religious meetings. I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image-making. I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice- oceans of it. I want fairness- rivers of it. That's what I want. That's all I want."

No whining zone!

2008-08-19T17:26:00.002-05:00

I realize that I have been a little bit whiny lately. Maybe not out loud, but definitely inside my head. I don't like whining. I despise it actually. When Ava starts to whine I just tell her that I don't understand that and when she's ready to use some words and tell me what she needs, then I can listen. I need to do that with myself. I think I'm generally a positive person. At least I try to be, but lately I find myself feeling very tired and bogged down with life in general. I don't want to blame it on being pregnant. I don't want to blame it on work. I don't want to blame it on having a two year old. I think I just need to have a better response to all of it and get happy!!! So, this is me getting happy! There is so much to be happy about. I have a great family with one more member on the way. I work at a job that I love and have so much freedom to just hear God and obey and run with whatever He tells me to do. I have so many outlets to be creative and use my giftings. So, no more whining!!! This is me....not whining.

We have a floor!!!

2008-08-13T21:02:00.003-05:00

I am so excited right now. After two years of ugly concrete in my kitchen I have a floor! A real, actual, beautiful, honest to God floor! Two years ago, the concrete was a vast improvement over the old carpet that was in the kitchen. Two different kinds of carpet actually. Arranged in a strange wavy pattern across the kitchen. It had to go, so we began the kitchen remodel the week before Ava was born. (I say "we" like I had something do with it. I actually laid in bed, breathing paint fumes, trying not to go into labor so my husband could finish this crazy project he had started.) In addition to the new floor, our hideous entry circa 1974 is gone!!! The disgusting tile that can only be described as the color of baby poop, the dark paneling, it's all gone! My husband has worked so hard since Saturday to transform ugliness into a warm, cozy entry and kitchen. Now I will actual want to have people over more often. Hooray for home improvement projects!!!

Kitchen Before: (notice the wave? That's where the two carpets met before)Kitchen After:
My beautiful new entry. Before pictures do not exist. No one wants to remember the hideousness. Trust me!

What a week!

2008-08-11T16:12:00.002-05:00

This has been a cram packed week! First I'll start with the best thing...my birthday! I turned 27 yesterday (Sunday) and it was a good day. The older I get I'm starting to realize that birthdays aren't as big of a deal as they have always seemed in my head. Growing up, I remember planning my birthday for months. Of course my plans would change a dozen times before I decided on the perfect party theme, gift, and activities for the day. Now that I have kids, I put all that thought into their birthdays. My birthday happens to fall one week after Taylor's and one month before Ava's so once we recover from Taylor's big day, I start thinking about Ava's and my day goes by without as much thought. This year I will admit I had a slight pitty party because once again, my husband sort of forgot my big day! Well, he didn't forget because I reminded him about six times the day before, but he is right in the middle of a slight remodel of our house. And in his defense, birthdays or really any holiday was never a big deal in his family growing up. He doesn't understand how I can put so much thought and effort into one day. So as he is slaving away ripping up carpet, busting up 30 year old tile and painting walls, I was having an immature moment, astounded that he had not planned a fabulous day for me. Well, I started seeing how hard he was working (and is still working) and I got over it really quick. He took me to dinner last night and we had a great time! And he is giving me a great present....a floor! If you have been to my house in last two years you have seen the lovely concrete floor in our kitchen. He is transforming our ugly, outdated house while I sit and watch. I am pregnant, so I can't really do anything to help. Thank you Alan, I love you! I also had a great surprise yesterday afternoon. I took the girls to the Reed's house for a little swimming and my wonderful aunt Lisa got me a cake. There were so many friends there and it was a great moment to share with them! We even go to swim a little while before the rain down pour! Then today, my mom planned a great birthday girls lunch with more wonderful friends and family! And I got to go without kids, so that was also a treat. Sometimes it's nice just to have some time that I'm not dealing with leaky sippy cups, stinky diapers, picky appetites, etc. And my mom got me a really nice Kitchen Aid stand mixer!!! I'm so excited about this gift! Now I just need Alan to finish the kitchen so I can get in there and cook up something fabulous and yummy!

