Driving Miss Sinclair

Sinclair is ready to hit the road to TN to celebrate her first birhtday.

Free Coldplay Album

Coldplay is one of my favorite bands. Scott and I went to their Viva la Vida concert back in November. I just found out that you can download a free CD at this link. ENJOY!

Memorial Day Weekend

Well... our holiday weekend got off to a rough start because we were all sick. (The rain didn't help much either) But by Sunday, we were able to go out and enjoy some time together. We went to Riverside Park for Sinclair to look at the ducks. She was really intrigued by them because she was so silent. We walked along the trail and she pointed to the trees when she heard birds. We made it to the car just before the rain storm hit.

Monday was great because we dropped Sinclair off at Gia Gia and Papoo's house for the day. Scott and I spent the whole day together. We didn't work on the house but just enjoyed some quality time. We drove around Atlanta looking at neighborhoods. We aren't moving anytime soon but just enjoy looking and thinking about where we would like to move in the future. We also got to meet up with my brother and his family at Ikea for a little bit. All in all, it was a great weekend!

Here are some pictures of our visit with the ducks.

Big Fish 4 God

Last week, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Joon Choi for his research project called Big Fish 4 God. When he first asked me, I was completed humbled because I definitely don't feel like (and I'm not) a big fish. (I usually am the little fish.) But he wanted to interview me because I am a woman in ministry, and he wanted to talk to me about my book "Body. Beauty. Boys." We had a great chat. If you have time, check it out at his website under podcasts.

Blog Decision!

So, I chose to use Blogger. Squarespace.com is my favorite but I don't want to pay for it. Scott wanted me to choose Wordpress but I liked Blogger better. So, I have copied all my blog entries over to Blogger but unfortunately I don't have the comments that were posted.

Finished Basement!

I posted awhile back that Scott has been in the process of finishing out basement. Our house is 2400 square feet but you would never know it because of the layout. There is a lot of unused space. The basement was just one big open room. You walked down the stairs and into the basement. No doors which isn't great for an office or a bedroom. Since the guest room is now Sinclair's room and Scott is now working from home, we needed a solution. Scott built two rooms out of one. He built an office and a guest room. Its amazing how much bigger our house feels. We finally feel like we can use all of our house. Scott's next project is completing the basement bathroom. He did an amazing job and I am so proud of him!

Here are some pictures I took (which means they aren't that good):

Landing - looking from upstairs

entrance to the guest room

Now, I need to use that elliptical trainer!

that door is the walk in closet



GREAT JOB SCOTT!!

Got Milk?

My baby is growing up so quickly! At Sinclair's 9 month well check up, the doctor told me that once she turned 11 months and we ran out of formula to go ahead and give her whole milk. Well, this weekend we did just that. I started to introduce milk by giving her 2 oz of milk mixed with 4 oz of formula. Then, I slowly added more milk and less formula as each day progressed. By Monday, she was completely on milk. She has transitioned well. (And wouldn't you know that I now have $8 worth of coupons for her formula now that I don't have to use it! I could have only spent $4 for formula this week!) I just can't believe that she is old enough for milk. I had debated with myself for awhile as to whether or not introduce milk but eventually decided to just go for it. Dr. Denmark suggests not giving them milk but supplementing dairy in other ways. But at the end of the day, I decided to take my doctor's advice.

Bookworm

Sinclair loves to read. She also loves to EAT her books. (Maybe its some type of osmosis except by eating rather than sleeping!) I store all of her books in a round tray on the floor. She is really in to climbing on top of her stack of books and sitting to read.

Mother's Day 2009

So, this was my first "official" Mother's Day. I was very pregnant last year and even though I was technically a mother, I now appreciate Mother's Day even more with Sinclair here. Sinclair "gifted" me by waking up early (thanks to the new tooth #5). I opened the fridge door to get her milk and found two cards!

