30 in my 30s: #8 GO CAMPING AS A FAMILY

Summer camp is my jam. 

I loved it as a kid and love it still. 

And although this 30 in my 30's goal didn't turn out quite the way I planned, what DID happen was way better than anything I could have imagined. 

We went to camp for three weeks this summer. 

Yes, I'm thirty-five years old, and this summer I: 

-stuffed my face with s'mores

-swam in the lake

-dominated at chubby bunny

-sang all the camp songs

-sat on a sit-upon

-anxiously awaited the daily mail call

-wrote lots of letters

-wore a uniform

-saddled lots of horses

-fell off only one horse

-ate my weight in popsicles

-realized that being a camp counselor is a lot harder at 35 than it was at 19

All of that was everything I'd hoped it would be. 

BUT, watching my kids do all of that (and more) was SO MUCH BETTER THAN I HAD EVER DREAMED OR IMAGINED IT WOULD BE!

Here are a few of our favorite camp moments: 

Watching my girls step out of their comfort zones and try all the new things, from foods to tennis to holding snakes, was truly one of my most awesome mom moments. 

They came home more confident than ever before, and I couldn't be more proud of them. 

And even though our expected eight week stay turned into a mere three week stay, 

those three weeks were crazy good and filled my adventure tank up to the tip top. 

Cheers to lake swimming, canoeing, s'more eating, and stall shoveling... well....maybe not stall shoveling. 

30's In My 30's: #5 and a BIG FAT THANK YOU

First and foremost, I just want to hug everyone who helped make our Little Houses for Emily fundraiser such a huge success. Thank you, thank you, thank you for saving your pennies in September for my girl! I can honestly say that I cried more last week than I ever have in my entire life. 

Seriously. 

'Weeped like a big ole' baby' is really the only way I know to describe it. 

High fives and bear hugs are headed your way. 

And next, you may have seen my 30 in my 30's list that I made following my thirty-first birthday. 

Well, this past weekend I was able to mark off one of the items I was the most excited about completing. 

#5: Take Libby to her first concert. 

We got dressed up.....

...headed out of town.....

...and rocked out to Britt Nicole and Casting Crowns. 

It was a late birthday present that did not disappoint.

My girl knows how to appreciate an acoustic guitar and dance until her feet hurt. 

And I couldn't possibly be more proud of her. 

I'll be back tomorrow with some fun family news (not adoption related...although praying for some of that soon). 

I'll also be busy doing this tomorrow: 

If you're on Instagram, check out my canvas auction tomorrow. 

They make great Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, baby gifts, and just because gifts. 

Happy Wednesday to you and you and you! 

30 in my 30's: #27 and how I've changed

So, when I turned thirty-one I compiled a list of things I'd hoped to accomplish in my thirties. 

Ironic how things work out sometimes because very shortly after I made this list and published it for all the world to see (and by that I mean the handful of faithful blog followers I've somehow convinced to come back to my blog on a regular basis, my mom, and the umpteen billion people who flock to my cake batter dip recipe) that God opened my eyes and I fell head-over-heels in love with Africa and all that that entails.

 And thus comes my problem: today when I look at my list, I'm kinda embarrassed. 

Where were my priorities? 

Were these things really the best I could come up with 

in terms of what I wanted to accomplish in a decade of my life? 

Seriously, tans and good fitting jeans were the best I could come up with? 

So, now I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

 I could change my list, updating it to align with who I am today and where my priorities lie. 

OR, I could leave it as a reminder of who I was and hope to never be again. 

It's not that I was terrible or awful or a heathen, but I was not living the life God wanted for me.

 I wasn't putting Him and His desires about my own. 

I wasn't living to serve Him and others. 

To sum it up in one heavy word, I was selfish.

 So, in an effort to both remind myself of who I was and hope to never be again AND challenge myself to live a life I can be proud of, I won't change it.

 However, I will perhaps put a new spin on it, starting with #27:  

Write something and have it published.  

Writing has always been something I've loved to do. However, my goals in writing have changed.

 I'm no longer writing simply with the hopes of entertaining or wooing others with my way with words. Instead, when I write these days it's with the hopes of inspiring others to step out of their comfort zones in an attempt to be the best versions of themselves. So, while my initial intention when making this one of my goals was to write something funny and creative and clever (that was also probably relatively meaningless), I am so very happy that God had other plans. 