Ok, next big thing this week...the Olympics!!! I love the Olympics. Every night I just want to sit and watch until they're over and then I search through the other channels and watch the more obscure events. I am watching a boxer right now named Prince Octopus (real name) from Ghana and I'm hooked! I know nothing about boxing, and this poor guy is getting beat 11-2, but hey, it's the Olympics, so I am hooked! It just fascinates me and I can't get enough!!! So between the birthday, the paint fumes, the new floor, and Michael Phelps' quest for eight gold medals...what a week!!! Oh yeah, and today I scheduled the C-Section for baby girl #3. We will welcome our sweet baby on Monday, November 10th. That's the plan anyways!

Day at the Lake

2008-08-09T14:23:00.004-05:00

We were supposed to go to Dallas this weekend for a little family trip to NRH2O waterpark. Apparently there is a crazy bacterial outbreak at Dallas area waterparks and pools. We decided the waterpark was a bad idea, and we would wait to go to Dallas when we had more time. So, the Rich family headed out to the lake yesterday! This was the first time just the four of us went out in our boat. We tried the day we got the boat. The four of us loaded up and went to Buffalo Lake, but did not have much success. Long story short, we forgot the boat keys, Ava was screaming her head off, we nearly lost the boat and trailor because we unhooked it from the car and forgot to put something behind the wheels, and the list goes on. So, needless to say, our first try was a no go. So, yesterday, we did it!! Just the four of us, and we had a blast!

Taylor's Party

2008-08-04T22:22:00.009-05:00

Taylor's 8th birthday was super fun. We had a fabulous pool party, so I thought I would share some pictures of all the fun!

Taylor opening some presents!

Taylor and her friends the Davidson girls (Abby, Jordan, and Annalise)

Ava enjoying her cupcake...and her bikini!

Kelsey, GiGi (my mom), and Madison

The guys entertained themselves with washers.

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Birthday Week

2008-07-31T22:31:00.004-05:00

This is the week of birthdays in our house. Taylor's is on Saturday and mine is next Sunday (Aug. 10). Of course, Taylor's is much more exciting. I love planning the girls' parties, and honestly I'm a little bummed this year. Taylor will be eight this year and I guess theme parties are not as cool as they used to be to her. When she was four she wanted to have a flamingo party. I wasn't sure what to do at a flamingo party, but it was my first year to be in charge of her party, so I was determined it was going to be the greatest flamingo party ever! We had a flamingo cake, flamingo games, I took the flamingo as far as it could possibly go! When she turned five we had a Chef Party. This was probably my favorite party so far. We made big white chef hats, painted little moustaches on the kids, and taught them how to say "Bon Appetit!" All the kids made their own pizzas and decorated their own cupcakes. Again, I went all out. Did I mention that I love kids' parties? The following year, I must admit, I fell short. I was eight months pregnant, it was hot and my party planning skills were not up to par. So, we had a swimming party with a horse theme. Basically, every birthday, Taylor picks a different animal and says she wants that to be the theme. I usually try to steer her in a different direction, but that year I was too hot, tired, and fat to care. So, the kids swam, we had cake with horses on it, and the kids wore cowboy hats while they ate. Last year was super fun. We had a dress up/makeover party. All the girls got their hair, makeup and nails done. Then we had a fashion show. It was a lot of fun. So, this year, we are heading back to the pool for a beach themed party. Honestly, I have not gone all out like I had originally planned. I'll blame it on being pregnant again! It should be fun though! Happy Birthday Tay Tay!!!

