Friday, February 29, 2008

Consignment Time is HERE!

It seems a bit surreal that it is time for the consignment sale. Although it only happens twice a year, it seems to sneak up faster and faster each time. I am proud to say that this time I feel more organized than ever and more calm than ever...I give the glory for that to the Lord.

Today we move into the building (hence me being up at 6:30am, there's not much else that could get me up this early). Our good friend, Matt Newton, will be meeting Jonathan at 9am to go and get the racks from the storage unit. I will be meeting the property manager at 9am to figure out the lights, heating, etc. Cindy, the lady that cleans my house, AKA the SAINT, will also be coming to clean the building which has become the tradition as well. Luckily, this building is pretty clean so hopefully her job won't be too difficult today.

I have three amazing workers showing up at 2pm to help unload my house and at 5pm the men will meet at the building to put all the racks together. Tomorrow morning at 9am we have our first drop-off and then time will begin to fly at warp speed. Before we know it, it will be time to sell all the thousands of items that people have brought in.

The only thing I am nervous about is my kiddos this time. I hate the thought of not really being THERE the next three weeks. I'm afraid Mary Elizabeth is going to forget me!

I've started a new little thing, a consignment blog, which you can link to off the consignment sale webpage. The link is in the bottom left corner. If you want to see a preview of some of the things coming, check it out!

Thursday, February 28, 2008

My Sister's Doctor

This is too funny not to post. My sister had her gall bladder taken out a few weeks ago. I just found out her doctor's first name is JimBob. What's even better is that she said when he walks in the room, he says "Hello there, I'm JimBob"

I swear I would have busted out laughing in this man's face. That or I would have been looking for the cameras because I would feel certain I was being filmed for candid camera.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Adoption Talk

It's been a while since I posted anything about adoption. It's not that I haven't thought about posting my thoughts/feelings/etc., I think about it every day actually. It's just that well, sometimes my heart and mind are so heavy with all those thoughts/feelings/etc. that I think I would be more apt to publish a book than a simple blog post.

We found out today that Mary Elizabeth's birthfather didn't show up in court today so his rights were terminated by the judge. While outside I was jumping for joy that she is really, officially ours and there is no longer a scare of someone coming back to take her away, inside it just makes me sad. It makes me so sad and SCARED that she might never know the two people who helped bring her into this world. Can you imagine not knowing your parents? I know some of you that read this blog have either placed children for adoption or were adopted or have adopted so I know that statement might really hit home. I know it does for me. I can't imagine going through my life wondering about the people who created me...whether out of love, lust, whatever...the two people who created me. My daily prayer is that Jonathan and I are enough and yet I know, that even though we will be in some ways, we will never be in all ways. It just makes me sad.

It's ironic, too, because on the adoption board that I frequent the majority of the talk from firstparents (birthparents) is how horrible it is for adoptive parents to slowly close the lines of communication with those firstparents. Evidently over time in open adoptions, it becomes more normal for the relationships between adoptive parents and first parents to sort of form into a more closed relationship. This usually happens because the adoptive parents stop sending updates/pics/etc to the firstparent.

I feel like we are on the opposite end of the spectrum. Practically begging Mary Elizabeth's mother to let us meet her. To take some pictures, to write letters. Don't get me wrong...I don't envision us having summer vacations together, but I would love to get to know this woman who gave us the miracle of our daughter and yet, I have to respect the fact that she doesn't want that. When I called the office today to find out about the court outcome, I checked to see if she had picked up any updates (she requested that they not be sent to her) and they told me she hadn't.

So what do I do? I pray for her. That's all I can do. I pray that she is finding peace in her decision that she made for Mary Elizabeth. I pray that even though she doesn't really know, she somehow knows that Mary Elizabeth is ok. I pray that even if she doesn't care, that I will continue to find peace in that. I pray that just by typing this, one day Mary Elizabeth might know how much I loved not only her from the beginning, but all the other people that helped bring her in this world.

It's amazing what I have learned and will continue to learn from this journey...just amazing.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Diarrhee

Yes, I know I didn't spell it right. There is a reason for that...keep reading.

Tomorrow it will be two weeks since the monster known as the stomach flu (bug, whatever) crept into our home and changed life as we know it. It is time for this little bug to leave....his time at our home has come to an end. To be even more frank, if it doesn't leave soon, mommy is going to the nutty house.

It all started with Luke. Poor Luke. He had it two days. We thought Anna had it as well, although she later admitted (keep reading) that she faked it because she wanted to come home from school. Isaac got it three days later on Friday. At school. Poor janitors. Because of my saintly mother-in-law, I went ahead and left for my scrapbook retreat that I had scheduled months before. I felt bad leaving Isaac when he was sick, but he promised me it was ok as he laid in bed. So I left.

