What size are you?

This summer I started taking ballet classes.  Call it an early midlife crisis if you'd like, I've just always wanted to dance and while I had the extra time this summer I figured why not.  I loved every one of those classes, I may not have been able to walk most days this summer, but ballet was oh so much fun and totally worth the pain.  Fast forward to August when my teacher told us she wouldn't be returning for the fall.  Devastated, I frantically searched the web for classes that wouldn't break the bank or the Uebel portfolio. I struck gold when I found a dance company at VT that offered free public ballet classes.

So a couple weeks later I met some friends outside the dance studio and with locked arms and trembling knees we walked in.  Just inside the lobby at least twenty girls were stretching, changing into tights and slippers, and chatting away.  I introduced myself and promptly found an open spot on the floor where I started stretching as long and hard as I possibly could.  The problem with this is I DON'T KNOW HOW to stretch.  I was copying what the girl next to me was doing, what the girl in front of me was doing, and even the girl behind me when I happened to look that way.  Normally I hate stretching, I roll my eyes at Nic if he even suggests we do it before a run.  But this particular night I could've been Gabby Douglas prepping for the vault. Yes, I was that intense.

Why?  Because the 19 other girls in that room were doing the exact same thing and I was not about to be the only one not doing it.  Especially since I was probably 10 years older than some of the girls in that room.  *Did I mention my class this summer was a bunch of late-20, 30, and 40 somethings?*  It was like I was back in middle school all of the sudden and I would say or do anything just to fit in.  What in the world?  I'm 28 years old and I'm suddenly having an identity crisis??

I think there's a little bit of that terrified, nail biting middle schooler in us all.  Even the most independent, confident of women.  We start to size each other up the minute we walk in a room.  "She's so pretty, I can't talk to her.  She's super smart, she wouldn't like me.  Her voice sounds like an angel, she's too good for me."  It's like we create some kind of ranking system in our head and we can only talk to the people who rank near us on our scale.  So if you happen to think yourself a 10 then you could talk to anybody in the room.  But if you're just a 3 you're going to spend the rest of the night trying to earn everybody else's respect and attention.

I used to think guys had it rough.  I heard Nic say once that guys are always in competition with each other (the following is his example by the way).  "Dude, my dog kicked me in the groin today" "Oh man that's nothing, last year my dog kicked me so hard it ended up on America's Funniest Home Videos."  As stupid as it may be, at least they vocalize it.  We ladies keep it all inside, hoping no one figures out where we rank on the scale, so we pull every muscle known to man because we want to seem like we know what we're doing. 

So what do we do?  One dance class and a few months later I realize my identity isn't quite as formed as I thought it was.  And somewhere sits my middle school self just waiting for her spotlight to come around again.     

Santa's Little Helper

I wrote this for my local MOPS group newsletter and since the blog has been a bit quiet lately I thought I might share.  We went up to NYC along with my parents for Thanksgiving this year and had a very memorable blast!  I'll try to post pictures from our adventure soon.

Christmas always finds some way to stress me out.  Or maybe it’s the other way around really.  It seems like I look at my calendar and to-do lists for the month and have an absolute meltdown.  I get so hung up on all the things I need to do that I can’t enjoy them when they’re actually happening.  I get so frustrated at myself every time, yet somehow every year those same feelings seem to surface. 

I somehow doubt I’m alone in this either.  In fact, in a survey taken back in 2006 the research group Greenberg Quinlan Rosner found that 38% of Americans report an increase of stress during the holidays.  And women disproportionately feel that stress!  Now that I have a little one in my house I certainly don’t want to project that stress on to her (which by the way ends up happening A LOT).  So what is a girl to do?

