Real Live Woman

So this weekend was Dewey’s marathon for Calleigh.  I just have to say that I am SUPER impressed he did it in 2 hours!  Seriously, even when someone has trained for it, I think running a marathon in 2 hours is amazing!  GO DEWEY!!!!  Calleigh says you did awesome! :)

Recently I got my iPod back out and started listening to some old songs that I used to love.  One of them got my attention as something I really want my daughter to think about, as well as help me remember a few things, especially about the wonderful man I married.

“I don’t buy the lines in magazines that tell me what I’ve got to be;

Don’t base my life on a movie screen, I don’t fit the mold society has planned.

Don’t need to be 19 years old or starve myself for some weight I’m told;

Or turn men’s heads, been down that road, and I thank God I finally know just who I am.

I ain’t a movie star, may never see the view from where they are.  And this old town may be as far as I’m going.

What he’ll hold tonight in his hands, he swears is so much better than anything that this old world can show him.”

Sung by Trisha Yearwood

Too often I look at the skinny women around me and wish I was back to the size I was when I was younger.  I know, I am not overweight, and I did lose a lot of the baby weight pretty fast, but it’s still hard with the tiny women around me.  I look at my mother and see that she looks fabulous for her age, and I hope I look as good as her at her age.  But her security in that is not what I think it should be. 

So with the two of us as insecure about ourselves it makes me think of two things.  One – I want to start a lifestyle that treats my body well.  I want to work out, and be active so that I can be confident in who I am.  I don’t need to be super skinny, but I want to be fit so that later in life I can also be confident.  But Two – I want to be confident in myself no matter what the scale says.  I want to be healthy but not obsess over the weight, because I don’t want my daughter to think that a certain weight is what defines me, or her. Especially since while I try to keep the weight off, she will be trying to put weight on.  And that is scary to me.

I want her to realize that a real life woman is worth more than a skinny model.  Kevin will love me no matter if I gain 10 pounds or lose 10 pounds.  Having a husband love you for who you are is worth so much more than the 15 pounds I feel I want to lose.  I want Calleigh to find that kind of love.

Prayer for Calleigh:  Lord, please heal my daughter.  Please help her little lungs to continue to give her body the oxygen it needs.  Help her little pancreas to continue to accept the help that the enzymes give her.  Thank you that she is getting her teeth in, please help ease the pain that comes with it.  Father, I ask that you hold her hand throughout life.  Walk with her, carry her when she needs you, and allow her to feel your presence at all times.  Thank you that she is happy, loving, and capable.  Please give her confidence in herself, in her beauty and in You.  Lord, I pray that she finds a husband like her Daddy, Uncle Aaron and Crappaw, solid, Jesus loving men.  Thank you for letting me borrow her from you for a while and give me strength to give her back to You as You ask her to do Your Work.  :)

Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My!

Let's face it - going from 1 kid to 3 kids is a big jump.  But a fun one. :)  We had Miles and Mia all weekend with us (more than just our Saturday time) and we decided it would be fun to go to the Zoo!  So Mom, Dad, Kevin, me and all.three.kids. packed up in the car and headed down!  

Kevin was a bit stressed because that's a lot to take on, but it definitely was a ton of fun!  

Miles got to ride the train...

 Calleigh loved the cats... 

but poor Mia was too pooped to pop!  

It did get hot and she was just so tired.  So it was early to bed that night but it was worth it! :)

Today was great - I got Calleigh to eat peas, cheese, a few bites of pasta and a few bites of bread, all before her normal baby food and a full bottle! :)  So maybe we are on our way to eating table food!  

My prayer for Calleigh: Lord, thank you for calming my fears about transitioning Calleigh to food.  Thank you that she seems to be doing so well with her eating and I pray that her next appointment the doctor says that she has gained weight well.  Please continue to be with her, to keep her lungs and pancreas working.  I pray that she enjoys her time with her cousins, friends and family.  Thank you for her smile and her love.  And please slow down time just a little... :)  

Cincinnati's Finest

Last Friday night = Cincinnati's Finest Fundraiser for CF = AWESOME!

Hors d'oeuvres, great band, dancing (sort of!), silent auction, etc. were all great parts of the awesome night!  We even bid on a few things but (thankfully) didn't win.  :)  

The goal was that nominees for the title of Cincinnati's Finest Young Professional took the past 3 months to raise money for CF, and the one who raised the most won!  That happened to be a woman named Lindsey, who actually went to high school with Kevin, although they didn't know each other.  She raised 15,000!!  And the whole even raised something near 60,000!!!  Amazing!!

The nominee we were there to support, though he didn't win, had to be one of the sweetest guys we are privileged to know!  Bob Herzog raised money for this event in honor of Calleigh.  :)  He used her pictures on the news and everything, it was so fun! And that night I finally got to meet him, and his wife, Cali.  Kevin always talked about how working with Bob was so neat, and I loved getting to meet him!  He and his wife are such sweet people, and it was an honor to sit and get to know them.  :)

But what made the evening (and myself cry of course!) was seeing 9 year old Kylee, who has CF, give a speech.  She talked about what life is like, how she does get to do things normal kids do, and how excited/thankful she was that the Cincinnati's Finest contestants raised so much money!   Kylee was diagnosed at birth with CF and has had to do the breathing treatments and enzymes her whole life.  What's awesome is that the CF doctors just told her that she no longer has to take enzymes, her pancreas has started to respond normally!!!  That was so exciting to hear!  It's kind of my secret hope that the doctors will say that about Calleigh..... lol    But at the end of the night I actually went up to Kylee crying and gave her a hug... :)    It was so special to meet her.  

All in all, AWESOME night!  Kevin and I feel we will be doing this for years to come!  :)  And are already thinking of who we can nominate for next year!

Today's prayer for Calleigh: Lord, while I realize that Calleigh has this disease for a reason, and is doing remarkably well with it, I still pray that like Kylee, you could someday work a miracle in her, if it is your will.  In the meantime, please keep her pancreas responding to the enzymes and her lungs clear of sticky mucus.  Please hep her to grow, laugh, love, and only hurt a little... :)  Please help her to say Mama soon!  I pray that she always know You, believe in You, and praise Your name.  Please help Kevin and I to live our lives the way you want us to so we may be an example to her as my parents were to me.  Amen.