Finding Frieda - frieda-cise

At one time, not so long ago, I was under the belief that once your child reached the ripe old age of five she had graduated (with diploma in hand) from the 'Expect the Unexpected' moments. You know those moments. The ones were you walk into a very, quiet room only to find your sweet, innocent child strangely resembling a human rainbow thanks to the help of Crayola markers….Well, I recently learned that that belief was a myth camouflaged in sheep’s clothing!

The past few weeks, Casey has been dedicated to the P90X exercise program. Our hearth-room has some how managed to become an Olympic fitness center! I am surrounded by dumbbells of all pounds and sizes, a beautiful weight bench that matches my home décor perfectly (please sense the sarcasm) and an array of beloved exercise bands. How might you ask does this have anything to do with an ‘Expect the Unexpected’ moment? Well, let’s just say Frieda decided to create her own form of exercise! I proudly give you Frieda-cise ….

My Little Mermaid

Yesterday marked the first day of Anna-Claire’s swimming lessons! I had no idea what to expect from my little lady! She is not very fond of the water, and she is definitely not fond of being splashed in the face. Combine those two factors with two weeks worth of swim lessons and who knows what one will get!

To my surprise, My Little Mermaid did an amazing job! Within an hour, she learned how to do flutter kicks. She learned how blow bubbles. She even held her breath and went all the way under the water not once, not twice, but seven times! She was so proud! And I was so proud for her. As we rode home, she went on and on telling me how she loved the water! She wished she lived in the water and could do everything in the water! She could sleep in the water, eat in the water, play in the water, talk in the water… Looks like have my very own Ariel in the making …

i will rise ...

I was riding into work today and Chris Tomlin’s song “I Will Rise” came on the radio! I love the song and have heard a million times (once even live in concert) but for some reason today it spoke volumes to me! I am doing the Experiencing God Study which is amazing. I am refreshing my mind and heart in what it means to have a “love” relationship with my precious Lord! Throughout the past three weeks I have prayed and asked Him to allow me to experience Him in a way I have never experienced Him before. Praise be to Him that He hears and answers our prayers! With that being said, I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to do this study with a group of wonderful and extraordinary women. They each touch my life in different ways. Isn’t it amazing to have women surrounding you that have a passion for the Lord and a passion for His word! If you don’t have any gals like that I strongly suggest you pray for God to bring them into your life! It will change you … Trust me! Ok, I have diverted! That is so me ….

Ok so where was I? Oh yeah driving into work, hearing “I Will Rise” and it speaking volumes! … This overwhelming reverence to My Jesus came over me as the Holy Spirit in that moment allowed the words of that song speak so loudly to my heart! The lyrics are as follows:

“I Will Rise” – Chris Tomlin
There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"

[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

…. This is my heart’s cry! Praise God Jesus has overcome and the tomb is overwhelmed. Where would I be had the victory not been won and had He not risen from the dead? Because of Him…Because of all He did … I can and will rise when He calls my name! How great will that day be when I am standing before my Father, the God of all Creation and can fall on my knees before Him in worship giving Him the praise He so greatly deserves? Oh what a glorious day that will be! I long to hear the voice of many angels sing and the cry of every longing heart, “Worthy is the Lamb”! ….

“And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise” ….

Will you rise? …My prayer is that as we live our lives here on earth we are found faithful. That we worship Him now in this life in preparation for our eternal life! That we long to serve Him daily. That we never look at our lives or our situations except against the backdrop of the cross. That we pursue a love relationship with our Heavenly Father! That we cry out to Him, “Worthy, Worthy is the Lamb” …..

One Shady Lady

My Anna-Claire loves the many pair of sunglasses she has acquired over the years! I think we are up to like fifteen pair now! I thought it would be cute to show the different pictures I have taken of her showcasing her shades.

It is so good to see I have taught my fashonista the proper way to accessorize! The more glam the greater ... the more bling the better ... and always, always top it off with a stellar pair shades!

Finding Frieda - Slip Slidin'

For the second installment of Finding Frieda, we find Frieda mastering the Slip N' Slide. Well, not exactly...

This past Sunday was a beautiful afternoon, so we decided to pop open the Slip N' Slide and give it a slide for it's money! Let's keep in mind, Anna-Claire has been just dying to play on it ever since we purchased it at the beloved Wally World! So let me set the scene, Casey sets the Slip N' Slide up. We turn the water on. Everything is ready to go... Except Frieda. Casey even goes as far as demonstrating the art of sliding on the Slip N' Slide (which by the way was HILARIOUS), but to no avail. Frieda refuses to give it a try. So you would think the story would end there right? ... WRONG...

She finally gets on the slide but there is no Slipin' and there for sure is no Slidin'. But there is however, a five year old little girl pretending she is a Disney Fairy that has been given the talent of "making water". (If you have no clue what I am talking about be sure to rent Disney's Tinkerbell and you will be well aware, LOL) So as I sit and watch this whole storyline unfold, I am thinking to myself...."Ok the "water making" fairy act will subside and she will eventually attempt to utilize this $20 roll of plastic for its original intent, right?"....WRONG again....

Freida not only continues to parade up and down the Slip 'N Slide portraying to be a fairy with a :water making" ability but she insists that I capture the whole "water making" experience on film. That's my Frieda....living life as a princess fairy and having mom there to capture every moment of it!

Three Singing Sensations

This past weekend the fam spent the weekend in Brandon, MS celebrating our niece Madeline's 4th Birthday! My Anna-Claire had such a great time with her two cousins (Madeline & Olivia)! We got there Friday night and the girls had some adorable moments I just had to share!