For starters I’m trying to let go a little bit.  You see I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so if all the Advent calendars aren’t ready to go by December 1 or all my presents aren’t Pinterest crafty I tend to freak out a little bit.  Something Dr. Diane Jones-Freeman said at our last meeting though has been bouncing around in my head the past couple of days: “I don’t have a perfect life but I have a good one.”  I’m not King Midas and I don’t have a golden touch.  In fact as I was recently reminded by a parody of this old fairytale on Sesame Street, I don’t want the golden touch.  So this holiday season I’m hoping to breathe a little easier.  And enjoy a few extra Peppermint Oreos while I’m at it!

Five Minute Friday...Look

Well after a considerable break around these parts I thought it might be about time to break the silence.  I've been experiencing a good bit of writers block lately- I think about blogging but then I don't know what to blog about.  Pair that with the busiest time of a year for a campus minister and you get two months of nothing.  So to break the silence I'm linking up with Lisa-Jo Baker for a Five Minute Friday-no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.  This week's topic....Look.

It doesn't take much effort to look around outside this time of year.  It's peak season for all the brilliant colors of fall and man are they beautiful.  I'm constantly reminded of how beautiful this place we live in is.  Sometimes if you catch a view of the mountains from just the right angle it looks like they're on fire.  And of course I would be lying if I didn't mention how those last few words make me think of Katniss, I digress. 

It's so easy to take the beauty of nature for granted.  I walk the same paths every week, I drive on the same roads every day, I see the same trees outside my window every morning.  But sometimes it takes a change to make me actually LOOK at something new, as if for the first time.  I think what I'm saying there is sometimes change isn't always a bad thing.  And I really can't believe I just wrote that sentence because change does not come easy to this girl.  I remember when my parents sold the smoke puffing, wood paneled mini-van that I was often mortified to ride in I collapsed into a heap on the front lawn as the new owner drove away.  Was I really that sad to see it go?  Probably not, but it meant change was coming.  And it always does, whether I'm ready for it or not.   

Midweek Confessions

My mid-week confessions are a day late this week.  I blame the nice weather.  Better late then never though!

- Last time I wrote I bragged about feeling like a "real runner" since I would continue my training even while on vacation.  Well it certainly wasn't all the glitz and glamor I imagined it to be.  Somebody slap me the next time I start bragging about that.

- Speaking of running, while in Texas one of my runs was outside.  Our hotel was right on Lake Grapevine so the trail went through some "marshy" territory.  All I could think was "Do they have alligators in Texas?"  When I got back to the room one of my roommates informed me that they don't have alligators but they do have rattlesnakes and scorpions.  Sweet Lord, do all Texans carry around a shotgun with them to ward off such creatures?

- I was a bit nervous about flying last week.  It had been almost three years since my last flight and I was just a bit uneasy about it all.  In my desperate need for control AT ALL TIMES I found myself mumbling "ok boys, get us out of here" every time we would hit a patch of turbulence.  Since when did I go to flight school?  I also felt a strange urge to give the pilots a high-five when exiting the aircraft.  I restrained myself.

- I met one of my favorite bloggers, Lisa-Jo Baker, last week at MOPS Convention.  I talked to her after her seminar and even tweeted (*this is when you use Twitter to communicate with someone mom, sort of like a text*) at her, thanking her.  The fact that she replied to that tweet may or may not have been the highlight of my day.

- Sometimes when I'm in the middle of doing something I'll stop and think about how I'm going to phrase a tweet describing said something.  Then, when I'm finished and ready to tweet I get annoyed at myself because I can't remember how the phrase went.  Does this make me pathetic or narcissistic?  Please don't answer that question.  
 

Midweek Confessions

Sorry for the huge gap in between posts.  I've noticed a lot of the other blogs I follow have also had longer than normal pauses that they blame on the lack of structure during summer so I'm doing the same.  I've also had trouble thinking of things to blog about so suggestions are welcome :).  Anyways, here are a few Midweek Confessions.

 - I signed up for my first half marathon this week and the thing I'm most excited about, actually happens next week.  I'm headed to the MOPS Convention in Dallas next week & I'm so excited because I'll finally get to look like a "real runner" since I'll have to run in the hotel fitness center to stay on track with my training schedule.  I know, we'll save my self confidence issues for another day!