My mom

2008-07-25T17:39:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I realize that I have possibly painted my mom in a negative light. (See previous blogs) My mother is a beautiful, stylish, wonderful person. She has amazingly impecable taste. However, I realize that I may have tarnished her image a bit with a few of my comments. Let's start with the hair blog. I'm dismissing the bad perms to the fact that it was the 80's. Did anyone not have a perm in the 80's? And let me say that my mom has done a wonderful job of keeping with the trends as far as hairstyles go. She is very current with her hairstyle. So let's get to the squirrel overalls. The question that seems to be on everyone's mind is not why she dressed me in the squirrel overalls, but why she ever bought them in the first place. This is a question that I do not have an answer to. No decade can excuse this fashion tragedy. I have no explanation for this. I can say that she has moved on however. I can not recall any other crimes of fashion in her past. At least, none that I know of.

Ok, the cooking. My mom is a great cook, she just chooses not to do it that often. So, when she does cook, it's great. She has overcome any and all weird phases that I can recall, and I very much enjoy her cooking!

Mom, if you're reading this, I love you. I strive to reach your status of fashion greatness someday!

Date Night

2008-07-19T20:29:00.000-05:00

I had the most interesting experience last night. My husband and I went on a date. We went to go see Get Smart. I realize it has been out for a while, but we don't get out much. I also realize that the new Batman came out yesterday, but we avoided the crowds and went for Get Smart. I'm glad we did, it was a really funny movie. The interesting part started when a couple came in a few minutes before the movie started and they sat right next to us. I got a bit concerned during the previews. The guy was a laugher. He laughed at everything. Some of the laughs had merit, but mostly he was just overly laughing at things that weren't really funny. Then the comments started. He was that guy who talks back to the screen and points at the things that he's laughing very heartily at. This is all just during the previews! He never let up. The entire movie he laughed and commented and repeated lines from the movie just in case we didn't hear them the first time. It became a bit comical after a while, when it wasn't extremely annoying. Then his wife got in on the action. She was laughing at the same non-funny things he was laughing at, but not as loud. But I guess he inspired her. At one point in the movie, there is a symphony playing Ode to Joy. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something waving around and so I casually look over. The woman is DIRECTING the orchestra with her hand. She was actually waving her hand like a conductor. If she had a baton handy I'm sure she would have used it. Alan and I were just trying not to laugh. So, to the couple who thoroughly enjoyed Get Smart last night you might try keeping it down a bit next time. And the leave conducting to the actor in the film!

Letters to Food Network

2008-07-17T17:57:00.001-05:00

Dear Food Network,

I am a faithful, devoted viewer of many of your shows. I have no formal culinary training, but I feel that all of the many hours I have spent watching your fine network has made me a better cook. I'll start with a little of my food background. You see, I was raised by a wonderful mom, however, she was not a lover of cooking. I recall many random meals. Weinies cut down the middle with cheese in them. Many nights of "breakfast" food for dinner (still one of my favorites). And I'll never forget the day I opened my lunch at school to find a cheese and mayonaise sandwich. I guess we were out of lunch meat that day? There was also a weird "jerky" phase. That's what we called it. Everything my mom cooked for a period of time turned out really tough and jerky. We had beef jerky, chicken jerky, turkey jerky. A nice idea, except it wasn't on purpose. Her internal cooking clock was just a little bit off, I suppose. She also went through this health food co-op phase. We ate peanut butter that was almost black and stuck to the roof of your mouth for days. And we ate blue corn chips before they were cool. 3rd graders just don't understand the importance of eating healthy, so I was labeled "Alien Food Girl." I have recovered from all of this, but it took a while. Now, I love my mom. She is a woman of more talents than most dream of having in six lifetimes, so her lack of cooking is really no big deal. She more than made up for it in many other ways.

So, naturally I feel very lucky to have found Food Network a few years ago. I'll never forget the day I stumbled upon a bubbly brunette cooking up a yum-o pasta dinner in half an hour. I was hooked. Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals are right up my alley. I'm not a very patient person, so I can handle 30 minutes. So, I am sending you this letter to share my views and opinions on many of your fine shows and perhaps some valuable constructive criticism. Thanks for reading.

