fun times!!!

My dear friend Carrie came to visit me this past weekend and it was such a breath of SWEET FRESH AIR! :) I love her so much... the pictures up top are from back in the day and then the next ones are of us before she got on the plane to leave me!


Carrie and I first met while we were both still in college and also counselors in the youth group at our church, Seminole Baptist Temple! We had a blast with those girls and I find myself sometimes missing the simpler ministry that we had then... lol probably because we didn't have to take care of many big problems... our job was to hang out with the girls and develop relationships with them and that was one thing we were good at! :)


Ministry can be difficult now... the higher standard set for being a youth pastor's wife is something I find very hard to live up to. I am human too which means I too make mistakes and am very FAR from perfect. One thing I know, I wouldn't trade it for the world.... I love our kids, especially our girls... some are hard to reach but I appreciate the fact that they are unique in their own way and love that not all of them are the same!


Anyways, although I am EXTREMELY blessed by the female counselor that we have with us now, I do miss having Carrie by my side! We're pretty good sidekicks if I do say so myself, we level each other out perfectly... and I don't feel like I have to be something I'm not when she's around! :) I absolutely love the feeling when you have a friend that you can be completely real with and know that they aren't going to judge you. A friend that can sometimes be closer than family...

It's actually the subject of our last girl's bible study... do you have a friend that is closer than family? It is very important to have that confidant that you can rely on when you need advice... someone who can tell you what you need to hear, not necessarily what you want to hear! :) I am truly blessed to have several friends that I can say are totally genuine and love me for me... and just GET me no matter what! :) Love you ladies! You all know exactly who you are! Carrie is one of them! ha ha another random post from Amie... ahh well... it's nice to just journal on here, I do enjoy it! :)

to add...

Some of you may also know that for the past two years, Sheldon and I have not done Christmas presents. Not because we're against them but by choice in order to pay more on school debt.

I'm a giver... I love everything about it... the thought that goes into what present will be perfect for each member of my family, the time spent SEARCHING for that perfect item, and the excitement held by the receiver's face when they open our present! It's the best! SOooo ... as you can imagine... The past two years have been very hard.

In talking with many of my friends this year and even last... I've begun to see a different side. I refuse to cause my family to struggle and fore go visiting my family in Texas, just so we can buy one another presents. Sometimes the gift buying can overtake us and shift our focus to material things instead of thinking of Christ. This Christmas season I see so many people hurting and I am thankful for the choice we've made...it's moved me to be so much more aware of the REAL reason we celebrate Christmas... Jesus' birth!

Don't get me wrong, I CAN'T wait until we can buy presents for people again. It's a luxury! I know now that when that time comes I will be more aware and appreciative of all he's given us! He is the reason for the season! Christmas is the best!!!

Random entry I am well aware, but none the less, something that's been on my mind today!

Simply haaavin, a wonderful Christmas time! :)

Well, if you know me... you know that Christmas is my most favorite time of year! I usually have ALLL of my decor out the week after Halloween... Yes I know you think I'm nuts, well I SIMPLY don't care lol. I have my reasoning. Being away from home, decorating for Christmas makes it feel more comfortable. SO that's what I do! :)

BUT since we moved right after Halloween this year I've been unpacking and organizing instead of decorating... Sad times! But I did manage to get everything up the week after Thanksgiving. So the house is feeling spectacularly warm AND since it's getting cooler outside... it's perfect timing! :) We took our Christmas pictures this past Sunday and I am in love with them, Donna Bailey is my hero!

After Ave was born we took her professional pictures which I have never managed to post on here. BUT when we ordered copies we decided to do a Christmas Card/ Birth Announcement, YES 5 months after she was born... so that's why we took another Christmas picture so that everyone can have an updated pic as well! :) Here are the pictures that will be on the card...

Sad day...

This evening I found out that one of my closest friends; Sarah's, sister lost her battle with brain cancer today.

With this on my mind and Thanksgiving coming up I am reminded at how much I have to be thankful for... An old friend of mine challenged her readers on her blog,

"I encourage you to make a list of what you are thankful for...maybe even take the time to think about 3 people, places, and events that the Lord has revealed His character through. It really puts the dirty house, busy schedule, and broken vacuum cleaner in perspective."

I am thankful for...
1. My salvation and the free grace given to me willingly every single day even though over and over again I fail him and do not deserve it one single bit.
2. My husband, who even though I have bouts of depression and moodiness... loves me unconditionally and takes care of me with all of his heart.
3. My beautiful 3 month old baby girl, Avery... cannot believe that the Lord would bless me with such and amazingly sweet little individual, she instills a smile on my face each second of the day and keeps my eyes welled up with tears each time she smiles or learns something new. I'm a proud mama! :)
4. My family, the Carmichael side... even though they don't understand where I'm coming from all the time, still put up with me and love me. My side, My mommy (I'll always call her that) for being a truly amazing mother with so much to offer and for being my role model my whole life, she's absolutely my best friend. My daddy, for having my back always and for the goofy sense of humor and attitude he gave me. My Ricky, my BIG little brother who's all grown up and gonna be a fireman some day... so much potential and he's fulfilling it each step he takes. My baby sister Bailee (Aunt Bay), for being a firecracker, for loving me and for the unexplainable bond we share. Granny, my sole grandparent left on this earth... she's a pistol and she's willing to do anything for ANYBODY no matter what that might be, I admire her unconditional love.
5. Our youth, each have their own personality and potential and I love watching them grow... I hate the consequences in between but enjoy the outcome of what the Father has in mind for them. I have high expectations but don't judge them when they fail, we're all human! :)