-The olympics may or may not have inspired me to sign up for said half-marathon. 

- Speaking of self confidence issues, Nic & I have been eating healthier the past few weeks and when we have a good day it takes everything in me not to post all about it on Twitter.  Obviously I failed just now.

-Thanks to a podcast I listened to this morning I've been thinking about the age old question, do I take myself too seriously?  In an attempt to "lighten up" I started singing in the car tonight.  At every stoplight I would stop and look at the person beside me and wonder "Do they think I'm crazy?"  I think I know the answer to my question. 

-I'm obsessed with ampersands.  Like thinking of becoming an ampersand knick-knack collector.  Who does that (but seriously if you find out let's talk because I want to find out where they get all their goods)?

Happy 4th of July (a day late)!

I know, I've been terrible at this whole blogging thing lately.  I say I'm making a comeback and then I actually retire.  It's like I'm Brett Favre or something (well, I guess really the opposite of 'ole Brett).  Anyways, I will be back soon, but for now here's a picture of my own little firecracker celebrating the 4th!

My Three: Day three

I'm closing out this series today, at least with the first question.  Sometime in the next few weeks I hope to answer another of Orange Dad's questions.  I know this is obvious but I want to be sure I say it, there are a TON of people who have invested in me and influenced me along the way.  I'm pretty sure if I wanted to, I could write a post every day for the next year and not have any repeats (well maybe, I'm not sure I have that many friends, unless we're talking Facebook friends where I have 883 of them).  It was quite difficult to narrow it down to three so thank you to all those people who have left an impact on my life, big or small.  So without further adieu...

(Yes, I am in fact dressed as an eight ball.  I was 7 months pregnant with Sadie and wanted to take full advantage of my bowling ball of a stomach at Halloween!)

Meet my friend Melissa Cheliras.  I had always heard people talk about Melissa but never actually met her till the summer we moved back to Blacksburg to work at BCM.  Then, not only did I meet her but I got to work with her, and in campus ministry this means you spend a lot of time together, especially during those first few weeks of school.  

One thing you saw in Melissa from the moment you met her was her zeal for God and life.  She found joy in both of those things, in everything she did.  Whether it was cracking me up at a Zumba class, inviting me to hang out at the river and "rest", or watching a movie with me while Nic was at school so I wouldn't be lonely, her passion and enthusiasm were contagious.  That gal lived life to the fullest and she challenged me to do the same.  When she was dancing she saw the creativity of God at work, when she was in India celebrating the wedding of a friend she saw God in the faces of the people surrounding her, when she was meeting with a student, who was broken and felt hopeless, she brought hope and restoration right there in the middle of campus. 

If I ever learned anything about loving people and bringing Jesus to the world, it was from her.  I would always be amazed sitting across the booth from Melissa at staff meeting as her "notepad of names" continued to grow.  She kept a running list of people she wanted to contact/hang out with and as we would mention someone at staff meeting she'd add them to her list.  The funny thing was, she would actually contact them.  It didn't matter how long it'd been since she last saw them or how "awkward" it might make her feel- she loved that person and more importantly Jesus did too and they needed to know it.   

When Melissa started to get sick I talked to her a few times over the phone.  I wasn't really sure what to ask her or even where to begin but she would always answer my questions with such grace and then say "I want you to know I've been praying for you and your family.  Are there any ways in particular I can pray for y'all?"  Talk about being humbled.  Here she was in the middle of fighting cancer and she cared about me.  Typical Melissa, she always was about caring for others above herself, it's almost as if somebody had told her to do that :).  It didn't matter what she was doing, if someone needed something, she would stop the world to get to them.  Thank you Melissa for showing me that.  Thank you for teaching me what it means to love selflessly and to love well.  So much of what I do in college ministry is wrapped up in how you did college ministry and for that I am eternally grateful.  You are greatly missed friend.    

