My, how they grow!

While Lee and I were in Louisiana last week, we made the trek almost to Texas to see the precious LeBlanc babies. Mary Louise and David are both doing so well, and I can't believe how they've grown! They are both over two pounds these days and both are officially breathing on their own! Don't believe in the power of prayer? Well, you should. We had a wonderful visit with Heather and Brent (the proud parents). If you want to know more about their story, you can visit them at their blog site. Please keep the prayers headed their way!

Home sweet home

This past weekend, Lee, Lib, and I visited my cousin and her family in Lousiana. We had a great visit, the kids played well together, and the weather was beautiful. However, it did make me a little homesick. In fact, the thing I miss the most about living there is this:

Howdy, cowgirl!

Here are some long overdue pictures from Lib's end of school program. She was quite a little hoot and did a great job.

Surprise, surprise, surprise

So, I am a firm believer in the idea that if God doesn't give you want you want, He will give you something better. Well, that's definetly the case at the Aldridge house these days. As you may know, Lee and I have been asked approximately 900 times if and when we are having more children. Well, to be quite honest, we are perfectly content with our one. Libby is plenty to keep us busy. We have toyed with the idea of adoption but are really just happy having our one little girl. Again, God obviously has other plans. So, we're pregnant. Surprised? We certainly are. I've thought long and hard about it though, and I've come to the conclusion that God knew good and well that if He'd waited for the day that Lee and I prayed to have a second child, He'd be waiting for quite a while. So, here we are. While the idea has taken some getting used to, I can't say that we are anything but thankful. Fortunately, I learned a long time ago that God's plans are always way better than anything I can come up with, so how can I not be excited? I will, however, be more excited when the non-stop morning sickness marathon is over. Baby Aldridge will be here sometime around January 9th, according to the doctor. But I'm thinking more like mid-December. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Oh, and in case you're wondering, Libby is thrilled. She's set on the idea of naming the baby Corn on the Cobb. Yes, you read correctly. She likes it because, according to Libby, it will be a great name for a boy OR a girl. Nice, right?

That one little thing....

Ok, so starting very early in life, girls start to compare themselves to other girls. They start to notice things like another girl's cute dress or her pretty bracelet or her cute pink toenails. I've already noticed this trend amongst my four-year-old and her little friends at 'school'. In fact, it's for this very reason that I was almost late to work not once but twice last week-- Libby just HAD to find her pink 'diamond' necklace before we could possibly leave the house.

Well, in the midst of comparing ourselves to others, we start to realize there are things we just don't LOVE about ourselves. In fact, I believe that as the time passes, many girls will come to focus on that one little thing they dislike the MOST about how they were made. For me, this is.....no, not my height. I've come to accept the fact that God wanted me to be short, and I am completely fine with the fact that I'm three inches shy of needing a booster seat. No, for me the only thing I just simply don't like about myself is my hair. Stuck somewhere between straight and curly, it has a mind of its own, and to be completely honest-- we just don't jive. Although my mother tells me time after time how beautiful it is, how much she loves it, etc. (aren't moms always great at that sort of thing?), I think this is somewhat of a grass-is-always greener scenario. You can try to sugarcoat it all you like, but the point is- I'm just not a fan.

Well, I've come to realize in my twenty-nine years that in order to be happy, we have to find ways to work around those bumps in the road. So, in order to settle a peace treaty between the two of us, I've decided to make some lemonade from the rather unpleasant lemons I've been dealt in the hair department. So, for the second time in my life, I donated eight inches of my hair last week to help an adult woman who has lost her hair due to breast cancer. I donated through an organization called Beautiful Lengths, sponsored by Pantene. And this time, I donated with a former student turned friend, which made this lemonade twice as sweet. :)

And the responses I've gotten this time have so closely reflected the ones I got last time.....wasn't it hard to cut off all of you hair? This seems to be the question on everyone's mind. Well, the answer is: no! Not one little bit! In fact, the hard part for me is waiting for my hair to get long enough TO donate. This go round took me about two years of growing to reach the donate mark. The cutting to me is the best part. It feels really good to know that I'm doing something to bring help to someone else, someone who is undoubtedly hurting and suffering. The best part to me is that it's someone I don't know and will probably never meet. I love the idea of helping to make the day of a complete stranger. I also love the fact that one girl's 'junk' can become another girl's 'treasure'.

Oh so very friendly

One more thing for today, and then I promise I'm done. So, earlier I told you about how funny Libby is. Did I also mention that she's friendly? So friendly in fact, that she can find a friend literally anywhere. She's not picky....she'll even be your friend if you're made of plastic and don't talk....or move.....or breathe, for that matter. Don't you just love kids?

A person's a person, no matter how small

Many of you have heard me talk lately about my friend Heather and her triplets. In fact, if you are in my address book, I've probably asked you to pray for her. I want to take a minute to tell you a little bit about her story, in the hopes that it will touch your heart the way it has touched mine.

First, Heather is literally my oldest friend. We met when we were four, the age my daughter is today. We then attended the same school and were in the same classes from pre-kindergarten all the way through seventh grade. She was, and still is, one of my most cherished friends.

There's just something special about the friends that share your history. You know, those friends that you don't have to provide any background to or describe your relatives to when telling a story because they know exactly who, what, when, and where you are referring to, possibly even before you get to that part. Heather is one of my few friends who knew me before my parents got divorced and whom I have shared so much of my life with for the past twenty-five, yes twenty-five, years.

Heather is the kind of person who was born to be a mom. She comes from a big family, and if we choose to have (or are given anyway) another child, I will model my household after hers. Yes, they had their share of chaos, but I always felt welcome at her home. I always knew that her parents would take whatever it was in stride and even laugh about it later. Her house was always warm and inviting- a true home, if you will. And Heather, the only girl amongst four brothers, was always a mom to someone. I think this is partly why she chose to become a nurse...she's a natural fixer and comforter.

She will be the kind of mom who lets her kids fingerpaint....on the carpet.....twice. She'll make the fingerpaint herself, from Earth-friendly ingredients and natural dyes, and then sit back and watch while her kids paint everything in sight, smiling the whole time. And then, when they eat the paint (trust me- they ALWAYS eat the paint), Heather won't get mad or frustrated. She'll just say, "Well, what does yellow taste like?" (Needless to say, this is the kind of mom I would LOVE to one day become, but I would have a long way to go.)

She won't be picky about how straight their rooms are or if their hair looks perfect. She won't get caught up in worrying about them having the slightest bit of dirt on their shirt or all of her dishes being done before she goes to bed. But, her kids will always feel loved, know they are special, and be taught as much as one kid can be taught. They will be amazing, she will be amazing, and it will be amazing to watch the whole thing unfold.

Well, twenty-four weeks and five days into her much anticipated pregnancy, after facing problem after problem after problem, Heather has officially become a mother. Her three miracles were born this past Sunday. I literally cannot wait to meet Mary Louise, David Oliver, and Kuylen Stafford.

Being born so prematurely, I know the three of them (as well as Heather and Brent, her beloved hubby), have a long road ahead of them. But, you know, if anyone can handle this and come out smiling, it will be Heather. She will take each day in stride, rise to meet this ultimate challenge, and be made an even better, humble, wise, and wonderful person when all is said and done.

So, with all this being said, please pray for Heather, Brent, her family, and of course, three of the luckiest kids I know. If you'd like to stay up-to-date on their progress, please check her blog http://www.leblanctriplets.blogspot.com/ . I can't wait to share "when your mom was little" stories with them all and to celebrate another twenty-five years of being her friend....ok, well maybe I can wait on the twenty-five years part.