One card was from Scott and the other from Sinclair. Scott gave me a gift card to one of my favorite places--Barnes and Noble. I'm so excited to go there and browse through magazines and drink some coffee. That is one of my favorite things to do (and I haven't done that since January).

Then, we went to church. Sinclair was fussy on the way so I was nervous how she would do in her new class. She had been promoted to the crawlers class a month ago but we haven't been able to go because I was speaking the last three weeks. Andy S was about 10 minutes into his message when her number appeared on the big screen. She was just really upset and couldn't calm down. Oh well... this is the second time she's been "kicked" out of the church nursery. She may be giving my brother a run for his money!

We ended the day by going out to eat with Scott's mom and stepdad. All in all, it was a great day! I am so thankful for my own mother. She is my best friend and couldn't imagine doing life without her.

In Need of Exercise

I find myself completely dragging today. I feel like I haven't caught up from my crazy work week last week. I had a not so relaxing or restful weekend which leaves me tired today. I can't help but feel like I need to start exercising again. I really need to set a schedule and do a little something. Every now and then, I get in a walk or Pilates. Its just so hard to find the time between caring for Sinclair, caring for the rest of the family and working full-time. By the time she goes to bed, I am too tired and just want to veg on the couch. Any suggestions of stepping up the workout?

Where I've Been

It has been a long time since I updated my blog. (What seems like ages is really only a week.) I work for an organization called The reThink Group. We provide resources and training for church leaders based on the idea of partnering with parents. We believe that two influences have a greater impact than one influence. So, red (the family) and yellow (the church) combine to make a greater impact (orange) in a kid's life. That is why our conference is called The Orange Conference. It was an amazing yet exhausting week. We had 3200 people in attendance. This group included children pastors, student pastors, senior pastors and even ministry volunteers. It is always fun to connect with the people you serve. We launched a new training curriculum called Orange Leaders. I'm on the team who manages this so it was a crazy time getting it up and running by Wednesday.

Sinclair spent the week with my parents in TN. She had so much fun with Mimi and Peeps. She really loves Izzy, the dog, and taking Gator rides around the property to see the neighbor's goose and chickens. I missed her so much! She was so excited when she saw me. She crawled over to me with the biggest grin on her face. I can't even count how many kisses she gave me.

She is 11 months now! I can't believe that her first birthday is quickly approaching. I actually bought whole milk yesterday, and I'm about to begin introducing that to her. While she was away, she said "no no" after my mom would say it. She has said it a few times with me. For instance, when she tries to eat cat hair off the floor I'll say "no no" and she'll say "no no". Too cute!

We had another interesting night Saturday night. We live behind some obnoxious people who like to party. The past two Saturday nights, we have been awoken at 3:00am and kept up until 6:00am by them. We actually called the cops this week but it didn't really help. I'm praying now that God will provide an opportunity to move. I like my house but I'm really detesting the neighbors!

I finished up speaking on series called CRUSH at North Point's middle school program. I really enjoyed speaking especially since it was just to girls. It has been an exhausting April and I'm looking forward to some down time.

Okay... so that was a long and random post. I just wanted to update you on the past week.

This Weekend

Scott had an eventful flight home from Vegas on Thursday. He was supposed to land at 9:30pm in Atlanta but due to the terrible storm he was diverted to Huntsville, AL where the plane set on the runway for three hours. He finally walked through our door at 3:00am! We were so thankful to finally have him home. Sinclair was so excited to see him when she woke up the next morning.

Yet another reason to move happened this weekend. I think I need to start a "why we should move list." We were rudely awoken from sleep at 3:30am early Sunday by our neighbors. This isn't the first time. They have a tendency to party ALL NIGHT LONG. They partied until 5:30am! I had to be up at 6:00 to prep because I was speaking at North Point again. So, Scott and I never went back to sleep. Sunday was a rough day for the both of us. I felt like I couldn't make an articulate statement which is terrible when you have to speak to middle schoolers! But I survived and went to bed at 9:30pm last night!