3 People:
1. Tim and Lori Wertz (couples count for one ;)
showed me how to have a Godly marriage and raise Godly children and to seek God in EVERY SINGLE SITUATON. Believe it or not, I have to be reminded of this still... I let myself get in the way many times.
2. Kimberly Diana Bumpers-
for helping me find my true self when I got to college... whether that be by being a total and complete retard or by learning from eachother's lives each second we spent together. For not letting me get away with anything and for challenging me spiritually. I love you best friend! :)
3. Sheldon Grant Carmichael-
he's the one person in my life who is the hardest on me but also the one that shows the most love to me... although finding it hard to find the motivation he keeps me going every day and encourages me to be better. I love him for the push and for the person he's made me today.


3 Places:
1. Texas-
where I grew up, where I asked the Lord into my heart and where I was molded into the person I am today.
2. Missouri-
where I went to college, met my best friend, met my soul mate and where I truly found myself.
3. Florida-
Our first ministry position, our first "home" outside of college, where Avery was born. It has challenged me the most and that's why I know in the future I will consider this one of my greatest growing experiences ever, cannot wait to see what the Lord has for us! :)

Events are pretty much the same as the places! :) The end... nighty night all!

Sneak Peek! :)

Here's Ave's cupcake costume finished... just a peek now... You'll get the REAL thing after tomorrow night! :) Sorry for the poor quality of picture (used phone), leaves more for your imagination! :) There is also a bow that matches so you'll just have to wait and see the completed look later! :)

YAAAAAYYYYY!

Well it's been quite a while since my last post! So much has been going on, and I've been enjoying reading blogs rather than writing in my own! :)

+++My mom is flying in on Thursday and Avery and I are beyond excited lol! :)

+++We bought a Wii and a new fan-freakin-tastic camera!

+++We're moving in a week and a half! No I have not packed and yes I am a procrastinator to the max! We're painting our rooms so once we get all settled in there will be many pics of before and after for all to see! :) So exciting to take them with my new camera!

+++Avery is turning 3 months on Friday, she's growing like a weed; see...

Swimming!

On Thursday we met some friends at the pool and I took Ave swimming for the very first time... funny thing is that our pool is always like bath water and the day I decide to take her swimming it's pretty stinkin cold! :( BUT we were in the water for a good ten minutes or so. She enjoyed it! I got some good pictures!

FINALLY!

Well, I've gone on and on about how unmotivated I've been feeling lately and I think that finally I'm over it... well at least for a short period of time! :) Thursday I pretty much cleaned the whole house with the exception of our bathrooms. I mentioned before that our landlord is selling our condo, well as most of you know this consists of people coming to VIEW our condo. SOOO this morning we got a call that they wanted to come view within the next hour. LOL this forced me to pick up everything I had messed up from the day before... then I was anal about it all day long, kept re-picking up EVERYTHING! So maybe they should visit every day and I'll always have a clean house! :) I even did the dishes after dinner tonight and I'm pretty sure I never do that! LOVING THIS! For dinner we had those broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken breasts with corn pudding and biscuits! YUMMY! For dessert I made this "Strawberry Ooey-Gooey Cake" OH MY GOODNESS, TO DIE FOR!


I got the recipes for the corn pudding and the cake off of this new blog I'm following, House of Bowling Recipes

Moving?

Wellll... Turns out our landlord is going to short-sell our condo!

At first I was quite frightened at the thought of not knowing what the future held BUT I'm learning that this may be just what we need! After looking for a few weeks at different apartments for rent... we have found a townhouse that is in a perfect location.... 1. Mile from Sheldon's parents, 2. Close for kids to come over more often, 3. Across the street from some new friends! IT has so much more room than our condo even though it's a half bath smaller... TALLL ceilings and soooo much storage room OH and a garage. THE only trick is that it's a tad bit over our price range...

I know God's gonna put us where we need to be but I do ask that you'd pray for this situation and that the owner might reduce the rental price so that we can move into this townhouse! :) Love ya'll!

Girl's Sleepover!

Last night we had about 20 girls and 5 counselors attend our sleepover at the church! We had so much fun... ate Tacos for dinner and chocolate chip cookies for dessert!

We made 4 cakes for the girls to get into teams and decorate, here are some pictures...


The funny twist to this part of our night was that they weren't being judged on the decor of their cake but by how fast they could eat their cake without any utensils! THEY LOVED IT!!! :)So much fun! Thank you everyone who helped!!! I couldn't pull any of it off with out ya'll! :)

WOW, long time!

As we approach the middle of September, I cannot believe how quickly the time has flown since my last post... it was just three short days before my baby girl arrived.

The birth was text book as far as I'm concerned...