I came home on Sunday afternoon and Tuesday night I started with the mess. By this past Thursday night, I was beginning to feel human again and then Jonathan and Anna both got sick early Friday morning. Their version has been a whole new beast. They have been so sick. SO SICK. Anna even missed school today and Jonathan came home early from work simply because he still felt bad. Aunt Ali and Uncle Josh caught it yesterday and Ali ended up in the ER with it last night (she's OK). Needless to say, we are definitely sick of this little bug.

I had a baby shower tonight to go to but I am not going cause the last thing I need is to get a pregnant mother sick. I don't even think they make flowers for that.

Anyway, ever since Anna was little she has always called diarrhea "diarrhee" so that is what we still call it. Matter of fact, I think everyone in my family calls it that because of her. My wish tonight? That the vomit and diarrhee stay FAR, FAR away from your family but that it finally leaves my family for good!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

My 200th Post

Yes, this is it...the BIG 200.

What do I have to say for myself?

The stomach virus SUCKS!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Reunion Crashers

I mentioned in my last post that I had once crashed a class reunion. I thought I would share the details...

In 2002, I was a Creative Memories consultant and our executive director, Barbara, was coming to Chattanooga to do a consultant retreat. I, along with some of my downline, decided to head to Chattanooga for a nice, relaxing weekend. We checked into our hotel which was right smack in the middle of downtown Chattanooga. The consultants had a large banquet room for scrapbooking, networking, etc.

The first night Barbara had arranged for all of us to have dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant that was within walking distance from our hotel. We had an outside entrance from our banquet room so we left from there for our dinner. After dinner, we walked back to the hotel in small groups and when we got to our banquet room entrance, we realized it automatically locked after hours. Since there was no one left in the room, we would have to walk around to the main entrance of the hotel.

There were five us that walked into the hotel lobby and were met by a man that asked us if we were there for the ___ ____ Class of 1982 reunion (the name of the high school escapes me at the moment). I honestly don't know why, but I belted out, "Why yes we are!" He pointed us in the direction of a banquet room on the opposite side of the hotel from the one we were SUPPOSED to be in. Outside the doors, a table was being manned by two hotel employees. On one of the tables, all of the name tags were spread out so when they asked our names, I started the trend by picking up a name tag and saying my name. I still have that nametag around here somewhere. Anyway, they checked each of us off the list, we slapped on our name tags and walked through the doors.

Imagine a sixth grade dance. That's what it looked like in there except instead of girls on one side and boys on the other, it was little clumps of couples at tables all eyeing the other couples. There was a nice buffet which we obviously had no interest in since we had just left the restaurant. To be honest, at this point, I was pretty darn uncomfortable. What started out as just something to get some laughs had now landed us in the belly of the whale in my opinion. But instead of turning and running, we hit the dance floor. Danced our booties off. Slowly but surely, people started joining us on the dance floor including this adorable couple who approached my boss and said, "ok, what gives!" He had dated the girl whose name was on her nametag so we were immediately busted. We soon discovered that he was about three sheets to the wind, so he thought it was hilarious and they kept dancing with us. The dance floor was soon packed. Before we knew it, several hours had past and it was time for the class photo. The adorable couple ushered us over where we hammed it up with 200 of our closest new friends. Wonder what those people thought when they got that bad boy?

Right as we were getting ready to leave, a lady approached our circle and said, "I don't know who you ladies are, but thank you so much for coming. This has been the best class reunion EVER!" She was the class president!

When we got back to our real banquet room, everyone was freaking out trying to figure out where we had been and no one believed us until we showed them our name tags. It was a great night and although I would never do something like that again, it is something that still makes me laugh out loud just thinking about us doing the electric slide at someone else's class reunion!

Monday, February 18, 2008

My "Have You Ever" Answers

Now just because I am answering these doesn't let you guys off the hook. Keep answering, I love reading these!

Has Brea ever....

Lost more than 50 pounds? How did you do it?
Nope, but I swear I am on my way to gaining it. How am I doing it? Well, a little bit of eating crap, sitting on my rump...yep, that about covers it.

Crashed a wedding? Did you get caught?
No on the wedding, but I crashed a class reunion one time. I really did. It's a great story. I might have to do a seperate post on that one as I am laughing sitting here thinking about it.

Had a fight with a co-worker? Did you make up?
Yes, not a "really hitting you" fight, but more of a war of words. I think this has actually happened twice that I can think of. Once was years ago with a guy that also happened to be my sister's boyfriend. He was a real winner (thank GOD you didn't marry him Ali). The other was more recent at my part time job with another real winner. I made up with my sister's boyfriend, didn't with the part time winner. I ended up quitting the part time gig so it didn't matter.