This is a busy week for me. We have our long anticipated Orange Conference here in Atlanta. I will be staying at a hotel at the Gwinnett Arena from Tuesday to Friday. Sinclair will be going to TN to be with my parents during that time. Scott couldn't keep her all those days so we figured it would be easiest to let her have some quality time with Mimi and Peeps. I am sad to see her go though. She has been acting a little weird lately like she's not feeling on top of her game. I think its due to the two new teeth that have arrived in the last week and a half. I'm praying that she will stay well while she's away.

New Friend - Vivian

Today, we went over to Julie and Vivian's house for lunch. Julie and I used to work together at reThink. I had Sinclair on May 31 and Vivian was born on August 10 so they are close in age. Vivi is just the sweetest little love. She is such a happy baby!! I would find her staring at me just waiting for me to look at her. As soon as she got my attention, she burst open with the biggest smile.

Sinclair loved their dog, Abe. And he loved licking her fingers and face. We didn't capture it on film but at one point, Sinclair tried to eat Vivi's toes! Here is a picture of the aftermath.


Julie is a wonderful cook and made us from fresh chicken salad. It was so yummy! She always inspires me to cook. She makes it looks so easy and effortless. The girls sat around and just "talked". They were so very cute together! Vivi would watch Sinclair crawl EVERYWHERE and climb on things. She especially enjoyed climbing on Julie to get her food! We had so much fun. We'll have to have another play date soon.



Both girls loved carrying around and chewing on diaper wipe bags. Who needs toys?

Song of the Day

I thought I might post some songs periodically that are playing on my iTunes. Today, is Unhindered's "Father Will You Come" from the album Unhindered Live Worship Experience.

Since You've Been Gone

I couldn't help but title this post "Since You've Been Gone". I love that song and really I couldn't think of a better title because Scott has been in Las Vegas since Saturday. I have to be careful when I say what he's doing out there because for some reason it could sound sketchy. I usually say he is at a film convention or media convention but that's what sounds sketch. He's out at the big national media and broadcasting convention taking some classes.

We've stayed busy since he's been gone which helps to make the time pass quickly. You've already read about Saturday and the American Girl Cafe. Sunday, I spoke to middle school students at North Point about dating and relationships. I'll also be speaking there for the next two Sundays. Monday, Sinclair's friend Ryleigh and her mom, Kara, came over to play. We had so much fun. They were a hoot together! Sinclair kept trying to poke Ryleigh's eyes and mouth all the while climbing on her. I wish had a video camera on them the whole time.

Today, my friend Sheila came over for lunch. She is pregnant and due in July with a potential boyfriend for Sinclair. When Sinclair woke from her nap, I found her sitting in her crib with black paint chips all over her chin. She was chewing on the crib! She looked up at me with such a look of guilt. This picture is terrible and you can hardly see the paint.


We later ran errands and ended up at Chick-fil-a for a girls' night dinner. The manager there was great and gave her a stuffed cow. She never did give him a smile. She kept her poker face on!

By the end of the day, Sinclair looked like she had been in a fight. You see, she has no fear and climbs and crawls on everything. She kept hitting her head (sometimes on purpose). Here is a picture of her face with tons of red marks.

All in all, we've had a good time even though she's got a TERRIBLE diaper rash and new tooth which is causing her to be fussy. We are looking forward to having Scott back home!

No More IRS

Here's how things often work in our family. Scott is the one who is fully educated and up-to-date on politics. Then, he turns and educates me. I get passionate about it and try to do something about it. For instance, I have boycotted Citco gas stations for almost two years now because Citco is owned by Venezuela. Since their dictator wants to kill America, I won't support them financially.

Another thing that I am passionate about is the Fair Tax.

I think a lot of people don't fully understand what it is. With the Fair Tax, you will no longer be taxed on your income but only on what you buy. Here is some info from the Fair Tax website. Please take a few minutes and check out their site.... maybe even sign a petition!

