Summertime TV

A few months ago, my friend Jade blogged about her "guilty music pleasures". I thought that was really fun, so I decided to keep the multi- media confessions going by first confessing my summertime guilty viewing pleasures and then asking what you're watching this summer.

Before you judge me... (you probably will anyway, but I'm okay with that)...I don't spend endless hours in front of the tv. I utilize the amazing invention, the DVR and then of course fast forward through the commercials. I'm also reading this summer, so I'm not destroying all of my brain cells. :)

Here's my list....

1. So You Think You Can Dance- Fox- Wednesdays (performance show) Thursdays (results show)- The dance version of American Idol and sooooo much better than Dancing With The Stars- Absolutely love this show! :)

2. The Bachelorette- ABC- Mondays- Not really a fan of The Bachelor, but I like this show. It's a different ballgame when the shoe (or the stiletto in this case) is on the other foot. :)

3. Shear Genius Season 2- Bravo- Wendesdays- Stylist duke it out to see who is "shear genius"- Hosted by Jaclyn Smith- What's not to love?

4. Project Runway Season 5- Bravo- Premieres Wednesday July 16th! I've watched every season of this show and LOVE it! I'm excited about the new season and seeing how the designers "make it work"!

5. Mad Men Season 2- AMC- Premieres Sunday July 27th!- This was my favorite show last year, hands down. It is a smart, well written and acted drama about advertising executives in Manhattan in the early 60's. If you didn't catch it last season, you can get caught up with a marathon on July 20th.

So.... what are you watching?? You can share... I won't tell! :)

The Boys Are Off to Camp!

The pics above are Trevor and Keeyon (our next door neighbor)at their end of year choir concert. These pictures crack me up because they totally peg these guys... "too cool" one minute and total goof balls the next. I'm posting the pics because the boys are headed to middle school church camp tonight. The camp is in South Padre and they are totally stoked about going! I didn't have to sell them at all on going this year. They were in after the first announcement. I can only imagine the late nights, the pranks and the lack of hygeine these guys will experience, but my prayer is that they will experience Jesus above everything else. Please join me in praying for them while they're gone (Wed-Mon). Pray that God would stir their affection for Him. Pray that their ears and hearts would be open to the Word. Pray that they would have a blast hanging out on the beach and swimming in the ocean all the while knowing that the very Creator of these things loves them and desires a relationship with them.

Also, pray for the leaders who are accompanying them... they are so very brave! :)

Blessings,
Andi

Dress Up!

Avery is 8 months old for one more week. I can't believe she will be 9 months so soon.
The time is certainly flying....

On Sunday, we had some special "mommy & Avery" time. We played dress up and had so much fun! The girl has some beautiful clothes! We are so blessed that many of the beautiful things she has have been gifts from sweet friends. The two gorgeous dresses she is modeling in these pics are from Dr. Hyziak, my Aunt Jenny's pediatric partner. She gave them to us on our visit to Ohio in March. So sweet!! We haven't had a place or occasion to wear them yet, so I thought I would grab a couple of shots before Avery outgrows them. She really looks so grown up!

There are also some pics of Avery and her brother Jackson. She loves dogs! Not just her brothers Sam & Jack, but all dogs. Everytime she sees one her face lights up and she bounces up and down. I'm not sure what it is about them that makes her so happy, but I'm glad they do. :)

Happy Monday!
Andi

8 Months- Week 4

Summer Fun Pics

Summer Fun

Above are some pics of the first two weeks of "Operation SAHM (stay- at- home mom)". We've actually been having a great time and have all survived..... virtually unscathed. Let me explain the virtually...there have been a few mishaps:
1. A bonk on Connor's head on day one by my car door
2. Nearly being mowed over by a Mercedes SUV in the Barnes & Noble parking lot (on our way to storytime with Mister Mike).
3. Avery being catapulted off the couch by the hyped up trio of Trevor, Maddie & Connor. Don't worry Aunt Jenny... Avery is fine! It sounds much more dramatic than it really was. No permanent damage. :)

We've kept busy with outdoor time, craft time, and some field trips: Story Time with Mister Mike every Monday morning, the library, a tour with Engineer Kent at Power FM, and to the movies to see Kung Fu Panda (love Jack Black so it was fun for me too!).

Craft time was especially fun the week of Father's Day. Kim and Landen joined us on that Friday to make "Dad Rocks" Rock families (see pics). These are our take on the ever popular rock paper weight (do people even use paper weights anymore? I'm pretty sure those were retired after the wonderful invention of the Post-It.) Whether or not they're still in use, Brian, Isaac & Matt were all presented with one (Matt got two!) and are now proudly displaying them on their desks.... maybe not proudly, but displaying them nonetheless. :)

I'll have more to report next week. Let's hope mishap free.