Our night would not have been complete without the "Barbie Diamond Castle" serenade performed by none other than the fabulous Three Princess Trio accompanied by two ukuleles and a Hannah Montana air guitar! The girls had a ball singing "I Feel Connected" and "Believe". Even Casey decided to join in on the fun and partake of the rendition of "Two Voices, One Song". Is it just me or is it a little disturbing to you that Casey knew every word? LOL

Look out American Idol, I think we have some starlets in the making!

nine years n' counting...

I know that I normally post all about My Anna-Claire! But I wanted to take a moment and post about another very precious aspect of my life!

Yesterday Casey and I celebrated nine wonderful years of marriage! We didn't celebrate by way of an extravagant dinner or by way of expensive gifts for one another. This year was a bit more simple and honestly a bit more meaningful. Each of us had such a busy day yesterday we barely managed to squeeze in a "Happy Anniversary" as we passed each other in the bathroom! And after nine years both of us were actually ok with that. With a long day behind me and an even longer drive home in the rain at nine o’clock at night, I came home to three of the most beautiful red roses, a card waiting to be opened and the cutest little chocolate cupcake just waiting to be devoured! My husband had the most precious and most thoughtful gift waiting on me. His day was just as long as mine and yet he took time to find a sweet and adorable way to let me know our marriage and all that it encompasses was still as important to him now as it was the day we said “I do”. Aren’t the little things in life the most precious! This anniversary has meant more to me than the other eight combined. (And yes that even includes year five when we went on a cruise)

It meant more because it was less…I know some of you can not believe this statement is actually coming from my mouth. But it is so true! Our day was just like any other day. It had its ups and its downs. It had its good and it even had its bad. But at the end of it all just like any other day it had us there together. Is that not what marriage is all about! That just resonates with me. I would never in a million years trade that “us” for anything in the world!

And these are some of the reasons why …. my brain tumor, his salvation, the amazing birth of Our Anna-Claire, God’s leading, our following, his dreams, my realities, our calling to the ministry, my in-laws, the loving family that surrounds us, his in-laws, our good’s, our bad’s, and yes even our ugly’s, his smile, my touch, our home, the cat he hates, the places we have gone, the places we will go, his weird little man traits, my indecisiveness when it comes to dinner, the prayer of one day Anna-Claire coming to know the Lord as her personal Savior, our hope, the love we share, the story we’ve made….

Happy Anniversary … to Us!

Finding Frieda - when I grow up, i'm going to be

So I thought this would be a perfect time to introduce a reoccurring post I am titling, "Finding Frieda". As many of you know Casey and I often times call Anna-Claire "Frieda". Don't ask me why or even how we came up with that name. Casey started calling her that years ago and for some unknown reason has stuck as her nick name! At any rate, I thought I would begin posting all the cute little sayings or stories Anna-Claire tells me under the posting title "Finding Frieda". I hope that you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoy encountering them!

So my first installment to Finding Frieda begins on the couch at home a few days ago. She and I were watching, "So You Think You Can Dance". Which by the way is our most favorite summer show! As we were watching all the talented dancers she said to me, "Momma, I love how they dance." I simply replied to her, "Well, Frieda you can be a dancer when you grow up if you want to." She paused and contemplated this thought for a minute and then said, "No, I am going to be Planet Saver when I grow up!" "A Planet Saver?" I asked. "Yeah, my friend Kayla and I are going to save the whole World one day by picking up litter and putting trash in the garbage!" Interesting I thought ....My child has set her sights on becoming a sanitation worker! I was thinking maybe a doctor, teacher or even a princess riding a flying unicorn, but a sanitation worker is a good stable career ...right?

A forced smile went across my face as I nodded and said, "Baby, whatever you want to be you can be!" She then proceeded to inform me that she would no longer be able to marry Tyler K (one of her friends from school) because she was going to save the planet as her job! Now, can you just imagine the creativity it took for me to explain that she could be a garbage picker-upper and still marry Tyler K? ....

Stay tuned for more installments of "Finding Frieda"

Hablo Espanol!

Hola Amigos! Today I got the opportunity to observe My Anna-Claire's Spanish knowledge! She has been taking Spanish since she was three! Now that summer is here and she is loving life as a Junior Camper, Casey and I thought it would be good to let her take the summer off from Spanish and pick it back up again this fall when she starts kindergarten.

Her teacher Mrs. Rocio was gracious enough to set up a time today for Casey and I to see all that she has learned the past two years! She was amazing. A little shy but amazing! Not only does she know her colors, numbers (up to 50...I can barely count to 10), animals and foods in Spanish she is talking full sentences and using adjectives and verbs! I have to brag (I am her mom, hello) .... Mrs. Rocio said that she was very advanced in her ability to learn another language and very impressed by her focus on correct pronunciation! Hey, rolling the tongue for those rrrr sounds can be quite difficult! What better way to celebrate her love for Spanish and demonstrate her mad Spanish speaking skills than by having dinner at none other than our most favorite restaurant in the WHOLE WORLD... Mi Pueblo! Love it, Love the Cheese Dip, Love it, Love it!

In all seriousness, My Anna-Claire never ceases to amaze me! She truly is a gifted child. She has a passion and a drive to learn. And her ability to retain knowledge is remarkable! Casey and I are so blessed to have such a wonderful little girl! We are so thankful for her and for all that she brings to our lives.

Anna-Claire with her Spanish teacher Mrs. Rocio