My Three: Day two

So I know that technically there are only 2 hours and ten minutes left in this day but nonetheless here goes day two of My Three!

(yes I know this doesn't look like me.  That's because it's from my freshmen year of college (i think), 2002 to be exact)

Meet Megan F.  Despite the fact that Megan and I grew up about 30 minutes down the road from each other we never met till we got to Virginia Tech.  We ended up living in the same dorm, she on the first floor, I on the sixth.  I spent many a night on Meg's floor due to a bad roommate situation and we quickly became good friends.

The one year that we lived together during college I distinctly remember Meg waking up a bit early every day to spend some time with God.  If I ever got up before 7, it was almost a guarantee that I would see her door cracked, light on, and smell the coffee brewing (really it was already brewed and in hand, she had to have her coffee :o).  I wasn't much of an early riser back then, and to be honest I'm still not, but I saw such discipline and devotion to the Lord in Megan that it not only encouraged me but challenged me to do the same (just maybe not in the morning).  

I've been going through a study on Ruth by Kelly Minter this summer and yesterday in my reading she was talking about how Naomi, though it sounds harsh, is to be admired for her honesty with God at the end of chapter 1.  This couldn't remind me more of Megan.  Some of my favorite time spent with Meg is laughing till I cried BECAUSE of her honesty but she also could not be more real in what's going on with her walk with the Lord.   

This last year has brought lots of changes to her life (you can read about that and more of her honest heart here).  I'll never forget talking to her just a few weeks after Liam was born.  She was telling me how all the doctors kept telling she & Joe that they just couldn't get over how peaceful and calm they had been and then she said something that took my breath away, something she meant, "We want to be sure we're showing these doctors the love of Jesus through it all too."  Here she was awaiting news that would change her life and she was thinking about God's glory.  Such faith.  Such trust.  Thank you Megan for showing me what it means to "continue in my faith, established and firm", even from 3,000 miles away!

My Three: Day One

Instead of linking up with E, Myself, & I this week, I'm using a little inspiration from a blog I was introduced to last week.  If you're a parent, Orange Dad is well worth your time.  As I sat in Panera last week reading it for the first time, I was trying to hold back the tears as I thought about what it means "to shepherd my daughter's heart." 

Anyways,  I think I'm going to do a series of posts based on a few of the questions he poses.  The first being, Who are your people?  The ones who've invested in you and influenced you in your walk with the Lord.  I've narrowed it down to 3.  I'll be posting one a day for the next three days!

So in no particular order here we go.

 (please ignore the fact that the Uebels somehow all managed to wear pink & white stripes that day- or as Nic likes to say pink/white/and MAROON stripes)

Libby G. is one of those people you can see every couple of years and somehow feel like it was just yesterday.  She's also one of those people you're just naturally drawn to because she's so fun, so when I saw her last Thursday :), nothing could've been sweeter.  Libby worked at the BCM (BSU back then) as an intern my freshman year at Virginia Tech.  I think God must have given her an extra dose of patience to stick with my bratty, obnoxious, "thinks she knows it all" 17 year old self, because for some reason she did  Libby was the first person to teach me not only what it meant to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength but to actually live like you do too.  Her passion for the Lord practically exuded in everything she did, whether it was teaching me how to pull off funny pranks or how to read the Word.

Libby was my friend & she taught me how to be a friend too.  If it wasn't for her persistence in getting five freshmen girls to actually hang out together once a week I probably wouldn't have some of the 4 bestest friends a girl could ask for!  I can still remember her telling stories about her besties from college & how she desired for us to have those same kind of life long friendships.    I recently found a bunch of prayer requests from that year while I was on a quest to "rid my house of all this crap."  Every week we would write our prayer requests on a sticky note and at the end of the year Libby gave them all back to us.  Thinking back on it, I never doubted for a second that Libby didn't pray over each of those requests, because that's just who she is (p.s. it's ok if you missed a week or two Libby, my observation still stands).