Approached a celebrity in public? Did they punch you?
I don't think I have ever approached a celebrity...I have actually racked my brain about this one. I know I have seen many, but I am not sure if I have went right up and talked to one. Hmmmm. I did almost crash into Keith Urban at Green Hills mall. I was getting out of my car and started walking around it to go into the mall without realizing that at the same time that he was walking behind my car going to his car. He was also holding two cups of coffee from Starbucks. I scared the crap out of him and felt really bad. Sorry Keith!

Spent a large sum of money and hid it from your spouse? Did you come clean?
Yes, sad but true, I have done this before, but it has been long ago. Now we talk about every freaking dime we spend because I am the free spirit and he is the nerd. I did always come clean when I did spend a lot of money, but I didn't like coming clean....I just have a guilty concious.

Been in a beauty pageant? Did you win?
Have you seen my picture at the top of this blog. Come on now. I had lots of friends that were in them, but I was always the faithful friend in the audience yelling out their name. I think I secretly wanted to do it, but I knew better.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Have you ever...

Got this from my friend Chris. I thought it was great and can't wait to hear how some of you answer these questions....

I'm adding a few of my own at the end. Pick one to answer or answer them all...it's up to you!

Have you ever.....

Lost more than 50 pounds? How did you do it?
Crashed a wedding? Did you get caught?
Had a fight with a co-worker? Did you make up?
Approached a celebrity in public? Did they punch you?
Spent a large sum of money and hid it from your spouse? Did you come clean?
Been in a beauty pageant? Did you win?

I'll post my answers to these questions in a blog post tomorrow night!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Who's Bigger?

Today Kim T. and I got together for her birthday lunch! We were so excited to get to go to a real girl's lunch, even if it meant taking three kids under 3! McKinley was a big help though...

Anyway, if you remember, baby Jack was born Dec. 5 and Mary was born Aug. 7. I think he has already passed her! What do you think?

The birthday girl with McKinley and Jack:


Me holding Mary Elizabeth and Jack:

Happy Birthday!

Yes, you read that right. I know today is Valentine's Day but it is also the birthday of 4 very influential women in my life.

76 years ago today one of my best friends was born. My grandma, Norma Jean, is truly one of my best friends. She is so much fun to be around and I try very hard to go and visit she and Papa Charles every Tuesday. She makes the best eggs (over easy) and she drinks a Dr. Pepper every day. She also eats her little cakes every day (little debbie cakes)and her favorite show is Lost (but says she gets frustrated with it b/c they keep added all those dang new characters! how cute is that!)She is a great woman...mother of two boys, grandma to two girls, and great grandma to five. I am blessed to have such a wonderful grandma!

One of my other best friends has a birthday today too! Kim Thomas and I have been friends since 6th grade and boy do we have some amazing memories and great stories! She is a wonderful mother to her two beautiful children and a great wife. She is very patient and level headed...she would have to be, she's married to Chris (jk Chris!) She is really an amazing friend and I can't wait to create more memories in the future!

Laura Horton, another dear friend I have had since forever, has a birthday today too! It's amazing how many times God keeps putting us in each other's paths. We rode the bus together when we were kids. Our husbands worked at the same church right after we were both married. We saw each other again years later when we visited their church in Coopertown and now we are so blessed to call the same church home. Laura is an amazing woman of faith and has been a great person of accountability for me!

Amy Bierman is celebrating a birthday today as well. I heard about Amy before I met her from my friend Kim. She told me that I had to meet her because she was so nice. She was right! Amy is great...so fun to be around and she always makes me feel peaceful when I am around her. She is a prayer warrior and I am blessed to have her in my life.

AND I just found out that another great woman, Rosemary Phillips, had her birthday on Valentine's Day! Rosemary and I met when I was selling Creative Memories years ago. She and her daughter, Lauren, started coming to my crops when their consultant quit. Not only is this woman a great attorney, she is an amazing mother and friend. I have had the privelage of watching Lauren grow into a beautiful young woman and she is what she is today because of the amazing woman her mother is. I just got to spend a great scrapbooking weekend with Rosemary and her sister-in-law, Mrs. Judy, and I loved hanging out with these wonderful women. Happy belated birthday Rosemary!

Ladies, you have ALL made a huge impact on my life. I am a blessed woman to call each of you friends. Hope your day was fantastic!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Mary Elizabeth's First Word

Yes, it's official. She is now speaking...seriously. Angie V. heard her today when she dropped by our "sick" house tonight.

