A True Fall--finally

  Since it is still 80 degrees here and the only leaves on the ground are the ones we never cleaned out of the gutter from last winter, Bert and I decided Loulie needed to experience an actual fall--mountains, pretty leaves, football and cool weather. So what better place than to go visit Lovey and GDaddyBoy. 

It was such a short trip--less than 48 hrs but we packed in a lot.  It is so gorgeous there this time of year and I tried to get a lot of pictures but as usual my card filled up too quickly. Someone please remind to get a new one with a gazillion GBs worth of memory.

It was a great weekend that went by way too fast. As usual my mother and dad filled it with all sorts of special treats and activities that they knew we would all love. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

 

 Black bear sighting. No lie! We had read all these articles on how bears were coming out towards the trails more this year and ways to keep them from attacking. Halfway up the trail, we spotted two--Bert tore off with Loulie up the trail and my dad stopped to get a picture. Now who would you be in that scenario? Bert always says, you don't have to outrun the bear, just whoever you're with but I wasn't taking any chances.

 Picnic by the river

                                                                        

 My parents received a little slack from some friends when they announced where they were moving (the whole Deliverance, foothills, orange team banter) so as a joke they said when friends and family come to visit; they are going to pull out the moonshine and Vols gear along with some lovely redneck wine glasses for a good laugh. Worked on us--I got a big kick out of the moonshine!

Now I finally feel like fall is here and we came back to a much cooled off Charleston. I actually had to pull out my sweaters last night--YEAH!!!!

Out on the water

About three years ago Bert built me a piroque as an easy way for me to get out on the water. It's made from plywood, although you would never know looking at it, so it is super light and was supposed to be easy  for me to cart around. Not two seconds after he finished it, did we discover that there is no way my 5'2 frame can throw that sucker on top of a car much less carry it to the boat ramp. Long story short, I still need the Husk to help me get it in the water.

Because it was a mega hot summer and Bert works 24/7 from April to September, he has not been able to fulfill his longstanding promise to help me take Loulie out on her first tour. So as soon as the suffocating humidity disappeared and the days of rain stopped, we headed over to the JI park for Loulie's first launch.

It was a success. The whole time we pointed out turtles and egrets and talked about how she looked just like Pocahontas. I really wish I'd taken my sister's waterproof camera to capture some of the scenery. This is my favorite way of being out on the water because you so feel a part of your surroundings and a lot of the wildlife is completely undisturbed since you aren't making a sound. We toured all around the park and waterways off the Stono River.

We were doing just fine until we circled back to the area in front of dog beach and found what looked to be a furry manatee. After a slight freak out and some flailing around we switched out and the manatee-esque creature got her own tour. 

If anything has ever convinced me that Bridget needs to be on a diet it was this boat ride. Every time she took a deep breath, I thought the boat was going to flip.

Speaking of getting out on the water, has anyone seen this boat in the harbor. It is the fourth largest sailboat in the world and docked in Charleston for a few days. My nephews were here this weekend and approximately 65% of the conversation was dedicated to this boat. It is completely amazing but at $400,000 a week, I think I'll stick to the piroque.

Up

Possibly the best thing I have seen today. I could seriously squeeze that cute kid. In the meantime, Loulie is sticking to her guns on wanting to be a "bawawina" for Halloween. She suggested yesterday that Bert be one too. And though he will go to great lengths to please that child, I have not seen him running out the door to purchase some Baryshnikov tights. Bert as a ballerina?--talk about a haunting Halloween! 

What is your child dressing up as? What do you think of parents dressing up with kids--cute or ridiculous? I'd say in the below picture, my vote is completely adorable!

                           

                                                                                               via here

P.S. Have you seen the Up house?

Pile Up

How did the end of September come so quickly?! I am backed up on blog posts, on work, on cleaning, etc. I finally found my desk last night and at least caught up on work emails. Loulie has been sick all week--high temp on Tuesday, fussy and just not herself. It has made it hard to get things accomplished with her so clingy and miserable but I have to admit it has been nice to have her usually busy body snuggled up and wanting to rest with her mama. That rarely happens anymore so I have made it a point to stop and cherish these fleeting moments.
But with a sick child and lots to do, I was high on stress yesterday and completely overwhelmed.  As I was sorting through piles on my desk, I found a list of grace prayers that a precious friend handed me this last week. My eyes immediately fell to the fourth prayers and I thought I would share it with you in case you are having that kind of day. 


When life piles up, give thanks...

"When stress mounts, I'll dismount it with gratitude. It's impossible to simultaneously feel stress and gratitude at the same time and I choose to feel thanks at all times!"
                                                                   -Anne Voskamp, Grace Prayers for Joyful Parenting

Milestones Part 1

I was not prepared to be as unglued by an event as I was the 10 year anniversary of September 11th. I was as overtaken with grief watching the coverage yesterday as I remember being 10 years ago. And as I watched Obama read Psalm 46, it occurred to me that the grief felt and tears shed across America yesterday were a blessing. That many times we grow immune to sadness and pain and especially evil. And the fact that our church was filled to the brim, that people paused everywhere to remember and that tears were still being shed shows me that there is still a hope, a unification and that America's best days don't have to be behind us. I enjoyed reading and hearing about where everyone was that fateful morning but something that I think doesn't get touched on enough is how much that day REALLY changed the way we live. 

