03.29.06
blog move
Wes just did something really nifty! He setup my blog on our own website and its much prettier 
. Here is the link: www.wesanddevan.com/devan.
I promise to be a better blogger at my new location. (That was for you Amy…and Penny.) 
03.08.06
Idol thoughts
After last night’s performances, there are two that I believe will be going home — Kinnik and Melissa. Let me tell you why.
Kinnik – I was a bit on the fence with her for a while, but now she just has to go. The sharpness throughout most of her song last night was just too much to bear. But pitch problems aren’t her biggest problem. She’s totally boring!! There is nothing about her that makes me want to listen. Having a great voice is huge, but the personality has got to be there as well. She also kinda looks funny to me. I know that is horrible, but come on, you were thinking it, too!
Melissa – First of all, is she Amanda Bynes’ long lost sister? She looks just like her to me! (FYI, Amanda Bynes is a Disney, Hillary Duff-ish type actress) I wanted to pull for Melissa, but sadly just haven’t been able to. Her voice has a nice husky quality to it, but it constantly sounds muffled and her range is, well, what range? I know Ayla got picked on for dinging a 5-note song, but Melissa is far worst in my opinion. And as with Kinnik, there isn’t a whole lot keeping me watching.
I will be surprised if anyone but these two goes home, but if it’s anyone else, it will be Ayla. She has a nice enough voice, but there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of star power there. She looked rather awkward dancing around last night. Everything about her outfit emphasized her height, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Not to mention the fact that I find her kinda boring as well.
I think my favorites so far are Katharine and Mandisa. I will be shocked if they make an early exit.
Katharine is just so effortless (as Simon put it). It just seems to come so easily for her. Her voice is amazing. I think she really could any type of music and sound incredible. And she’s so cute! Her personality is definitely winning her points. I loved the “sorry you had to look at my butt” line!
Mandisa is a powerhouse and yes, she really did outshine the vast majority of the others. She’s a natural and really has fun. You can tell that she’s so happy to be there. I think that both she and Katharine will just keep getting better and better.
Another one that I love is, of course, little miss Kelly! I honestly didn’t care for her in the beginning very much. She kinda annoyed me. But as the weeks went on she totally won me over. She definitely isn’t the best singer, but man that personality! And she’s so authentic! I don’t think for a second that she’s putting on an act. Her face lights up like a little girl when the judges compliment her and she just says what comes up first! I doubt she will leave any time soon. She is just so likable and funny, funny, funny! I was rolling when I heard her happily declare, “I’m a mink!” If nothing else, voters will keep her around just to hear what she comes up with next.
The last two, Paris and Lisa, both had me early on, but are quickly losing me.
The best thing I heard from Paris was in her original audition when she did Billie Holiday. I was floored by her then, but nothing since has impressed me as much. She no doubt has an incredible voice, but the songs she’s chosen (with the exception of “Midnight Train to Georgia”) have really bored me. I’m afraid she might miss her chance to really shine if she doesn’t start picking better songs.
Lisa is a funny one for me. There is something about her that just isn’t quite right. Yes, she can sing. Yes, she can perform. Yes, she is incredibly poised for a 16-year-old. But who is she? I can’t say that I know anything about her personality and that, I’m afraid, will hurt her. It has already gotten me focused on other, more interesting ones.
So there there you go, my Idol thoughts for the day! I know you have been dying to hear them (Jen )! I’ll be giving you my thoughts on the boys tomorrow!
03.02.06
Worst blogger ever!
Yep, that’s me.
We found out last week that the little one in my belly is a girl! Wes and I are both super excited. We both were expecting to hear boy, so it was definitely a shock, but a good one. This pregnancy has been different from Stella Kate, so I guess that’s what made me think boy. Who really knows.
Stella Kate is definitely excited about having a sister. She hugs and kisses my belly daily and calls “Hey Baby” using my belly button as her focal point, of course! It is so cute!
Her big girl bed arrived on Monday, so we will be starting that process soon. I’m not sure how well she will stay in the bed once put there, but I guess that’s just something you have to deal with at this stage. I want to start now so that she will be into a routine when little sister gets here. Not to mention the fact that if she put her mind to it she could easily climb out of the crib.
