Ladies Man

Wyatt and Miss Alabama

My son is a fan of blondes. As is our tradition, Wyatt and I supported Miracle Treat Day at our local Dairy Queen. I happened to have the inside scoop (no pun intended) that our very own Courtney Porter would be making an appearance. What's better than ice cream with a beauty queen I ask? um, not much.

The second picture makes me the teeniest bit sad. Wyatt's very last Sunday in our church nursery was last week. This sweet girl has taken care of him for the past three years, while Mark and I attended both church and small group. Starting this weekend, Wyatt will be sitting with us for the music portion, then on stage for the Children's Moment (Lord, help us!) followed by Children's church. He is officially a pre-schooler. Really, where did the time go??

It's all for the Kids...

This is one of those rare posts where I will talk about my 9 to 5. Yesterday was very special to me, as it was the culmination of some very hard work. We are talking early mornings, late evenings and more than few chest pains along the way.

Yesterday, as more than 100 Hematology and Oncology patients rolled out of donated vans driven by volunteers at Barber Motorsports for the Indy qualifiers, I thought to myself that it may have just been worth it. As I watched the smiles as patient families shook the hands of drivers and received hugs from an A-list celebrities, I felt that it was a great day. But, when I witnessed this precious moment, I knew that the tears, stress and failures over the past few weeks no longer mattered.

Each and every time I begin to feel overwhelmed, our great, big God shows me the enormity of His love in these tiny, sacred moments. And ... I feel certain I am here for a reason. What an incredible feeling that is!

Thank you to all who made this day possible. You simply have no idea the impact this had on so many people. Wow!

and, yes, that is Patrick Dempsey to my left in case you were wondering ;) That was pretty cool too, I might add...

D.C.

The View from our hotel
Celebrating the Auburn WIN!
Being tourists :)




Last week (or perhaps two weeks ago now?) one of my old college roommates (and one of my best friends) made our journey across the Mason Dixon to D.C.

I had a work conference, and she tagged along... I worked, she played... and in between we got to see some of the city.

It was definitely an eye opener to be in such a fast paced environment, and trying to figure out the subway was interesting to say the least. I have to say that between our Vera Bradley, our accents and our directional challenges... it was pretty obvious that we were Southerners, through and through :)

We partied in Georgetown (I just like saying that :), saw all three Smithsonian's, Ash toured both the Pentagon and Arlington... and what else? Oh yes, I got to sleep in. What a concept!

We were such tourists... but we loved every minute of it!

Oh, and upon my return... I spent three glorious hours at the salon, and finally talked my husband into hiring a maid. I feel like a new woman!

Where to begin?

As you can imagine, I have an INCREDIBLE amount of things to update on this blog. Running behind seems to be the story of my life. I am behind at work, at home, you name it- I am struggling to keep up. I feel a little on the crazy side- my days are starting to remind me of a Looney Tunes cartoon, in which I am cast as the Tasmanian Devil.

I am determined to get more organized, and I am realizing bit by bit that it means giving up control and giving everything over to God- I am only one person, and I know I will always fall short... but God won't. Somehow those words are so much easier to type than to live out.

With that being said, let's start with a HUGE praise... I really wasn't going to mention it- but this is a scrapbook of my life and I certainly want to document all the little and BIG ways that the Lord has blessed us. In a nutshell... the promotion I had been hoping and praying for came through. It happened sooner than I had anticipated, and right after I realized that I needed to be happy with where I was and with what He had given me. Long story short- it felt good to know that my hard work had been noticed... and it felt even better that after a long journey - I knew exactly where God wanted me.

And, what's new with Wyatt? He is a handful of epic proportions. Today Mark picked up from school, and for the second day in a row, he was in time out. When asked why he had been put in time out- he stated that he had pushed a classmate and threw toys. Normal for a two-year-old? Yes. Disappointing that my son is not as perfect at school as I had once imagined him to be? Absolutely.

He is also becoming quite opinionated- almost overnight. Now, it totally matters what color his sippy cups is or what PJ's he wears. Thank the good Lord he has not started pitching a fit over the monogrammed clothing yet. Oh the horror.

Speaking of clothes- that is the big battle in our house at the moment. Not with Wyatt, but with my husband. I came home from a boutique overstock sale with several precious two-piece, smocked outfits and was promptly told that if so much as Wyatt's big toe touched them- they would find themselves in the bonfire out back. I am heartbroken. It seems the only teenie tiny thing that even still resembled my baby boy is gone- only to be replaced by blasé polos and khakis (YAWN!) Even worse, the dozen holiday long alls that I have been stashing in the closet were discovered and my dreams of gingerbread one-piece Santa pictures have been squashed.