I remember in the days and weeks following the attack, there was this fog of fear that hovered everywhere--this uncertainty. At 20, staring adulthood in the face, the attacks began a snowball that resulted in a depleted job market, our country at war and month after month of more terrorists threats. This new world was not the most welcoming to someone coming straight out of school with hopes of beginning their career, one day starting a family and seeing a bright American Dream ahead of them. No, what I remember is always being scared. As I've read others' blogs, people have touched on fear of starting a family, fear of traveling, fear of opening a new business, fear of even opening a letter. In the first years of a new millenium, that's what most of us were blanketed in--fear. 

But like with every other situation in life, I look at what I am scared of, what may be happening in that moment and realize that there is actually nothing to be scared of because at that moment we are already living through and surviving the thing we feared most. So ten years later after unimaginable horror, it is a blessing and a comfort to see that thought our nation has gone through a tough decade of war and bad job markets and new presidents, that as indiviuals, the fear has subsided--that new businesses were open, that children were born and that even though we remember the sadness of that day, the fear has subsided. And all of that can be attributed to a gracious and merciful father under which our country was founded. That He can take the most painful of situations and use them for good. I remember reading an article in Time several months after the attack that discussed the decrease in divorces, the rise in job satisfaction, an increase in purchases of the Bible, etc. That in the terror of that time, people began to give thanks and appreciate life for each grace filled day. So ten years later, I am thankful that babies have been born, that fear has subsided and I pray that we will never become immune.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you 

as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" John 14

A turn of events

We got all prepared to hunker down for Irene last Friday. Flash lights, bags of ice, umbrellas, movies, charged up phones and computers. Loulie was slightly perturbed--you can tell she is completely bummed that Irene was going to ruin her weekend plans. 

Turns out that once again Charleston got lucky. And though I am very grateful, I can't help but feel terrible that the north got it so bad while we dodged another bullet. 

As it turned out, Loulie got to go through with her plans to head to Knoxville for vacation with Lovey and G while Bert and I stayed here to get some work done.

She was pretty excited and I think she forgot about us the second she pulled out of the driveway. 

And thank God she has been gone this week--yesterday our neighbor was robbed in his home. Luckily, he thought quickly and held the robber at gunpoint until the police came. So while I was running errands in Mt. P, I get a phone call from two friends asking why my yard was covered in crime scene tape with 7 cop cars parked out front. To say that I had a mini stroke in the middle of Target and went 70 over the Ravenel is an understatement. It is a blessing that no one was hurt but this comes off of a dog attack a street over last week and Bert's car getting broken into three weeks ago. I promise we don't live in the ghetto but I have joked a few times in the past 24hrs that I feel  like Tupac and maybe I should write a song 'bout livin in da hood!
Yet while I lean to the ghetto side of defense, Bert has taken up with the SC backwoods mafia. ABC was here today doing a story on the rise in crime due to the current economic situation. I won't even tell you what he said but in addition to being able to see the house from space due to our new outdoor lights, I am now the proud owner of a machete--like I would even know what to do with it. :)


In all serious, please add our safety as well as our neighbors to your prayers--I may joke about this but it has gotten me somewhat worried. It also makes me sad for the people that are so desperate they feel that robbery is the only way for provision.


I'm leaving for Knoxville tomorrow to go get my Bug--I am so excited. hopefully, my next post will be full of all happy events instead of hurricanes and thieves.

Little Mae Mobley has me all wound up...

I've been up since 5:00 this morning which is completely unheard of since I have never been a morning person. But as I learned last night, in a few years this will become my normal. My friends and I had a much needed and much anticipated girls night to see The Help followed by dinner. Most of my friends had kids start kindergarten last week and since I love having friends a few steps ahead of me, I am always listening with ears wide open. I had been praying for these friends all last week as they embarked on this new stage and here is what I have gleaned from their experience so far...
a) I have never had to be anywhere consistently at 7:30 in the morning. My brain does not start working until about 9. As much as I hope to one day make the morning ride to school as pleasant as possible for Loulie, I know I will be that mother driving mascara-less in my nike shorts and sleep shirt through the carpool line only to realize that LB has left her lunch in the back seat. I know this about myself and I accept it--I just hope the rest of the PTA does too.
b) I am going to be completely devastated in 4 years when the Bug leaves me to go to school. I know I will be all like "Wait, you wouldn't let me shower by myself for years and now you're leaving. What am I supposed to do all day?!!!" So I've decided I will just go back to school wither her--it will be like Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School. Considering I don't remember a lick of algebra and my high school history teacher never bothered to cover WWI or WWII (sorry Dad--private school prob wasn't worth it), I think going back with Loulie is the perfect solution.


And bless her heart. Between spending all day Saturday with foster children at the beach, Tuesday night with children with special needs, seeing sweet little Mae Mobley in The Help last night and reading Bringing Up Girls; I am all kinds of wound up and mind buzzing on being thankful for that sweet bug and loving on her. I'm like white on rice with that child and I'm sure she wishes I would just stop reading these books and giver her a break.


But in all serious there is a time and season for everything and since I know busy schedules and early mornings and homework are all ahead of us in a few years, I want to be conscious and thankful for this time now.


Cheers to early mornings and carpool lines and to friends paving the way for me--I hope you are all taking notes!

Because I just can't help it....