Summer Highlights

I know it has been an incredibly long time in the blog world since my last post, but as you already know, we have recently moved our family way down south to Montgomery, Alabama. It was a smooth transition for the most part; the house is still full of boxes, but we'll get through them one day. I've learned after three moves not to be in a rush. Aaron began a busy work schedule right off the bat. It caught us a bit off guard, to be quite honest. It has felt like he is working residency hours again (12 hours a day and 3 weekends in a row on call). We aren't letting ourselves get too discouraged though. We know the daily hours will improve as he continues to get more acclimated. We are excited that Aaron will have a little break starting tomorrow and we are heading to my family's beach house in Seacrest Beach for a long weekend. One major perk to living in Montgomery...just three hours to surf and sand! We are excited to get away and spend some much needed family time together.

I have traveled a lot with the kids while Aaron stayed busy at work. Most recently, I returned from my childhood hometown of Paducah, KY, where I attended the funeral of my best friend's dad. I grew up alongside Mary Liz, many people confusing us with being sisters because we were together so often. The special thing about it is that we were like sisters. Her family was my family, and vice versa. The news of her dad passing away was very difficult for me. It made me want to rush to Atlanta afterwards and hug my parents and not let go! I was reminded how precious our time here together is and we should cherish every moment. Please pray for these people that I love. Stan Lafferty was an incredible family man and leaves behind the most precious family you could ever meet. Please pray for his wife, Glenda, and their two daughters Laura and Mary Liz, and son Glenn. Also his four young grandchildren, Caleb, Callie, Jackson and Jace. They are comforted by the peace of knowing that Stan is with the Lord but they are still dealing with the heartbreak this devastating loss brings. He had been battling heart trouble for the past several years and his wife had said, "Every day is a gift." Laura's husband, Mark, said it best..."Our hearts are hurting but Stan's heart is healed." I know they welcome your prayers during this difficult time.

I have posted several pictures. It was the best way I knew how to touch on the highlights of our summer. It is hard to believe it is time for another school year to begin. Stay tuned for "First Day" pictures coming next week! Until then, here our some snapshots of our summer...

Gracie playing in our backyard in Nashville.

The frog pool was a big hit!

My favorite picture...classic Jake!

An exciting sight for us on June 22nd!

Our new home, built in 1932.

(This was taken a couple of months ago, as

you can see from the bare trees.)

Jake's 5th birthday was July 13th!

We celebrated with cousins and a pool

party in the backyard.

Gracie loves the chocolate birthday cake!

Jake loved his Transformers Bumblebee helmet!

(I'm learning about things like this.)

My most exciting deal of the summer. A new patio

set for under $400. Better Homes and Gardens at

Wal-Mart. I love a bargain!

Gracie is growing so fast and saying

something new everyday!

Taken after Lauren was tested for her new

school. She begins 2nd grade next week!

For his birthday, Jake got a Nintendo DS. His new

favorite toy. It's great for car trips!

After the move, we came across this old

rocking horse of mine. Gracie loves it.

Just me and my girls!

Just for Fun

The other night we had a great time going through some old photos. I continued down memory lane today, nice distraction from all that I should have been doing instead. I came across most of these pictures in old e-mails that we had sent to family over the years. I had not seen some of them since they were taken! I loved looking at the pictures of Lauren and Jake. It reminded me how quickly time goes by and how I never want to be so busy that I forget to ENJOY EVERY MINUTE! It's so worth it.

This was a picture taken of Lauren in the

NICU at University Hospital in Augusta. She

was just a few hours old as the ventilator

breathed each breath for her.

This picture was taken just a few days prior

to Lauren's release from the NICU. The outfit

she is wearing is a Premie size and it is too big!

She was only weighed about 4 lbs here.

This is a picture of Jake just minutes after

he was born. He was under the warmer and his

Aunt Kathy was right by his side.

Jake was 1 week old here. This was taken at
home in Greenville, South Carolina.

Oh, our sassy little girl! She was 3 years old.