And thus, I give you my published piece: 

See that fuzzy girl to the far right? That's me. 

And see that paragraph under the picture? 

I wrote that. 

This is the Noonday lookbook that we have used this past season to not only market the current Noonday Collection but also to help us advocate for our artisans and inform women across the country that their purchases matter and that even something that seems small, like buying a new swanky pair of earrings, can make a difference in the life of another. 

In it, I talk about how God has given me a desire to serve others, especially those in Africa. 

It's not what I intended when I set this goal for myself. 

No one will even probably remember that it was written, except for my mom, of course (hi, Mom). 

It's not at all what I had planned when I wrote set this goal. 

No, it's much, much better. 

Because, if nothing else, God is using this season in my life to teach me time and time again

 this one simple lesson: 

It's 

not

 about

 me. 

And that, my friends, is a goal worth investing in for a decade. 

30 in my 30's: #18 Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

First of all, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

It's my favorite holiday (don't judge), and I thought it was the perfect day to talk about how I recently marked another item off of my 30 in my 30's list. 

This time I tackled a big one: 

#18: Do something that's completely out of my comfort zone (in a good way, of course).

And thanks to my recent trip to Malawi and our hike through Kasungu National Park, #18 is now recent history. 

I knew this would be quite the adventure when our guide showed up sporting an M16. 

And while we saw several not-so-scary creatures along the way......

.... I was holding my breath as these beauties walked by. 

They were easily one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. 

Completely free; completely in their element. 

They were so graceful and stoic. 

This picture makes them look farther away than they really were. 

They were as close as I care to ever be to an elephant without a big, very strong fence between us. 

But the elephants were small potatoes for my fear factor compared to these guys. 

For some people it's spiders. 

Others fear snakes....or dogs...or bears with big teeth. 

For me, it's hippos. 

I am insanely afraid of hippos. 

We're talking shaking in my sneakers kind of afraid. 

And yet, I faced my fear and stood there, snapping their pictures while they stared me down and made frightening noises. 

My #1 driving force? 

Libby. 

She told me to be brave and to bring her back a picture of a hippo. 

And I 'mom-ed up' to the occasion  pretty sure I earned twenty cool points when I showed up not ONLY with a ton of pictures, but with this as well: 

I faced my fear. 

And facing my fear felt surprisingly good. 

Adios, #18; catch ya next time.

Never did I dream that my list would include hippos. 

Do YOU have a list of things you're hoping to accomplish? 

Do tell. 

I'd also love to hear what fear you would dread facing...... 

I bet whatever it is it smells better than the hippos....

For now, there's a little genie and a precious kitty cat sleeping off their sugar comas in the next room.

Here's wishing a very happy Halloween to YOU and YOU and YOU! 

30 in my 30's: #28

When I made my 30 in my 30's list, #28: Learn More About My Grandmother's Childhood was one of the items I was most excited about checking off my list.

So, when I was shopping with mom a few weeks ago and saw this:

I just had to have it.

I passed it on to my G-momma, and she's already started filling it out, writing about her life and answering the specific questions the book asks.

It's like a diary except with prompts.

Love it.

And so does she.

She's promised to answer them all, which will pretty much cover everything from her childhood to now with every imaginable topic.

Can you say: I CAN'T WAIT TO READ THIS WHEN IT'S FINISHED?

Because I so, so, so can't wait.

Here's hoping your St. Patrick's Day was green from start to finish; no pinching at my house.

30 in my 30's: #14

It's Friday.

It's a three day weekend.

That alone is reason to celebrate.

I turned thirty-two this past Saturday, and I guess with all the birthday-ing, I've been feeling more inspired to check items off of my 30 in my 30's list.

Well, after re-reading my list, I realize that I completed #14: Have family pics. made that I LOVE so much that it's hard to choose favorites.

Here are few shots from our shoot:

Love, love, love them.

Also love that they were taken by a friend who is a budding photographer. That girl is seriously going places. Did I mention that she's only a freshman in college?

If you're in the Mississippi area and want her contact info., let me know.

Tonight I will be surrounded by some of my favorite people and will be enjoying a MUCH NEEDED girl night. Here's hoping your Friday is even half as wonderful as mine will be.

Oh, and it's not too late to link to my Resolutions post... have you read that one? If not, you can find it here.