Now I sit on her side of the equation, where it feels like I hear a ton of prayer requests throughout the course of a week.  It's so easy to pass them over and say you will but never actually pray for them.  Seeing those post-it notes was a challenge to me of what it looks like to love and serve God well.  So thank you Libby.  Thanks for being a big part of the reason I wanted to be a college minister in the first place!

It's time for...

Midweek Confessions.  I feel like these are a little lamer than usual.  Thanks for bearing with me & my goofiness though :).

• Last night Sadie woke up & could not get herself back to sleep without screaming for over an hour.  I probably tend to be a bit melodramatic at 3am so as I lay awake staring at the ceiling all I could think was: Will I ever sleep again?  Why God why?  (side note- I certainly understand why God makes babies so darn cute now!)
•  I found a few (like 4) grey hairs last week.  If you ask me about them in person I'll flat out deny it and call you a liar.  I like to refer to them as my "bleach blonde" hairs.  I may have had a mini nervous breakdown when I found them too. 
• While we were childless last weekend I kept telling Nic we needed to stay out late, go see a movie, or live on the wild side a bit.  Instead of going to see The Avengers we went back to the B&B at 8:00 and finished watching Season 2 of Downton Abbey.  How sad are we?
• I got my first gold card in the mail this week.  It was for Starbucks.  I let Nic nickname my card online, to which he affectionately termed it "Gold Digger."  Should I be concerned that he's trying to send me a subtle message?

Five Minute Friday-Perspective

We're up in Ann Arbor, MI (which by the way is a fabulous city) celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary this weekend but I figured I could still squeeze in five minutes of writing.  So here goes the 2nd edition of Five Minute Friday with The Gypsy Mama.  This week's topic: perspective.

Go

"Perspective is the ability to stand between yesterday and tomorrow and understand how and where today fits in."

What's funny is I tweeted that quote a couple of days ago.  I was reading my MOPS Intl. Handbook of all things and came across it.  It seemed pretty profound to me because though it seemed so ideal, in reality I am absolutely terrible at it  I feel like I spend so many days just waiting for the hours to pass away or for Nic to come home, yet somehow I look back and the years keep flying by.  How have I been married 6 years on Sunday?  How is my daughter already 16 months old?

When I look at time in the broader picture it makes me want to savor every minute that I spend napping on the couch with my sick baby or singing in her ear while the doctor examines her and she screams bloody murder.  The days don't seem so unbearable at times because it all too quickly is passing away.

Stop

Mideweek Confessions-Round 2

Hopefully you haven't rolled your eyes at me too much from last week's confessions.  Here we are for Round 2.

• I cleaned my bathroom last week for the first time in a month probably.  It was every bit as disgusting as you're imagining right now.  I'm talking single, college boy, "I clean my bathroom once a semester" dirty.  The ironic thing here is that I used to pride myself on having a sparkly bathroom that was cleaned at least once a week.  Oh motherhood, what have you done to me?
• All week I've been obsessing over thinking about these confessions.  Something will happen and I'll think, is that worthy of a confession?  Yes it is "summer" for me and I do have more time on my hands thank you. 
• Since I was blessed with bad teeth and they seem to be worsening, I left my dentist appointment last week with a $120 electric toothbrush in hand.  The hygienist and receptionist kept raving about how much I was going to love it.  Meanwhile I was thinking "Yea, yea, yea-you're just saying that because I just spent $120 on a TOOTHBRUSH."  I stand corrected.  That thing is awesome- I'm officially obsessed.  Seriously, it feels like you just left the dentist every time you brush your teeth (I'm also noticing that I am easily "obsessed" with things; maybe I have more of an addictive personality than I realize.)
• I get angry, like legitimately angry, when a show doesn't end the way I want/expect it to.  When Psych ended about a month ago I was literally screaming at the TV in horror.  I then proceeded to spend the next hour searching the internet for any spoilers and proclaiming "I wash my hands of this" if Henry is really dead.  Now I just obsess (again a theme) over all Gus' (Dulé Hill) tweets, searching for some kind of answer.  