I love my little man so much. He is such a cutie
here at 7 months. I remember this photo was
taken at Karen and Stephen's house. Aaron and
Stephen were in charge while Karen and I were
in St. Petersburg, FL for my granddaddy's funeral.
He passed away 19 years after my grandmother.
They were reunited in heaven February 14, 2005,
Valentine's Day.

Lauren playing after preschool in
our house in Greenville. She was 4
years old. This was taken in February
of 2006, just 4 months before
we moved to Nashville.

Taken at the same time as the picture
above. Jake was 19 months old. Almost
the exact age Gracie is now.

Saving the best for last...This picture was taken

sometime around 1983. This was my dad's airplane,

now known as our college education. He loved to

fly but he sold it a few years after this was taken.

I remember flying in it very well. In this picture is

my dad and mom, and my two sisters, Kathy and

Karen. You also see Miss Ellen and her daughter,

Elisabeth. Miss Ellen was my mom's closet friend

and she and her husband, Mr. Gene, became second

parents to us growing up. We are still close to this

day. MissEllen was there for each of our weddings,

helping us every step of the way. She has sewn

beautiful clothes for each of our children. The

Larsons will always be part of the White family.

Three Weeks and Counting...

The countdown is on and we have three weeks until our big move! Much to our amazement, we only had five showings of our house before we received an offer. We ended up selling the house in three weeks. It is amazing considering the current state of the market, but going into this, I always felt in my heart that it would be possible to sell it before we had to move because God was involved, and with Him, anything is possible. In the end, we felt that selling the house so quickly, against all the odds, was confirmation that moving our family to Montgomery was part of God's plan for us. It is a bittersweet time though, because while we are excited to begin this next chapter in our lives, we are having to leave behind a wonderful home and friends that we love. It is always hard to move and start a new life somewhere. Even though we have become accustomed to the process over the past 9 years, it is never easy. We are packing our calendar full these next few weeks and enjoying as much time with our friends as possible.

We are most excited about going on the Father's Day canoe trip with our Sunday School class June 13th. We did this last year and had a blast. Aaron loves any and all outdoor activities and he especially loves to get me out there whenever he can. Those who know me well will agree that I'm not exactly an outdoorsy kind of girl. Aaron still reminds me of the time I "happily" went camping with him when we were in college. I guess you could say I pulled the old "bait 'n switch" routine! What he probably doesn't remember about that night was how I sprayed myself and all of my surrounding areas continually, including my sleeping bag, with Off! I zipped up completely in my sleeping bag, covered every inch of my body from head to toe, and prayed to God that I didn't have any eight-legged visitors in the middle of the night. I can appreciate the beauty of nature, but I prefer to enjoy it at a distance, like from the inside a nicely air-conditioned car. Oh well, the things we do for the ones we love.

We always keep a calendar of our activities on the refrigerator. We have a dry-erase calendar that we change each month. There was something particularly surreal about writing the word JUNE at the top of the board this week. We have had the date of June 2009 in our minds for years and now here we are, we made it. When Aaron decided to definitely pursue Neonatology mid-way through his pediatric residency in Greenville, I couldn't help but let out a small groan at the thought of 3 more years of training. I knew Aaron was following God's will for his life but it was just hard at the time to feel up for it. Rather than being done in two years, we were suddenly on a whole new track. What had been just two years left, suddenly became five. I am so proud of Aaron for following God's leading though, even when it seemed like a daunting road ahead. I think back to what inspired this path and I remember our days spent in the NICU with Lauren. I remember feeling so helpless, sitting there, watching the ventilator breath for Lauren because she wasn't strong enough to breath on her own. I remember waking up throughout the night and calling the nurses on duty in the NICU to see how many espisodes of apnea (stops in her breathing) she had so far that night. It was heartbreaking. We were fortunate to have a Christian neonatologist in charge of Lauren's care. I will never forget the time when he prayed with us by Lauren's bedside. God was working tremendously in our lives at the time. Aaron was in his third year of medical school and the way the doctors surrendered to the superiority of God's healing hands to their own was so incredibly comforting. We knew that God was in control and to have a doctor acknowledge it as well was new to us. I've never felt the presence of the Lord as strongly as I did in that NICU. From what Lauren's doctor told us, that is an everyday occurrence. They said how difficult it would be to deny the presence of a higher power in what they do. What a true statement. Aaron witnesses God's miracles every day. As we look at our beautiful, healthy and vibrant 7-yr old daughter, we both firmly believe that the reason we walked through that difficult time was so that we would end up, right here.