From Fairtax.org:

The FairTax plan is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with an integrated approach including a progressive national retail sales tax, a prebate to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, dollar-for-dollar federal revenue neutrality, and, through companion legislation, the repeal of the 16th Amendment.

The FairTax taxes us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn. The FairTax is a fair, efficient, transparent, and intelligent solution to the frustration and inequity of our current tax system.

The FairTax:

Enables workers to keep their entire paychecks
Enables retirees to keep their entire pensions
Refunds in advance the tax on purchases of basic necessities
Allows American products to compete fairly
Brings transparency and accountability to tax policy
Ensures Social Security and Medicare funding
Closes all loopholes and brings fairness to taxation
Abolishes the IRS

Easter 2009

We had a great weekend. It started off well on Friday. Scott's mom picked up Sinclair for the NIGHT. It was her first time spending the night at Papuo & Gia Gia's house and she had so much fun. Scott and I went to the Village Tavern for dinner which was wonderful. We get a DATE about once a month. (We need to get better at that) We then went to North Point for the Easter service which was on Friday night. We walked in the door right before the heavens burst open with a massive storm. The service was delayed about 20 minutes due to weather. It was a wonderful service despite the storm. We arrived home to a neighborhood and house without power. We sat around by candlelight until our power was restored about midnight. Saturday, I did some serious cleaning and Scott continued work on our basement. We are really close to finishing this project. I'll post pictures soon.

We didn't go to church Sunday morning since we went Friday night. But we still got dressed up for Easter lunch at Gia Gia's house. We had such a great weekend!

Here are some pictures from the day:


Looking in her Easter basket (The candy is for mom & dad although she wanted it. I also put a bunny in there that she already had. I figured she wouldn't know the difference!)



She's wearing the Easter coat I wore at her age






Gia Gia & Papou

Vitamins

You may or may not know, but last year was a rough health year for Scott. Days after Christmas he had to go to the ER in the middle of the night because he had such a bad case of strep throat. After that, he got diagnosed with acid reflux (GERD). Throw in a couple more cases of strep throat and tonsilitis. Then, he got Shingles. I thought that only older people got that. Shingles caused nerve damage in his head resulting in horrific headaches. Finally, he was able to get his tonsils removed in September and his health has been much better. All that to say, we are looking into vitamins. Amberly mentioned a blog so I checked it out and she recommends Shaklee. So, I think I'm going to get Scott a multivitamin and Complex B vitamin to try.



I have been so tired lately and not sure if its the stress I'm under or not sleeping soundly or what, but I've decided that I need something, too. We have a bottle of Monavie so I gave it a try today. Its expensive so I'm not sure if I can continue it even if I see good results but its worth seeing if it will help.

First Choking Scare

We had our first choking scare today. We were on our way home from Target. Its only about a 5 or less minute drive. I gave Sinclair an empty Vitamin Water bottle to play with. As I pulled in the neighborhood, Sinclair was coughing, gaging and her eyes were watering. I pulled over and got her out of the car. I couldn't tell what she had in her mouth if anything. The bottle still had its cap on. So, I put her in my lap and drove to our house. Once inside, she started doing it again and since we were face to face I could look in her mouth. Somehow she had torn off a piece of plastic off the bottle wrapper and it was lodged on the inside of her cheek. I reached in and grabbed it. I'm not sure if she had partially swallowed it or not. I am so thankful that we got it out!!! It is just a reminder how fragile they are and how you have to be so careful with what they have.

Hit The Road

I did something this morning that I haven't done in a really long time. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I did this. It has been years.

Sinclair has been battling a cold since Tuesday. The runny nose has kept her from sleeping well both at night and in the day. I've had some exhausting days. This morning, she woke at 5:50am. She cried off and on, talked some, and was even quiet for awhile until the school bus (don't get me started about the school bus!) drove through our neighborhood at 6:30am and caused her to wake again. So, we were up at 7:00 and we normally don't wake and eat until 8:00. I was so frustrated (which of course I took out on my husband.)