Not your Hallmark kind of Mother's Day

It's been pretty quiet around here this weekend.  It's the first time, in a long time, that we've had nothing to do.  As life would have it though, that's been a very good thing.  Little Miss has been quite sick.  A high fever two days in a row warranted a visit to the doctor this afternoon.  Not exactly how I imagined spending Mother's Day, but there's certainly no where else I'd rather be than taking care of the one who made me a Momma.  Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there (mine included-love you mom)!

 Hanging out at the Mother's Day brunch at preschool on Friday

 My awesome Mother's Day present- they say "Toms loves Moms"

Five Minute Friday: Identity

Today I'm linking up with The Gypsy Mama for her Five Minute Friday.  The idea is "to throw caution to the wind and just write, to share what five minutes buys them. Just five minutes. Unscripted. Unedited. Real."  Today's prompt is Identity, so here we go:

I never really realized how much my identity was caught up in what I do until I became a mom.  I tell people all the time that when we had Sadie it felt like somebody pulled the rug out from underneath my feet, both literally and metaphorically speaking.  I went from having a plan/feeling confident in said plan 99.9% of the time to feeling completely clueless. 

The first few months I was in pure survival mode so I didn't really see the identity crisis happening.  But once I reemerged into the world from a sleep deprived fog, it slapped me in the face.  Sure I was still a campus minister but my time there had been greatly reduced.  Somehow I had decided (in my silly head) that being a mom wasn't quite as valuable as working full-time in a real job, I felt like I had no purpose anymore.  I think you see where that's headed.  I was an emotional wreck with multiple meltdowns that strangely are quite similar to the temper tantrums my 16 month old is throwing these days. 

stop.

*editor's note: so this whole typing just for 5 minutes was a lot harder than I thought.  Perhaps I'll finish this stream of thought sometime next week.  Leaving it without a conclusion is killing me, but that's what I'm supposed to do!

Midweek Confessions

  

In an effort to be more authentic, I'll be linking up with Elizabeth from E, Myself, & I on Wednesdays to share my not so perfect moments.

•  Yesterday I ate at least 6 chocolate chip cookies for lunch.  In my defense I had a big breakfast around 10 o'clock (I can tell these honesty posts are going to include a lot of "in my defense" phrases).
• As much as I like to tell people I'm not obsessed with my iPhone I totally am.  I check Facebook/Twitter/Email a lot (I should count for next week's post).  Sadie totally acts out when I do this too.  It goes a little something like this, "No Sadie, don't stick your hand in Mabel's water dish.  (looks down at phone) What?  Megan Fox is pregnant. (hears squeals, looks up)  Ahhh, that is not a bathtub Sadie!"  
• Speaking of social media, sometimes when I'm talking to people in real life, I act like what they're telling me is the first time I've ever heard it.  Really I've already read it on FB/Twitter, I just don't know how to tell them without seeming rude.  Any ideas on what the proper etiquette is for these situations?  
• Nic has been waking up early to exercise.  Sometimes when his alarm clock goes off I totally act like I'm still asleep or "play dead" as I like to call it.  I did acknowledge this to him last night, his response "Oh I know."     

Eeeek, I can not believe I just posted some of those things on the world wide web.  Don't judge me!  
 

Jars of Clay

I have a confession to make: I'm a self-diagnosed perfectionist.  I've known it for a LONG time but I've just recently decided to make it public.  It's probably why (read: it is why) I haven't blogged in almost two months.  Every time I sit down to blog I struggle to know what to write about and then I convince myself no one cares anyway so why waste my time.  It takes me 10x longer than a normal person to write a short post because I type something and then delete it (like I'm doing now) at least 5 times per sentence. Heaven forbid it not sound right or gasp, have a typo! 