Love,
Andi

13

Thirteen years isn't a long time by some standards, but here are just a few of the things that can happen over the course of 13 years:

A change from one decade to the next

A change in presidents (possibly 3 changes without repeat terms)

A child officially becomes a teenager

Someone becomes a doctor (4 years of college, 4 years of med school, 3+ years residency)

Your hairstyle changes at least 3 times (some more, some less depending on how adventurous you are)

Gas price increase from $1.22 to $3.93 a gallon

Why am I hung up on thirteen? Well, Brian and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary last week! Thirteen years.... unbelievable. The time has flown and it really doesn't seem like we've been married that long. It might to Brian, but it doesn't to me. :) We've experienced joy and sorrow during these 13 years, we've grown closer and come to know each other more deeply (ugly stuff and all). We've discovered that we are utterly helpless without Christ in the center of our marriage. We have come to understand more fully what Ephesians 5 looks like in our marriage. We have leaned on each other while clinging to the cross. We've learned to love better. We've discovered friendship. We've learned to be patient, to persevere and to trust. We've learned (and are still learning) to be selfless. We've witnessed the miracles of God and seen beauty come from ashes.

I am truly blessed with an amazing husband. I know I take him for granted most of the time, but today I am thankful. Thankful for him and for the life we have together. Thankful for our hardships and our joy. Thankful for our love and friendship. Thankful for the thirteen years God has given us. Just thankful.

For fun, here are some happenings from 1995 (the year we were married)... yes I'm fully aware that some of you were still in high school or middle school even. :( What can I say, we're old!

http://www.infoplease.com/year/1995.html

On another note, I'm alive and well and enjoying my time with the kids. I'll post tomorrow to let you know what adventures we've had so far.... storytime, crafts and water balloons... oh my!

Happy Monday!

Andi

Some 8 Month Pics

Here are some 8 month pics! Avery is so fun in front of the camera. As you can see in some of the pics, she's also very Zoolander! :) We had some professional pics done this week by CYonce Photography, a photographer I found through Celebrating Adoption. Avery was hilarious during the shoot. She hammed it up the entire time. My mom says she's a natural because there's always a camera in her face. I'm not sure what she's talking about..... :) Christie, the photographer got some really great shots! She asked me if Avery was always so good and easy. We are soooo blessed, because she really is for the most part... with the exception of bedtime. Our little social butterfly doesn't want to miss out on anything. :)

No, we didn't get the balloons for her 8 month b-day. They were for Lily Grace's welcome home celebration and shower. This was Avery's first experience with balloons and she loved them! She had to ride home with them in the backseat and was very frustrated that she couldn't reach them.

Avery loves her brother Jack, so I included a pic of him. She also LOVES kids and is so excited that she will get to spend time with Connor and Maddie this summer. We'll also get to see Landen lots since Kim is a stay at home mommy for the summer!! There is an awesome picture of our "little loves" on the Corso's blog.... check it out!!

Happy weekend!

Andi

Second trip to Ohio!

Well, I'm blogging from "Stay at Home Mommy Central" today. This week is my first official week as a stay-at-home mommy! I still have mixed feelings about this. Don't judge me.... I know there are many women who would love to be in my place. I feel so blessed to be able to spend more time with Avery and I know it will be the best thing in the long run, but I really loved my job at Power FM. An amazing place, an amazing family.... and I'm going to miss it! It would have been alot easier to leave if I hated where I worked, but that definitely wasn't the case, so it was very bittersweet to leave. Also, I have worked (outside the home) in some capacity since I was 15! Being at home full time is going to take some getting used to, but I assure you my days won't be filled with TV watching, internet surfing and ice cream eating.... my days will be very busy because next week I'll begin keeping my niece Madison (7) and my nephew Connor (4) during the day. Almost overnight I will go from part-time working mom of one to stay-at-home mom/caretaker of 3! I'm really looking forward to it, but I'm not going to lie... I'm also scared out of my mind! I hope I have what it takes to entertain and occupy my audience while I maintain my sanity. :)

I'm sure many interesting blogs will be birthed out of my summer experiences, so keep checking in!

The pics above are from our Memorial Day weekend trip to Ohio to visit my family. It was a nice get-away and it's always good to see family. Avery was diagnosed with a viral throat infection on the Wednesday before we left, so needless to say she was pretty miserable until about Saturday. The flight there was a little rough, but the flight back was fun! She loved looking out the window with Daddy! The last picture is our "thank goodness we landed" shot. It was good to be on the ground in Dallas after a long weekend.... we all look a little tired.

I'll have Avery's 1st 8 month photo shoot up soon.

Happy Tuesday! (it is Tuesday isn't it?? I'm losing track of my days now..)

Andi