I just realized today that April is only a month away and Stella Kate will be turning TWO! It just seems like such a big milestone. I know I’m not the first to talk about how much time flies and how ‘they just grow up so fast’. I used to roll my eyes when I heard parents say things like that. Maybe it takes becoming a parent to really see it. Kids change so much in such short spans of time. It really is amazing.
I do miss the baby she was, but I am totally and utterly in love with the precious little girl she has become.
01.28.06
Because Penny tagged me!
What the heck!
FOUR JOBS I’VE HAD
1. Radio DJ
2. Retail at Pottery Barn Kids
3. Assistant/Receptionist at a modeling agency in NYC
4. Church admin at Littleton Vineyard
FOUR MOVIES I WOULD WATCH OVER AND OVER
1. Emma
2. Mary Poppins
3. The Sound of Music
4. Guys and Dolls (yes, I like musicals)
FOUR PLACES I’VE LIVED
1. Denver, CO
2. Ozark, AL
3. Troy, AL
4. Montgomery, AL
FOUR TV SHOWS I LOVE
1. Gilmore Girls!!!!!!!
2. 24
3. Grey’s Anatomy
4. Lost (it’s a good thing we have TiVo!!)
FOUR PLACES I’VE VACATIONED
1. San Diego, and up the coast to Santa Cruz
2. Orlando, Universal Studios
3. Florida beaches
4. Tennessee, we went to Dollywood!!
Four of My Favorite Dishes
1. Casseroles, just about any kind
2. Fried catfish!
3. BBQ, but it has to be Alabama style with a vinegar-based sauce. I’m kinda picky!
4. Caren’s caesar salads and anything Mexican made by her! I miss it so!
FOUR SITES I VISIT DAILY
1. www.msn.com
2. www.babycenter.com
3. www.google.com
4. and too many of my blogging friends to list!
FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW
1. on the beach in San Diego with Shannon and the girls
2. having coffee with Jen or Amy
3. reading in a QUIET, sunny spot somewhere secluded
4. Hanging out with Wes and Stella Kate on a Saturday is pretty hard to beat!
FOUR BLOGGERS I AM TAGGING
1. Caren G.
2. Jen L.
3. Amy B.
4. Kelly N.
01.10.06
Something stupid and then…AMAZING!
So I did something really stupid on Saturday morning. I managed to spill bacon grease (fresh off the burner) over my entire left palm. Yeah, I know, stupid. It hadn’t even had a chance to cool at all (the setting was about 7, with 10 being the highest. Only a drop hit me at first, but a body’s normal reaction to that is to jerk away, and when I did, the entire bowl spilled over my hand. It was incrediblely painful.
This was the first time I had ever burned myself anywhere close to this bad. It’s such a hard pain to describe. Yes, it burns, but there’s also a deep, horrible ache that goes along with it. Cool water was the best relief, as it kinda numbed my hand, but the second I would take it out of the water, the pain would return.
So we decided that I needed to see a doctor. Around my thumb and down my ring finger already looked ready to blister, which would mean definitely a 2nd degree burn and much higher risk for infection. The infection part is what really scared me since staph would then be a concern. Not exactly ideal for anyone, much less a pregnant woman! Before I left for the doctor Wes prayed for complete healing, as did my mother over the phone.
The doctor treated the burn and wrapped my entire hand with gauze and told me that he wanted to see me in the morning to check the blisters. He pointed out the areas that they would come up (as some were already slightly visible) and advised me to take Tylenol for the pain. That was all I could take because of the little peanut. That was kinda sad since it hurt so much.
There was no doubt in my mind that I had a 2nd degree burn. From what the doctor had to say and what I could see with my own eyes, it was bad. I could not move my left hand at all without sharp pain. Even when still, I had that horrible aching pain I talked about earlier. I was bawling most of that morning because of the pain. Wes had to help me get dressed. It was horrible. On the way home the pain really intensified. I took some Tylenol and pretty much spent the rest of the day on the couch, trying not to move.