In all honesty though, I'm kind of a hot mess or an oxymoron rather.  In small group settings I've been known to be honest to a fault, at least in most areas of my life, but there are so many other parts of my life I think I might die if someone really knew about.  All because, gasp (note the dramatic turn this post is taking), they might see that I'm not so perfect after all.  I feel like Nic has to give me the 'ole "You're not perfect and nobody expects you to be" speech at least once a month and each time he says it I die a little bit more inside (love you babe-keep it up because I need it). 

I've been going through a bible study on 2 Corinthians and yesterday I read "During New Testament times, clay pots were big business.  Since each jar of clay was handmade, it was inevitable that it had some cracks.  Everyone knew about the cracks.  But since it was big business, the people selling the clay pots would cover the cracks with wax.  It was all a game.  Like those pots we're handmade by God, completely unique.  But since we live in a fallen world, some cracks are inevitable.  In other words, everyone knows about the cracks ."  Imagine my dismay when I read on to see "That's because people don't need to see how perfect Christians are; they need to see how powerful God is (Partow, 2003)."

Really?  You mean somebody else, besides Nic of course, knows I'm not perfect after all?  I'd love to say reading this gave me ultimate freedom from the back breaking weight of perfectionism, but it didn't.  In fact I think I could've written a 5-page paper on why this doesn't apply to me after reading it.  As much as I hate to admit it though, it's true, I'm not perfect, and apparently I'm the last person in the world to know it. 

Obviously I'm exaggerating a bit but if you watched the way I act sometimes, you'd say I lived as if I believed this was true.  Thus begins my quest: my quest to be more honest with myself and to tear down the wall that years of perfectionism has built between me and the world.  My hope is through blogging a bit more, I can document the journey.  I do certainly believe that there is a line between being honest and sharing too much that you must walk tightly at times.  But it's time to let you in on what goes on in this crazy mind of mine and not just put my best foot forward all the time.  Hang on, it's a little crazy in there!

Quack Quack

Sadie's new favorite animal is a duck. In fact, this morning we took advantage of the Virginia Tech Duck Pond and went to check them out in real life.

Wait, come back Mr. & Mrs. Duck!

And who could resist a cute kid quacking :)?

Pic/tures

Our first substantial snow of the season, in February! It took us 20 minutes to get all bundled up and 5 minutes into being outside Sadie face planted into the snow and in we went! There's always next year I guess :).

My teeth hurt Momma.

I know this is a terrible picture of her but the girl is learning to actually SMILE for the camera and I couldn't not share it (teenager Sadie will probably not be very happy with me for posting this photo and for that I am sorry Sadie)!

Enjoying a cupcake on Superbowl Eve

Her first trip to Walmart. Yep, you read that right.

Good Morning Beautiful and how was your night?

This is what happens when your kid picks up your Bible and instead of immediately grabbing it, you run for your camera because "Sadie reading the Bible would make such a cute photo op." Forgive me Lord.

Sweet Revenge

(Warning this post is not for those weak of stomach)

Nic is away at school this weekend and while I am VERY grateful for the opportunity for him to further his education, it can sometimes get a little difficult here on the home front.

Case in point today. I decided to get out this afternoon with Little Miss for some lunch and shopping. We headed to Chick-Fil-A because where else do you go for lunch on a Saturday in Southwest VA (do you notice a theme in my life)? Anyways, things were going swimmingly. I was single parenting it up. Sadie was strapped in her high chair, eating her chicken nuggets and fruit cup, when we saw Him. The life-sized Chick-Fil-A cow emerged from the kitchen and I saw Sadie's eyes fill with terror.