Scott came downstairs at 8:30 and I took off... literally. I put on my running shoes, turned on my iPod, opened the door and started to run. I just needed to feel exhausted in a different capacity. I needed to sweat. I needed to feel my heart race. I ran for 16 minutes...not long but pretty good for someone who hasn't run in years.

Its funny how much exercise really benefits your mental health (and spiritual for that matter).

Sinclair's Friends

One of the many things I've enjoyed about being Sinclair's mom is hanging out with other moms and their babies. We have had some play dates over the last 10 months. The last time we hung out with Tate and his mom, Amber, it was fun to watch the kids play "together." Before, they would just play individually, but last time they actually sat with each other and handed each other toys (and of course grabbed each others' toys). Sinclair and Ryleigh, Kara's daughter, are cute together because they are only 3 days apart in age. Kara delivered Ryleigh on the day we left the hospital. We also used to play with Holly G's daughters, Selah & Abbie but they moved to Missouri. We have also played with Emmalyn and Annily, Amberly's kids, and Holly C.'s baby, Lilah. (I don't have pictures with those girls.)

Selah & Abbie


Tate


Ryleigh

The Red Carpet

Sinclair goes with me every other Sunday afternoon to Inside Out (the high school ministry at North Point) and stays in the nursery. I like that it gives her a chance to be around other adults and kids. There's usually only about 3 other babies there.

This Sunday was different because we had an event called The Video Music Awards. Different small groups created music videos and they gave out awards for different categories. They had a red carpet rolled out and took our picture as we entered the building.

Here we are on the red carpet. "Sarah is wearing Forever 21 with her stylish diaper bag by Mia Bossi." "Sinclair looks spectacular in Gymboree and her mother's keychain adds a nice touch of bling.

New Hair Style

I booked a hair appointment a month ago and decided it was time to really cut it. I've only had short hair a couple of times in my life: 3rd grade and 11th grade (I wish I had pictures to show). The 3rd grade cut was cute but the 11th grade cut scarred me for life. And of course, it was captured in the yearbook picture. I did some research of peoples' hair that I liked and the consensus was something about the length of my collarbone. I ended up finding a bunch of pictures of Elisabeth Hasslebeck from The View. Jodi did a great job! If you need a great hairstylist, check out Jodi at Revival Salon in Suwanee.

So, here is my new do!

Northside UMC

Saturday, I had the privilege to go speak to the eighth grade girls at Northside UMC in Atlanta. I was really excited for the opportunity to speak to these girls! I gave a message called What A Girl Wants which is all about looking at what we as women were created to want when it comes to relationships. This is one of my favorite messages. One reason, is that I get to tell a story about how me and Scott are different. So, I'll tell you the story...

One Valentines Day, we went to Married Life Live at our church. This is basically a night for married couples to come eat dessert, hear great music and a message. They played such a great love music. Songs by people like Marvin Gaye and Barry White. I was totally digging it. When it was over, we talked out the door. Scott put his arm around me and I nestled into him all the while, totally grinning and thinking about how much I loved him. He looked at me and said, "You know what I've been thinking?" I thought to myself, "Here it comes. He going to say that I am beautiful or that we should take a vacation or something totally romantic like that." So, I say to him, "What?" He said, "I realized why Arby's are so good in Atlanta..." Seriously. You read correctly...ARBY'S!! I was like "Did you just say Arby's?" I was thinking Romance. He was thinking Arby's. Classic. Guys and girls are just plain different.

Here is a picture of me and girls.

Today

I don't know why but almost every time we travel to TN to my parent's house, one or all of us gets sick. We went there last Tuesday for less than 24 hours and low and behold Sinclair woke up Friday morning covered in vomit. Yah! Ever since then, she has been so fussy. My happy baby seemed to disappear.