Later that night our friend Shane called and prayed for my hand as well. I of course was not really in the mood to even entertain the thought. It hurt too bad to think about anything other than the pain. So I went to bed.
I got up super early to go to the doctor before church the next morning. When the nurse cut away my bandages, my mouth dropped. No blisters… none. My hand was only slightly pink in the areas of the worst burns. Shocking!!! And it wasn’t hurting like it was the day before. I had only a slight ache in my palm. The doctor was shocked as well. He said that he expected my hand to look much worse. He was really suprised at the lack of blisters. He advised me to put Neosporin on it three times a day, no bandage necessary.
Later at church, some people laid hands on me and prayed for me, not even knowing what I needed prayer for other than healing in general. After that I had absolutely no pain in my hand. Not even a little bit.
I was healed. And I was in shock. How was it even possible?? I hadn’t really had faith for it when Wes, my mom and Shane had prayed for me. I was hoping for it, but I wasn’t really believing it could happen. But it did. God healed my hand even when I wasn’t believing that it could happen.
Later that day we drove to a conference where Bill Johnson was speaking and over 150 people were healed of various things as the congregation prayed for each other. People were even healed over cell phones. It was crazy, unbelievable…but I was there. I was sitting right next to the first guy that got healed that night. It is so amazing what can happen when God shows up. Wes and I were already excited about healing because of my hand. Now we are crazy excited and so ready to pray for people and declare healing just as Jesus did. Check out Wes’s blog for more and his thoughts on the night. Wes got to pray for a man and see his 50% hearing loss restored immediately. Crazy!! I got to pray for a woman who wants to get pregnant, but can’t.
God is so GOOD!! I cannot wait to see what He has in store for us next! I am so ready for more!! Please, my friends, let me know if you need healing in any way. The supernatural should be a part of our lives as Christians. It wasn’t just meant for Bible times!
01.04.06
So it’s been a while…
Yes, I am the worst blogger ever. Sometimes I just really have nothing to say, and other times I have a lot to say and no idea how to! Oh, well!
We had a really nice Christmas with all of our families. We actually still have one to go since Wes’s dad was in the hospital. Whenever he can have visitors of the under three feet crowd we’re going to have a belated Christmas celebration in Alex City. For those of you who are wondering, he came home the Friday before New Year’s and is very happy to be out of the hospital! Thanks so much for your prayers. He seems to be on the road to recovery.
It was different this year in that we planned only two nights at each place (Greenville and Thomasville). We’ve gotten so used to living out of a suitcase for two weeks at Christmas time and dividing that time three ways! It was nice to be able to downgrade to a two-night visit a piece and relax at home for a while. Not that we didn’t like staying longer before, it’s just that the suitcase thing gets really old! Wes still gets all of that time off since his company basically shuts down between Christmas and New Year’s, so it was nice just being home together.
I think Stella Kate got the whole present thing for the first time this year. It was really cute seeing her rip open her gift and then run over to see what her cousin got! She of course looked adorable in her little smocked Christmas outfit, very Southern.
My pregnancy is going well. I’m still a little sick, but hopefully that will subside soon!
I guess that’s all for now! Stay tuned!!
12.13.05
What I just found in the next room…
So I get up from writing the previous post and what do I find in the next room?? Stella Kate will PERMANENT marker all over her and one of her books. Great. I have no idea where she found the marker. The house is still a bit scattered from the move, so there’s no telling. She drew the mose on her hands and the book with a couple of swipes at her neck. I’m just glad her face was spared. Wes’s dad loves to tell the story about how his brother Randy once got Wes (about age 3, I think) to draw a mustache on himself with a big fat permanent marker! I think it was there for days! Can’t you just see little Wesley with a huge curly mustache! Hilarious!
Thankfully I’ve been able to get most of SK’s off already. I’m just glad I got to her before she decided to experiment above the neck!
Narnia
Wes and I got the chance to slip out for an afternoon showing of The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on Saturday. It was amazing. It is just such a beautiful picture of sacrificial love. The director was really faithful to the book, and therefore the incredible details of C. S. Lewis. Beautiful is the word I keep coming back to. It was just beautiful.