God deserves all the glory. His hand has never lifted off our family. He guided us through everything...the long hours and days Aaron and I were forced to spend apart because of his schedule, the holidays we spent alone and away from our families and the exhausting toll working 36 hours straight would have on Aaron. We had a deep faith that no matter how desperate things got, God would always provide. There were many times when we didn't know how we were going to pay our bills, we'd go on a hunt through the whole house looking for spare change, in the hopes of collecting enough to buy some necessities at the grocery store. On more than one occasion, our cars would break down and we had no money available for repairs. One time, Aaron's driver side window in his Jeep fell down into the slats of the door and so there was no longer a barrier between him and the "elements," so to speak. We had NO money to fix it. Aaron drove around with it like that for almost a year! Not such a problem in the Spring and Fall, but summer was incredibly hot and winter, well, you can imagine. He'd bundle up like he was going to Alaska and then he'd get in his car and drive to work. It was awful! We even went as far as to use a garbage bag secured with duct tape to cover it, but that wouldn't last long. For us though, it was a choice between fixing a problem on a still operable car, or providing for the needs of our children. One thing always remained the same...God never left us. He always provided for our needs and we are incredibly grateful for the lessons we learned through those experiences. I have no doubt that we will look back on these past 9 years with a lot of laughter and a deep appreciation for the things in life that really matter. We are ready for God to bring on the next chapter in our life together and can't wait to see where he will take us. Words can't even describe our gratitude for all of the blessings He has given to us.

I guess the only thing left to say is...Montgomery, ready or not, here we come...

Mom of the Year

My sister sent this video to me. Who's gonna argue with praise like this!

http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=v5BAW_OQqnnKMZsyT.WjYTEyMDAwOTk1&referred_by=15897293-3_Gv5Ax&p=moveon

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Finally...For Sale!

It has been nonstop work around here trying to get our house ready to sell. It is amazing how much "stuff" we have accumulated over the last three years! It just took us forever, especially with three little ones pulling things out as I put them away! I am finally so excited to have our house officially "on the market," as of this week. We would love for it to sell before we move but we also know that in this market, things are moving pretty slow. The one extremely disappointing factor in this whole process is that we had to price our home $18,000 less than what we bought it for 3 years ago! Kind of makes you glad you're not having to sell a house right now, doesn't it?

Even with our disappointments, we are so excited about what God has in store for our future. We have loved our house here and know that God will send the right buyer in His timing. Of course, we'll be praying that it will be sooner rather than later! If you want to check out our house's website, go to www.1513BunburyDr.com.

We appreciate your prayer support so much!

A Simple Trip to the Grocery Store...

It is amazing how much I used to take for granted before having children, like being able to just run a quick errand somewhere. To be able to get out of my car and run into the post office or the grocery store, and just get what I need and walk out in a matter of minutes. I didn't realize what a gift that was at the time. Those days are history. I find myself DREADING going to the store these days, especially when I just need a couple of things. Yesterday, we just needed milk for Gracie and the all important Diet Coke for me. (This just goes to show exactly how much I am willing to endure for my favorite beverage.) Let's just say NOTHING about yesterday's trip to the store was simple or quick but I did still leave there with my Diet Coke...that helped a little.