Last night, Scott woke in the middle of the night sick. It caught him. I am praying that I won't get sick or Sinclair again, and I have covered the house with Lysol.

Yesterday, I decided to drop one of Sinclair's bottles. She is now down to 3 a day (8:00am, 12:00, 8:00pm). I can't believe how old she is. Gone are the days of 8 feedings! She seems to be adjusting fine so far. We'll see how she does today since the school bus woke her WAY early from her nap this afternoon. I must admit that my anger burns towards that school bus since I was hoping to get some rest given that I have been up since 4:00am with Scott.

Oh well...

Rebellion

If you know me well, you'll know that I am a rule abider. I always believed that I would be the one caught doing something wrong so I just chose to not do the wrong thing out of fear. I am a people pleaser so that helps me abide the rules, too. But there is one area of my life that I am a total rebel. I refuse the follow the rules. I throw the rule book out the window. That area doesn't involve the "normal" ways to rebel like alcohol, drugs, etc. That one area is in regards to holidays and clothing. There is something in me that rebels against culture and refuses to wear the color of the holiday on the day of the holiday. I cannot wear red or pink on Valentine's Day. I cannot wear red or green at Christmas. And I cannot wear green on St. Patrick's Day even though there is a threat of being pinched. So here is a picture of what I wore today... GREEN. Since today is March 16, I wore green.

Christmas in March... Literally

Okay...

So the picture above is first of all, super cute (please notice the nice bed hair), but secondly you'll see the Christmas tree in the background. No, this picture wasn't taken back in December when the world celebrated the birth of Jesus but it was taken less than a month ago... in MARCH!

Our Christmas tree remained up in our living room because Scott has been renovating our basement. We just didn't have the space to store the tree so we figured we'd leave it up. The basement was set to be completed on January 10 and two months later it is still uncompleted. Finally, yesterday we had enough and the tree came tumbling down. Tippy (our cat) was really sad. He enjoyed climbing it and sleeping under it. Sinclair will miss scheming to chew on the light cords. But I will honestly not miss it. Our house definitely seems bare without the twinkling lights but it is nice having the living room back to normal.

Accomplishments

Do you ever feel like you get a lot done in a day but at the same time you get nothing done? That is how I felt today. Thankfully, Sinclair slept until the normal 8:00am. After we played and she went down for a nap, I actually did Pilates. But then, things just got busy. I visited with a friend, made plans for a baby shower, cooked chicken for tonight’s dinner, went back and forth on email about some work stuff, edited something and even took a shower all within 2 hours. I felt extremely busy and accomplished a lot but felt like I failed because I really wanted to sit down and work on my book proposal. Then, of course, Sinclair woke up on cue and the cycle started all over again. Here’s hoping to accomplish something that I really want to accomplish during her next naptime.

Coupons

I recently have tried my hand at coupons. I never really gave it a shot because I couldn't figure out to really benefit from it. Each Sunday, I purchase 2 papers to get double the coupons. So far, each week I've saved about 40%. This is great except for the fact that I still have to purchase diapers and formula. My sister-in-law shared a great website with me. This site really helped me understand the method of coupons and it gives tips for different stores each week. Anyways, I could probably go on an on about coupons but since its 9:00pm, it would probably put you to sleep!

Welcome to the World of Blogging

Well...

here

I

am!

I have stepped into a new world. I have wanted to begin blogging for a long time but never got around to actually doing it. I wanted to have a way to journal my thoughts and share moments of my life. With the addition of Sinclair to our family, I feel like I have even more thoughts and PICTURES to share.

(picture courtesy of At First Sight Photography)

Thinking of a Change

No, I'm not talking politics. I'm talking Blogsites. I currently have a blogsite with squarespace.com and just created one with Wordpress only minutes ago. Now, here I am starting one on Blogger. Maybe I have multiple personalities. Actually, I just want to see which one I like the best.