Also, the special effects, make-up and costuming were outstanding. The “fantasy” characters were created incredibly well. I was amazed at their “realness”. Aslan was especially amazing. I liked what Roger Ebert said:
“The effects in this movie are so skillful that the animals look about as real as any of the other characters, and the critic Emanuel Levy explains the secret: “Aslan speaks in a natural, organic manner (which meant mapping the movement of his speech unto the whole musculature of the animal, not just his mouth).” Aslan is neither as frankly animated as the Lion King or as real as the cheetah in “Duma,” but halfway in between, as if an animal were inhabited by an archbishop.”
The children were also exceptional. I especially loved little Lucy. They were all absolutely perfectly cast.
So go see the movie! It is well worth the $10 ticket!
12.09.05
Updates and more
So just to wrap up the story, Stella Kate seems to be doing just fine on her permanent paci fast. Every now and then she still gets kinda cranky (to which my friend Jen would say, “well what do expect when you take her crack-cocaine away?” HA!), but overall, I think she’s over it. She hasn’t asked for it in a while and even when she did she wasn’t freaking out about it. I’m really glad we decided to do it this way instead of the ‘phasing out’ I had planned. One week and we’re so done! Yay!
In other news, if you’ve checked out Wes’s blog lately, you’ve heard a bit about some decisions we’ve had to make lately about church. We’ve really been struggling with the decision, partly because we love and respect the people at the Vineyard so much. I mean, these are really great people who love God, love each other and love on their community. They are really going after God and not ashamed of it a bit.
But despite all of that, we’ve still felt isolated and alone in the city we live in. We did consider living in Troy (Wes’s work is in between Troy and Montgomery), but really felt like we heard from God about this house and living here in Montgomery. I feel like God has continued to confirm this to me. We found out recently that once everyone moves in (our neighborhood is still mostly under construction) we will have a little girl next door just three days older than Stella Kate! AND our neighbor on the other side is pregnant and due July 11th! My due date is July 10th!! Crazy!! I love it!
I am excited to make some connections at the church we’ve been visiting here in Montgomery. I’m ready to really start seeing what life is going to look like here for us. So far I’ve just been kinda holed up at the house. I so need to get out!!! I’m hoping that after Christmas we’ll be able to get into a groove and start experiencing and creating some community here in our new city.
12.03.05
More on the pacifier
So here’s a pacifier update:
The first night was great, absolutely no problems. She asked for it as we were snuggling before bed and I said, “Remember, baby, baba went bye-bye.” She just laid her little head back down, we sang a couple of her favorite songs and then I put her down. She didn’t make a peep. I was, of course, shocked!
The next day I did notice that she was unusually cranky just about all day long. Naptime was fine, no problems there. So my hopes were pretty high for night #2 (last night).
No such luck. She cried and cried and cried for a very long time. And this wasn’t just whiny crying, it was sounds like she’s dying crying. So sad!! So I went in and rocked with her to calm her down some. She did and eventually fell asleep with just a few more tears.
But that wasn’t really the worst part. She woke up in the middle of the night (somewhere around 3 am). We couldn’t just stick the paci back in, so into the bed she came. She would not be comforted. She kept arching her back and crying, very loudly. It was not fun at all. Finally Wes laid with her on his chest and started singing. She immediately calmed down and fell asleep very shortly. It was kind of amazing.
So then she was asleep, and that was good. But she was in our bed, and that was bad. You see, Stella’s a very bad bedfellow. She somehow manages to turn herself horizontal in between Wes and me. Yep, we’re just a big H. So the rest of the night I’m just trying not to fall off the bed. It was great, and I’ve been suffering all day because of it.
Wow, that was probably way too much information. Oh, well.
In other Stella-related news, little Miss Priss actually used her potty for the first time today! It was very exciting. And later in the day I barely caught her dirty diaper as she was pulling it off. I’m pretty sure she’s ready, but this step seems so big. I’ll definitely have to call Jen about all this!