I must mention this is not our first run in with Mr. Cow. In fact the last time we were at Chick-Fil-A he visited all the little children, eager to shake his paw or give him a high five but not Sadie, she screamed and cried at the top of her lungs, clinging to her mom & dad for dear life, pleading with her eyes to make him disappear. Today was no different. As soon as she caught sight of him, she stopped eating and starting holding her arms out towards me. I started packing up because I knew this couldn't end well. Well, as luck would have it the kids at the two tables next to us LOVED Mr. Cow and in fact one little girl posed with him for like 5 pictures, all the while Sadie screamed. Finally he left but only to reemerge with armfuls of mini-little cows. He made his rounds, delivering a mini-cow to each child, and as I'm scarfing down what's left of my lunch, he arrives at our table. I think he gave us a mini-cow as a sort of peace offering to Sadie and consolation gift to me, "Here lady, sorry I made your kid cry." Shortly after we left.

Here is Little Miss in the car seat enjoying her mini-cow, far, far away from Mr. Cow in the magical land known as the Barnes and Noble parking lot.


Anyways, we continued our shopping adventure and finally headed home. Sadie fell asleep in her car seat and was not particularly happy with me when I had to wake her up to carry her inside the house. Not one minute after we get into the house I hear Sadie start gagging. I know what's coming, so all I can do is plant my feet and weather the storm. She starts projectile vomiting all over herself, me, and anything within 5 feet of us. I look down and I'm still holding all our recent purchases including mini-cow, who is now covered in vomit. After I got everyone and everything cleaned up, I debated for a brief second what to do with mini-cow. Needless to say he is now enjoying his new home in our garbage can. I think this is all Sadie's way of saying "Take that Mr. Cow, who gets the last laugh now?"

the birds

The past couple of days have been kind of "bleh" around the Uebel house. I'm not going to list all the reasons why because complaining never got anybody anywhere so you'll just have to trust me on this one.

Anyways, around 1 o'clock today I was in a foul mood and typically what that means is the rest of my day is destined for ruin as well. I decided to take Sadie to Chick-Fil-A for lunch because 1) I didn't feel like heating anything up and 2) let's be honest, who doesn't feel a teensy bit happier after eating a box full of chicken nuggets. As we sit down, I start shredding Sadie's chicken into bite sized pieces and Sadie starts making friends with the couple beside us. Now normally I would encourage such behavior in my child but today was one of those days where I just wanted to sulk in my own misery and not care about anyone else (I'm a great example for my kid, I know, I know). Well, you probably already know who won that battle. I was forced into having a conversation with the couple, through gritted teeth mind you, and Sadie gained a couple new fans.

A few minutes after they left, Sadie proceeded to stare out the window, for what seemed like 20 minutes. Of course in my head I'm saying, "Geesh kid, can't you just hurry up and eat?" but I finally give in and turn to see what all the fuss is about. To my surprise, I see two seagulls circling the parking lot, looking for food I assume, and almost immediately I am repentant.

Here I am feeling terribly sorry for me, myself, and I and there's a whole world just beyond my fingertips longing for redemption. There are millions of people around the world hurting, suffering from things far worse than my little problems, and all I can think about is me. I let a few bad things steal my joy and I'd forgotten about the simple things in life that bring my one year old such joy. For her, those seagulls are incredible, almost mystical creatures that soar through a big blue sky of even more beauty.

She couldn't take her eyes off those birds after that. And believe it or not I was ok with that. I'm sure I'll sulk again one day, shoot maybe it'll even be tomorrow, but whenever the pity party strikes I pray it will be a little bit shorter than today's and I'll look up a little bit quicker.

P.S. I'm sorry random couple in Chick-Fil-A for being short with you. I'm glad my baby forces me to see Jesus when I need him and I hope she pointed you to him too.

A few fun Sadie pics and videos

I have a few posts brewing in my head but for now I thought I'd post what the masses really want anyway, you're welcome Mom.

Everybody loves a little Chipotle every now and then.

Earlier this week we had some pretty mild weather so we took advantage of it and went for a walk. This picture is taken with Instagram, did I mention that I love Instagram?

We're trying out a new hairstyle. Nic says it makes her hair look longer, I say it makes her look more like a toddler (*sniffle*).

And finally a video of Sadie taking her first bite of ice cream. We took her to ChickFilA for lunch and well, this speaks for itself (see right around 7 secs).