30 in My 30's: #22

If you do recall, around this time last year I made a list of 30 things I want to do in my 30's.

And a week ago, I was able to cross another one off:

#22- Eat dessert first.

And while it wasn't froyo, cheesecake was a very nice choice indeed.

Today I'm celebrating the big 3-2 with my momsie, and tomorrow it's back to the sawmill (aka the school where I teach, which happens to be nothing like a sawmill, but you get the point).

What was the highlight of your break?

Oh, and started reading Matched last night off my list of books to read in 2012. One hundred and fifty-two pages in, and so good so far.

Happy Wednesday to you and you and you, and happy early birthday-ing to me.

30 in my 30's: Be Our Guest? Why yes, yes, we will.

This past weekend I was able to scratch off yet another item from my 30 in my 30's list.

This time I went for #1:

Take Libby to see a play.

And so see a play we did.

And we picked a good one....

Beauty and the Beast to be exact.

Lib, my mom, and I got all dolled up and headed to Memphis.

Theatre was my favorite thing to be involved in in high school,

and I have a feeling the Libster is going to love it too.

So far we're off to a great start, seeing as how she said she loved every. single. minute of the show.

She was mesmerized by the costumes, the dancing, and the singing.

In fact, I caught her singing along on more than one occasion.

And she's already asked what we are going to see next.

And if you are thinking about going to see it, I highly recommend.

 It's very similar to the Disney movie (many of the songs are identical),

 and the kept the scare factor to a minimum.

Are you a theatre lover?

What's the best show YOU have ever seen?

For me, it's a tie between Phantom of the Opera (which I saw in London, btw)

and Wicked (be still my heart).

What shall we see next? 

Hmmmmmmm.......

Happy weekending to you and you and you. 

Mine will be spent hoping to hear that our appraisal came through

and that we will in fact be able to move and helping my mom with a garage sale.

Good times are bound to be had by all. 

Coming soon:

*updates on Kristen's Africa trip

*more on Hollyn and the onset of the terrible two's

*my newest painting adventures

30 in my 30's: A Work in Progress

So, amongst the other things I've been trying to accomplish this week despite the back and illness drama, is to work on scratching off an item from my 30 in my 30's list.

And this work I'm taking a gander at the big ole' #21:

Learn the Single Ladies dance.

Go ahead, laugh it up.

I know it's a funny request, but it's also fun.

And heck, if these guys can do it, so I can.

More to come on that.

And in case you missed it yesterday, I posted two posts you might want to check out:

If We Were Neighbors #4

and

Hey Mr. Postman and Another Way to Help

I can't wait for people to start receiving their Africa shirts and am even MORE excited about seeing pics. of our shirts in their new homes!

So please, as soon as you get yours, snap a pic. and send it my way...that way at least when I check my inbox like a stalker there will be something there waiting for me.

Happy Wednesday, and keep those fingers crossed for us; tomorrow we head back to Libby's specialist for her skin.

30 in my 30's: 1 Down and 29 To Go

In case you missed my 30 in my 30's post, here's a quick recap:

In honor of turning thirty-one this past Friday, I've made a list of thirty things I hope to accomplish in my thirties.

And seeing as how yesterday I crossed one off, I'd say I'm off to a pretty good start.

You see, for my birthday this year, the Mr. (that would be Lee, for those of you who may not know), did something I thought he would NEVER do....something I've been begging for relentlessly asking for since just after Libby was born six and half years ago.

And it looks like the pleading and reasoning and all out begging finally paid off, because yesterday I got this:

Bloggers, meet Doc, the newest addition to our family.

Happy birthday to me.

In case you can't tell, he's a Boston Terrier, and he had me at puppy breath.

Can you say,

"I absolutely adore this dog"????

Because I so do...and so do Libby and Hollyn, who is already saying DOG after meeting him yesterday afternoon.

Lee is falling in love a little more slowly, but I'm sure he'll be there soon.

And in true McCall fashion, we just so happened to get our puppy during the weekend that they are predicting the worst winter storm we've seen in a long, long, long time, if not ever. Never a dull moment at our house, folks. The weather man says we may get up to six inches of snow today, which I'm sure will do WONDERS for our house-training.

Poor Doc.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a puppy to cuddle.

Happy Sunday funday to you and you and you.

And #6 on my list, you're outta here.

One down, and twenty-nine to go.