Lots and lots of girl time!

Having a husband as a youth minister has it's privileges. For instance, you get an extra set of keys to the church building (handy for mid-errand diaper changes), you always get invited to the church sandwich suppers even when the party doesn't directly apply to you (I happen to love the token pimento cheese sandwiches), and you also get the most wonderful wedding and baby showers thrown in your honor. With the perks, however, come the disadvantages. Most youth ministers are gone to camps 2-3 weeks sporadically during the summer. Our youth minister, however, is gone for 4 out of 5 weeks straight. Therefore, Miss Morgan and I are trying to keep busy without being outside too much, yet without getting cabin fever! What a task it has been! Luckily we've got 2 weeks down, 2 to go!

13 Creative Ways Morgan and Mommy have kept busy while Daddy's gone

1. Made a picture bulletin board of Morgan for church (it was her turn to be featured outside the nursery)

2. Story time for babies 0-18 months at the library followed by...

3. Story time for 2-3 year olds at the library - I felt Morgan was advanced enough for the older group (and I was desperate last Wednesday)

4. Stayed in for 3 days with a stomach virus

5. Weekly swim time at Carrie (Holley) Foster's house

6. Weathered our way through Morgan's daily "independence declaring" fits. Today it was because I wouldn't let her suck toothpaste out of the tube.

7. Began a new season of MTV reality shows with The Hills (love it!), Cheyenne, and Fresh Meat (I watched these, not Morgan)

8. Rejoiced as Patch and Kayla returned to Days (Morgan and I both did this!)

9. Shoplifted a .99 cent water bottle from Hobby Lobby on accident

10. Found ACU and Lamar High School alumni on My Space

11. Killed our beautiful hanging flower baskets due to excessive heat (and forgetting to water them)
12. Faithfully watched every Mavs playoff game in its entirety

13. Above all, Morgan and I have grown closer and are more mother/daughter bonded than ever. It has really shaken her world with Greg being gone, but she really has handled it the best she can! She is so precious to me and I am learning to treasure our alone time together rather than feeling anxious about being an only parent for a month!

Happy 17 months!

Morgan's most recently learned words at 17 months! (written in Mavs blue in honor of Game 1 tonight) 1. Hi buys (guys)...mama...dada...tadie (Katie)...diddy (kitty)...the list is endless 2. Babis (Paci) 3. Bible 4. Ice 5. Elmo 6. Ree Ries (french fries) 7. Buhfies (butterflies) 8. Bots (blocks) 9. Pay pays (toothpaste) 10. Ray Ray (Rachel Ray)- thanks Auntie Lynley for getting us hooked on that show! 11. I-dis (Isaac)- in connection with #10! 12. La La (puppy)- strange, I know 13. Choos (shoes) Morgan turned 17 months old today and is a mere one month away from graduating from the nursery class at church. I can hardly believe it! So, to honor her tonight, I've written my Thursday Thirteen in honor of her. As a speech pathologist, it's been so fun to see Morgan's language develop these last few months. In my profession, I only get to work with kids with speech problems, so of course Morgan seems brilliant to me! She seems to pick up new words everyday and is starting to repeat us more often. I can't wait to see what her next 13 words are!

Sunday Seventeen

Well, I missed posting my Thursday Thirteen last week for several reasons. We had a very busy week last week cleaning and running errands for our 1017 Roommate Reunion. So, when Blogger would not cooperate during the small timeslot I had set aside for this on Thursday, it unfortunately got pushed to the bottom of the to-do list! To make up, I've decided to start a new fad called "Sunday Seventeen" for those of us who miss Thursdays! You could also do "Saturday Sixteen" or "Tuesday Twelve". I don't think it matters, as long as aliteration is involved!

We had so much fun on Friday all seeing each other again. Lynley, Leigh Ann, Laura, Kara, and I had not all been together since Kara's wedding four years ago! Now we've added 3 kids to the group, which definitely made for a more chaotic meal than we used to enjoy back in Abilene.

Morgan, Elizabeth (Kara's daughter), Isaac (Lynley's son)
Unfortunately, this is the best picture I got of the three of them! Elizabeth looks as if she is about to attack Morgan while Isaac looks on innocently.

Here are 17 fond memories I have of our "1017" days...

1. Tuesday night is Pancake night- tap, tap, tap, tap. This tradition was carried on by my sister and her Kojie roommates. They still have a Pancake Night at their roommate reunions!
2. Hosting "Pajama Rush" - our house was way too small and stuffy for this event. Why did we choose to host an event in which everyone would wear flannel?
3. Brandon Sheets' revenge - involving limbs against the front door, the police, and Laura screeming
4. Doug Crum risking his life to put a Happy Birthday Lynley sign on our roof. I'm thinking that a letter was written backwards on that sign, but I can't remember exactly.
5. B.O. "Peeps" Youngquist - enough said
6. Soldier Lady
7. Blind Man
8. The "Friendship Chair"- a touching ministry to those in pain (e.g. Rusty)
9. The Jackson 5 - I'm sure we could have tried out for American Idol with that routine!
10. The Tish wig - not only stealing it from Tri Kappa, but the hours of fun we had trying it on. I remember crying so hard due to laughing whenever Shelly put the wig on and asked "Anyone got any bread?"
11. Doing a group session of Tae-Bo in the living room. I still have this on video and may use it as blackmail in the years to come!
12. Our baby pictures on the mantle. Why did people say mine looked like Tracy Baugh?
13. Beware of this memory!
14. Leigh Ann side-swiping the house with her car. Apparently she couldn't drive and eat a banana at the same time! Isn't that what happened?
15. The chore board - such a clever idea, yet so poorly executed by the roommates
16. My 2 surprise birthday parties our senior year and being embarassed in chapel without actually being there.
17. Our post-graduation dessert we threw for our families. Such a fun and memorable, yet strangely awkward event to close out our college years together!

Living with those 4 girls was such a blessing to me in college and their continued friendships are an even bigger blessing to me now that we've moved on to the next phases of our lives.

Ironically, these are the same faces Lynley and I are making in our Kojie picture in our senior yearbook. What a touching legacy of being photogenic we have left for our children!