Enjoy your babies while you have them- because one day your husband might just come home and put his foot down. If I ever have a daughter, Mark Olis, get ready for hair bows the size of Texas, and smocked dresses for the next 10 years :)

All for the kids...

Today was a bittersweet day. The annual Region's Charity Classic is underway- for those of you outside of the Birmingham area, this is a Pro Am/PGA tournament, and all of the money raised goes to charity. Over the last 19 years, the money has been split between multiple causes, but this year- every dime is going to Children's Hospital. I almost cried when I heard the news. Children's is a place close to my heart- not because it's where I draw a paycheck- but because it is a place of hope.

After spending a gorgeous day on the course, I headed back to meet some of the pro players at the hospital- so many patients who wanted to come and enjoy the festivities couldn't because they were too ill, so the players came to see them.

My heart broke for these babies- I just wanted to take them all in my arms and tell them how much Jesus loves them- that their lives are precious, and that they are racking up crowns of gold in heaven. That the pain they endure on earth will not be for eternity and that one day- they will be healed.

These sweet little angels need our prayers ya'll. Thank God for your healthy children, and pray for these in a hospital bed tonight.

To the Bruno Event Team, Regions Bank and all of the countless volunteers- thank you. You have no idea how many lives will be changed- and how much hope will be renewed.

So Glad He's Home

My favorite part of birthday parties- CAKE!

The Birthday Girl- Miss Peyton

Playdate with Mr. Will

Wyatt and I were more than estatic to see Mark walk through the door on Friday afternoon. I had taken the afternoon off in order to straighten up the house a little bit (I mean c'mon, I had to atleast make it look like there was some semblance of order in his absence) and to cook a nice meal for my husband (Insert Wife-of-the-year award here)

I think I wowed him with my apple-bourbon pork tenderloin (thanks Hormel :), garlic mashed potatoes and oven roasted asparagus (a Rachel original, and Mark's favorite).

After a sweet family dinner and an evening to catch up- I was exhausted. Last week drained the heck out of me and we all went to bed early.

On Saturday, Will came over and played. We had a great time, although we are still working on sharing our toys :).

On Saturday afternoon, we went to a birthday party and Sunday was church and a fun girls get-together where I learned how to applique shirts for Wyatt! I am so excited and have already ordered several appliques and am on the hunt for those Garanimal t-shirts that are oh so hard to find. I am feeling a little Martha Stewartesque all of a sudden. Although after trying to thread a needle for the umpteenth time, I will probably be sending some shirts to Clanton where my MIL and her sewing machine reside.

This week has been CRAZY to say the least- thank God my husband is back because I am having to be up at 4:30 every morning and work extremely late. We have a huge event this week that I am working on, and it is taking up most of my time...I am also hosting Bible Study this week (YAY!) and taking dinner to a friend who just had a baby (double YAY!) and leading a fundraising committee at church -where did all that time go that I thought I would have at the beginning of the year? Who knows- what I do know is I am doing what I love. Raising money for sick children, growing in my faith, deepening my friendships, serving the Lord and mothering an 18-month old (who had his first time out this week due to an uncontrollable urge to scream, kick and thrash all at the same time- triple YAY!)

Enjoy the pictures from our weekend reunited with Daddy-O :)

80's Day!

The first place winners- Justin and Yours Truly- I think it was the hair that cinched it :)

Laura, Madonna and Amy... totally bodacious dudettes!

The Corporate Communications and Physician Relations Team

Today is 80's day at work. I wish every day was 80's day so that I never would have to actually fix my hair... only use an entire can of Aqua Net. let's hope I don't have to go over to the hospital for a spur of the moment media call... I might scare some reporters- haha!

Please Support Your Local CMN Hospital

For those of you who do any shopping online, please visit the link below. All of these online retailers donate a percentage of their sales to Children's Miracle Network. In Alabama, every dollar designated to CMN goes directly to Children's Hospital. If you share my obsession with Amazon or Overstock, just by entering your zip code you are helping a great cause!

It is amazing working for such an incredible organization. Every SINGLE day Children's is bettering the lives of ill or injured children across the state, and this is just one small way to say thank you for all they do. Overstock.com is donating five percent of all of their online sales to CMN! WOW!

http://www.shoppingformiracles.com/shop