So here's how it all went down...It was time for Gracie's nap (Warning #1) and I realized we were out of milk. She is a girl all about the routine and so I knew that not having that milk was going to make getting her down for nap a bit difficult. It had been one of those long mornings where I found myself counting down the hours and then the minutes until it was time for her nap. So with that goal in mind, I announced to Jake that we were going to run out to the store really quick and we needed to get him dressed. (Yes, he was still in his Spiderman pajamas at 1:00 in the afternoon...) Anyway, I had already gotten myself and Gracie ready to go and now it was Jake's turn and we would be out the door. Sounded easy enough. We were in mine and Aaron's bedroom and I was putting Jake's clothes on while he watched Little Einsteins. Gracie was right next to me playing with a toy that was on the floor, or so I thought. After I got Jake ready, it was time to go brush his teeth. We walked to the hall bathroom and I noticed the door, which I usually keep closed to divert Gracie's attention from all the cool things in there, was now open. I walked a little quicker and could hear this swishing sound. I was horrified to find that Gracie had reached up to the sink, pulled down Lauren's toothbrush and was now stirring the toilet water with it. Wait...it gets worse. We are having to constantly remind Jake to put the toilet seat down and flush the potty when he is done. Once again, I found that he had forgotten to do so and so there was Gracie just stirring up Jake's pee as it splashed around on her and the hardwood floor. I should have ended it there, (Warning #2) but no, I stripped off her clothes, doused her in antibacterial soap, rinsed her off and then found new clothes. I was back on track!

We arrived at the grocery store and found one of those great carts with the little cars attached. Jake hopped right in and I tried to put Gracie in the front seat that faces me. I found myself at war with those little straps that buckle. One was stuck through one of the wire slats and Gracie was now showing her dislike of the situation. I chose instead to put her down in the car with Jake. She loved it! I thought it was smooth sailing. This is where I made my big mistake. I started going down aisles, picking up items that I had not gone there for but did need. Gracie and Jake were playing happily, so I kept going, giving thanks for my good fortune. As I'm rolling down the aisle, I looked down to see Gracie now hanging half of her body out of the cart. She is like Houdini when it comes to being strapped in somewhere. I quickly unbuckled her and she began crying. I was beginning to get a few glances in my direction, mostly from sympathetic moms who knew exactly what it felt like to be in that situation. I tried to just carry her and push the cart with one hand but she began throwing herself backwards and I realized we were entering full-out tantrum mode. It is amazing to me that I have three children and I have managed to avoid a public tantrum until this point. I decided that she was GOING in that seat if she wasn't going to let me hold her. She is amazingly strong but I won. (Greatest advice ever given to me..."When you find yourself in battle with your child, just make sure you don't lose.") At this point she is wailing and red-faced, throwing herself around in all directions. I tried to calm her down and walked very quickly to the front of the store. When I got up there, I realized I had forgotten to get the two things I had come there to get! So I rushed my screaming child back through the aisles and was in awe of how her voice carried through the whole store. I saw one man watching me intently and I thought if I don't get out of here soon, he is going to call child protective services! I'm back at the front and ready to check out. The sweet girl at the counter was asking me something but I couldn't hear her at all. I just nodded and smiled. Clueless. Then I saw it...one of the items I had not set out to get was going to save the day. A package of individually wrapped goldfish was making its way down the moving belt. I said, "Excuse me," and ripped open the wrapping and pulled out one of the packets of goldfish. I opened it and handed it to Gracie and it was magical. She stopped screaming and began smiling and eating her goldfish happily. I don't even remember what my total amount was, I just scanned my debit card and left, utterly exhausted.

Being a parent truly is an incredible blessing but there are those days when you kind of wish you could just board a plane to an exotic island for a week. This was definitely one of those days. I think I'll send Aaron to the grocery store next time we need something.

Inspirational Video!

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent

I'm sure that many of you have already seen this video, either on YouTube or TV, but I had to post it anyway. I was blown away by Susan Boyle's talent and so was everyone in the audience, even our resident cynic, Simon Cowell. We are always told to never judge a book by it's cover and I believe this proves that point tremendously. Our culture is saturated with images of what constitutes beauty and as women we set standards for ourselves that are not even realistic. I want to teach my daughters to know that beauty comes from within and that they should always, ALWAYS, dream BIG!