Dedicated to God

Today we had Madalynn's baby dedication at church.  It was a very special day.  It was so moving to commit back to God this life He has given to me.  This mother's heart prayer & cry is that she will

• Grow in knowledge of Him, 
• Grow to understand that God has a plan for her life, and that plan included me being her "Mama".
• She'll come to know that God loves her more she can ever know or imagine.
• She'll have a heart after God's own.

Then we had a lovely luncheon at my parents house with family & friends.

I made these cupcakes w/ pink chocolate 'M's on the top...

Big Changes @ Our House!!

Okay... ready for the big announcement??

I walked into work today, and gave my 2 weeks notice.  June 7th I will begin a new work from home job, that I am beside myself excited about!!!  Did you get that??  WORK FROM HOME!!!

I've been praying for this since Madalynn came home over a year ago... God is good.

The TV week in review...

Okay... I'm a day late in reviewing TV for last week, but I do have to chase the fastest 22 month old on the planet (I swear... my Dad says 'She's got a motor on her').

Sunday night; "Amazing Race 14" finale.  Down to the final 3...

• Jamie & Cara 2 former NFL cheerleaders who are the definition of obnoxious American tourists.  One of them was always shocked she couldn't find people who speak english... imagine...
• Tammy & Victor brother & sister lawyer team.  They just didn't have much personality & I think they had an unfair advantage as several of the challenges took place in China, a language they are fluent in... this gave them a huge advantage.
• Margie & Luke... Mother & son team, and it just so happens Luke is deaf.  They were awesome, and my favorite throughout the race.  They were competitive, gritty & tough, and had to work harder than other teams.They came in third!!!

Weds Night; "American Idol"... Final 3 down to the final 2.

• Danny also has been my favorite since day 1 of American Idol... the smile, the story... he's a Christian...oyyy... I just love him.  He got voted off this week.  Another one of my reality TV fav's coming in third!!  I think Adam is talented in a showmanship sort of way... he's just not my style.  I'm sure Danny will be fine though... Chris Daughtry came in 3rd a few years ago, and he's done well for himself.

(I'm so done with reality TV)

Friday Night; "Prison Break"  (or as I call it  "Watch the pretty boys run" )SERIES finale... this is it ... all done... 2 hour movie event. 

 

 

• I started watching this show about 1/4 way through season 2, and I was hooked.  Great action, suspense, etc.  But the real draw for me was the relationships... stories of grace, redemption, good vs evil, etc.  During their winter hiatus I got season 1 on DVD so I could fill in all the holes, and I liked season 1 better than season 2.
• Season 3... I'm going to pretend season 3 never happened.  PB got away from it's roots, heart & core... we also had the writer's strike so it was a shortened season.
• Season 4... the action was brought back but I still felt the heart was missing.  I knew this was the last season & that I had to watch as I'd invested so much in these characters.... so many you loved to hate, and hated to love.  It had me moderately interested.  The storyline of their mother turned me off completely but that's another post all together.
• SERIES FINALE... the show was back... it was giving us devoted fans what we wanted... favorite characters returned to help 'The Boys'... plot holes were filled in, and resolution came... UNTIL the VERY end!!  I won't spoil it for anyone... I'm still not sure how I feel about it.  On the one hand I can see this being a reality ending, on the other hand, they could have given us the sappy... happily ever after ending too.

On another note... Friday night was the Farrah Fawcet documentary, and I will say up front that I didn't watch it.  It's tragic that she's battling cancer.  However, it's tragic whenever somebody is dying/battling cancer.  We live in a society that elevates celebrities to god status for a reason I will never understand. 

• Right now somewhere an elementary school teacher is battling cancer.
• Right now a little girl is battling cancer, her story is here... Riggs Family  She has 550 DAYS of chemo left as part of her battle.
• Right now somewhere a Mom is battling cancer.
• Right now somewhere someone's Grandparent is battling cancer.
• Right now I'm thinking of 2 of my grandparents who lost their battles with cancer, my grandfather had lung cancer, and my grandmother ovarian/cervical cancer.
• Right now I'm thinking of my friend Amy who lost her battle to cancer while we were in the first grade.

It makes me think of the Tim McGraw song 'Beautiful People'... those of us 'who'll never make the cover of People magazine'.  If you've never heard it... check it out.

Stay tuned for a big life change announcement this week!!

Bad Parenting 101....

Does it make a bad Mom for having a 'pizza picnic' in the living room tonight for dinner (leftover pizza at that!) while watching a DVD?? 

Mommy & Me Day at the Farm

For our first Mother's Day outing we went to a farm a couple of miles from my parents house... it was such fun.  As an added bonus... Madalynn was free (she's under 2), and Mom's were free for Mother's Day weekend.... whooo0-hoooo!!!!

Madalynn wasn't too sure at first, but then she warmed up to the animals.  The first thing we saw were the baby cows... they were so sweet...

This is George

This is Norman (not sure if that's a nod to City Slickers or not??)

The Chase is On!!! They are both running in this picture...

This is me chasing after Madalynn....

Madalynn... you are my heart, my joy, and my love.  I adore watching you grow, and discover the world.  I love watching your personality emerge... a silly, fun-loving, attack life at full speed, independent, sweet girl.  Mommy loves you bunches, and bunches, and bunches, and bunches!!  Thanks for making me a Mom!!!

About a Mom...

Tomorrow I celebrate my 2nd mother's day... I can't believe it.  It was 2 years ago this weekend I got the call that I was 'paper-ready', and officially on the waiting list for a baby girl.  One year ago I celebrated my first mother's day with my daughter.  I feel so blessed.

Again this year her birthmother is heavy on my heart.  I think of her daily.  I pray she has peace with her decision, and somehow knows that Madalynn is healthy, and with a loving family that includes dotting grandparents, crazy cousins, and an aunt & uncle who adore her.  Not to mention a Mom who is beyond crazy about her.  I want her to know that in the gift of Madalynn she has given my life a joy that was missing before.

I also want to offer a special prayer or remembrance for all women who have a "Mom" heart but that dream remains unfulfilled.  This day can be bittersweet.  Also, Mom's who are grieving the loss of a child,  or have a child with a chronic illness.  I pray an extra special blessing to you this day.

I felt like I should give Madalynn something as a thank you for making me a Mom.  So, this year I've started a tradition of having a Mommy & me  day on Mother's Day weekend.  Just her & I doing something fun & different... I'll try to post pictures of our outing later.

Happy Mother's Day !!

 

More Spring

Last weekend we went out to celebrate my Dad's retirement.  He's worked so hard, and since retiring I think he's trying to find his groove.  Every morning when I pull in at their house he's waiting for us in the garage.  Madalynn is beside herself because she gets "GarPa" all day!!  Congratulations Dad!!

 

I also trimmed Madalynn's hair... it needed it.  I got some pics of her with her new sand table...She WILL NOT look at the camera!!  She was having a great time laughing, etc until I got the camera out.

I also got some pics of her sleeping, that I've always wanted to do but haven't dared.  She was napping & I had to wake her up to get ready to go somewhere.  So I went in & opened the shade & she still didn't wake up so I knew I had the light I needed to take her picture... I love the bum sticking up in the air.  She woke up when she heard the camera click...