Want to know what it is?

Boobs.

I'm serious.

I'm going to make a video so I can prove it to you. It's hilarious.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

7 Fun Things About Me

I got tagged again by my favorite tagging friend, Sarah! So, here we go...7 fun things about me. I'm not sure if they are supposed to be little known, or just fun, so I'll shoot for a touch of both.

1. My nickname in 5th grade was gremlin. Needless to say, I was not going through a pretty stage at that point. Let's give you a visual...perm and coke bottle glasses. The funny thing is that I SO wanted to be in the cool club with the girls who gave me this mean ole nickname. The even funnier thing is that now one of them is my hairdresser!

2. When I was a kid, I would pretend that I was the host of "Reading Rainbow" on PBS. Needless to say, I loved to read (still do).

3. By my senior year in high school, I had seen Pretty Woman over 300 times. Yes, you are all wondering what my mom and dad were thinking....a movie about a prostitute...but I loved Julia Roberts. To this day, I can still quote it which freaks Jonathan out.

4. In 5th grade, I decorated stuffed bears with lace dresses and sold them to various people (women who worked with my mom, grandma, etc.) They were horrible. I think I got $13 a piece which was big bucks back then. My grandma still has hers proudly displayed in her bedroom. I really should take a picture and put it on here just so you can see how bad these bears were. Maybe people bought them because I was so ugly (see point 1) they thought that was the only thing that could make me feel good.

5. I have a tattoo of a ladybug on my big toe. I got in 1999 right after Anna was born in Gatlinburg. Yes, I realize how redneck it is of me to get a tattoo on my big toe in Gatlinburg. Yes, if I could take that back I would.

6. I bite my fingernails. Have since forever. I've tried everything and I can't stop. I wish I didn't.

7. I once dressed up as "partly cloudy with a chance of rain" for a Halloween costume. I wore a blue sweatsuit with cotton balls glued all over it (for clouds) and carried a super soaker. I won first place in the costume contest.

Thought for the day....

it's 20 days until consignment time! OH MY!

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

The Power of Prayer

I've talked about it many times on here before and I'm going to preach it again.

Today after I picked the boys up from school, we headed over to the bank to make a deposit and from there drove over to what will hopefully be the location of the fall 2008 consignment sale. While sitting in that parking lot, I asked the boys if they wanted to see where mommy was hoping the SPRING 2008 consignment sale was going to be held and they said sure. Homer (the Odyssey) drove us over to the former Sports World next to Aldi's in Hendersonville. As we pulled in, I asked the boys if they would like to pray with me over the space. They both laughed out loud and I said, "fine, mommy will pray anyway!" I proceeded to loudly ask God to continue to show me his will and that if this space was the place we were supposed to be, that he would make it known to us TODAY!

I just got the phone call that we got the space. As soon as I hung up with our leasing agent, I walked downstairs and told the boys, "you remember mommy praying over the consignment space today" in which they answered "yee yuuu" (yeah in their best country twang). Well guess what boys, he answered that prayer with a YES!

So it is official...ENCORES AND MORE NORTH will be in Hendersonville Plaza next to Aldi's Grocery Store! 10,000 sq. feet of heated and cooled, well lit space with TONS of parking! We will be updating the website tonight and hope to have fliers out by Monday! Can you tell I am excited!?!?!?!

SUPER TUESDAY

Did you vote?

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Thought for the day...

Is it me, or does Mitt Romney remind you of Nicolai Carpathia from the Left Behind series of books? I'm sorry, but he gives me the creeps.

I'm Back...

After a short blogging break, I'm happy to report that I am back. It's been a tough 10 days. I am still struggling with migraines that seem to be more frequent and intense than ever before and the amount of meds I take daily is staggering. I spent last Monday in the ER because I had one for four days straight that was so intense I could no longer form rational thoughts, much less sleep or take care of the kids. I felt like my grandma as I carried my gallon size plastic bag in with all my meds.

I received an email from one of you that suggested a chiropracter that I plan to visit in the next week and if anyone else has any suggestions, I am open! It's amazing how something as simple as a headache can make you feel so crazy.

The consignment sale is right around the corner and we still don't have a signed lease. We got some promising news from our leasing agent on Thursday so hopefully we will have that taken care of the first part of this week. I am so ready to get fliers printed and mailed and to get this part of the sale behind me.

Tomorrow is a new day and I plan to spend it returning the mounds of phone calls, answering emails, and cleaning house. It's trash day, which is one of my favorite days of the week. I love the feeling of throwing away junk and getting it out of my house. With three kids bringing home paperwork almost daily, we can accumulate some trash so I am sure the trash guys groan when they get to my house!