Food Network Challenges- I love these challenges!! My favorites so far have been the cartoon cake challenges. I actually watched a marathon of these one day. Three hours of Disney cakes! First it was the princess cakes, followed by the villains, and then the Pixar movie cakes. And it was all at Disney World. The judging in front of Cinderella's castle was a nice touch. I did feel bad for the guy that made "Scar" from The Lion King. When his head fell off (the cake head, not the baker's) it was just kind of sad. He worked for eight hours on that cake. Tragic. Ok, keep the challenges coming. I like them.

Semi- Homemade with Sandra Lee- I just have one comment about Sandra's "tablescapes." The last episode I saw, Sandra was throwing a Fairy Princess Party and her tablescape totally freaked me out! There were giant porcelain fairy dolls all over the table. They were incredibly creepy looking. I have an eight year old daughter, and she would have run screaming from that table. And one more thing, not everything in each episode has to be the same color. For example, I'll go back to the Fairy Princess Party. It was a world of Pepto Bismol. The food, the drinks, the table cloth, even the curtains in her fake kitchen window....pink! I once saw a beach themed episode and it was all blue. I can't take this monochromatic show anymore. Spice it up. Throw in a coordinating color.

Ace of Cakes- Duff Goldman is fabulous. He and his staff make the greatest cakes. So far my favorite has been Duff's meatball birthday cake. The little gum paste Duff on top with the fork was just pure genius. The bacon roses were my favorite though. It's all about the details! Keep it coming Charm City Cakes.

The Next Food Network Star- Ok this one I'm particularly hooked on right now. It's down to the final three. But all I can seem to think about is, where is last year's winner's show? It is making it hard for me to invest in these finalists, because I am not guaranteed that the winner will in fact become the next Food Network star. The last chick that won still doesn't have a show. There's something fishy going on. Pun intended.

Iron Chef America- I have no idea what any of these people ever make. I'm doing good just to know the mystery ingredient sometimes. And the judges are all so snooty. I still like to watch though. I'm a food junkie, what can I say!!!

Ok, I know it sounds like I do nothing but watch Food Network all day, but I do have some what of a life. Occassionally I actually get in the kitchen and cook myself. I do always watch Food Network in the kitchen though. It makes me feel like my Hamburger Helper is really something fabulous! Keep up the good work Food Network. And remember, a great meal is never more than 30 minutes away!

Sincerely,

Leslie Rich

Hold on, wait a minute, put a little blog in it!

2008-07-17T14:24:00.000-05:00

So here goes! I've started blogging more on myspace, and I feel it would be more official to have a "real" blog on blogger. It just seems more grown up. And I am, after all, a real grown up. By the way, my 27th birthday is in a few weeks! WooHoo!! Wow, I'm getting old. Ok, back to the blogging.

It has been a good week. I am about 24 weeks pregnant and I feel great! We have had VBS at church this week, so I've been taking half the neighborhood every morning, which has been kind of nice to have time to do some things around the house in the mornings. Important things such as:
1. sleeping some more after I get back home.
2. catching up on my shows on the DVR
3. watching past seasons of The Office on DVD (because I could watch each episode 1,000 times and never get tired of it)
4. spending entirely too much time on myspace and facebook

You get the idea. I have occasionally done some other meaningless tasks around the house. I've done a total of two loads of laundry in the past four days. I'm not really concerned about the piles of dirty clothes and stinky rags that are overtaking my laundry room. Project Runway started this week, and I've only watched the new episode three times so far, so lay off!!! I'll get to laundry when I get to it!

I did actually clean out my closet Monday. And I'm talking major cleaning (well, sort of). I've finally come to terms with the reality that I am not and perhaps may never again be a size "small/medium." It's just not in the cards for me. If by some rare chance and parasite takes over my body and eats away about 1/3 of my current size, maybe we will revisit the idea of shopping for smalls. But at this point, hanging on to these sizes are just a waste of perfectly good hanging space. Looks like someone needs to go shopping!!!

So, that has basically been my week so far. Don't worry, if something funny or blog-worthy happens, I shall return and update my new, grown up blog! Happy Reading!