Went in at 6am July 23, 2009
Got my ultrasound for the estimated fetal weight... Got the Pitocin around 9am... They broke my water around 12, was dilated to a 4...Contractions were at a minute and a half apart by 1 when I received my epidural, dilated to an 8... Dilated to a 10 and began pushing around 4:20...

Avery Anne Carmichael arrived at 4:44pm 8 lbs 6 oz, 21 inches long

The emotions that ran through my body at that exact moment were totally indescribable... happy, joyful, thankful, praising the Lord, amazed, and really just complete and total surrealism...

Avery is now nearly 8 weeks old come this Thursday and I have enjoyed every single second of being a mommy and watching this precious girl grow and learn each and every day! She already has a funny personality and I'm loving watching it change from day to day... she smiles at mommy and daddy and knows just what to do to melt our hearts! :)I am currently working on getting baby girl on a better schedule... and that's been fun, it's challenging but I enjoy the challenge! :) I'm having a hard time finding the motivation to do things around the house though lol, just still don't feel normal... and it's hard to make Sheldon understand that. Maybe I'm just using it as an excuse but I just seriously want to stare at Avery all day long ha ha! And I feel guilty if I leave her in the swing for more than 15 minutes, yes I know she's fine but I should be spending time with her while she's awake, not cleaning right? lol Yet I'm supposed to sleep when she sleeps? HOW does ANYONE get anything done? HAA I suppose God will help me balance all of that in his timing! :)

I have been meeting new friends lately and that has been so nice... I was depressed about not having friends for a good while and God is beginning to fill that void for me. I am truly appreciative of his timing this is for sure... he always knows when we need him the most! :) Since being at Park Street, Sheldon and I have been praying for God to send us some counselors that will truly love on the kids and have a passion for seeing them grow in the Lord rather than doing it just to do it. Recently our two counselors that we do have got a renewed passion for the kids which has been super exciting AND he's put a couple in our lives that has just joined our church and definitely has that passion... we are excited to see what the Lord has in store for our ministry with them in the future if it all works out! :)

Missing all of my girls, thought I'd give a shout to each of you individually while I have a few spare moments....

Sarah Anne SARAH! Getting married in less than a month... so excited for you and devastated I can't be there :(

Lyndsi, thinking about you often lately hoping you're finding it easy getting adjusted to being married and holding a full time job! It's stressful sometimes but SO exciting! :)

Erin, as I said on your FB yesterday... Beyonce's dancing at the VMA's reminded me of your ghetto dancing! I love it! Favorite bachelorette party stripper ever lol... only some of you will understand that comment. ;)

Carrie... Haven't gotten to talk to you in a while but thinking of you often and hoping Arkansas is going well... wish you could come see us!

Kim HENRY! Excited where this next year will take you in your life... I know God is going to use you in a HUGE WAY!

Rachel, so glad i was able to come to your wedding in May... It's so neat to see you all grown up, married and working as a children's minister!!! Why do I feel like your big sister? lol

Kimberly, missing our college days as goofy CRAZY girls who would do anything if someone dared us to... sometimes I walk through wal-mart and punch items on the shelf in memory of our many trips there!

Amy...you have 3 babies now! How insane is that? Super mom! Wish we could see ya'll! It's been way too long!

Mickey... you left me!!! I am so excited for ya'll though and am so happy you were able to move on to a place that will bring about so many new opportunities to serve God in a new capacity! Thrilled to see what all God has in store!

Cassandra... cannot believe you're pregnant!!! You have always been the cutest ever and now you're gonna be the most PRECIOUS pregnant lady ever! :) I can't wait to meet baby Kuykendall! YAY!

Angela, so glad I got to see you in May and that you were able to come to my baby shower... excited to see what God has in store for you and Matt in the future! When are the babies coming? :) ha ha!

Kelli... I know life is tough right now but know that God has a place for you and going through times like this happens for a reason and you should be excited to see what he's got for you! I AM!

Erica, so excited for you and Ryan to see what God has in store for ya'll in Texas... I know it's huge and now I get to see you every time I come home! :)

Lori... I miss you and your family so much, you have no idea... ya'll mean the world to us! :)


To all of you and everyone else, I love you so much and I am so thankful God placed you in my life when I needed you most... missing each and every one of you and can't wait till everyone can meet Avery! :) I pray for all of you often and I look forward to the day when we all have our own families and can look back on college and reminisce about the good ole' days! HA HA!

The end!

Avery's Room... After!

It's hard to believe...

that in 10 days or less we will get to see our baby girl at last! At today's doctor's appt I was now 3 cm dilated and still 50% effaced. Because my doctor is worried about her being a bigger baby, she scheduled an induction for July 23rd at 6am... I AM SOOO OVERWHELMED!!!

Mommy and Bailee are flying in on Monday afternoon... so hopefully Avery will stay in the oven a little longer! I need my mommy here before she comes! ha ha!

I have so many craft projects going on at once because I want to make sure I can get them all done before Avery or my mom and sister comes! On top of that I need to clean both bathrooms, kitchen, our bedroom, and dust everything too! OMGoodness! So much to do! Anyone wanna come clean the bathrooms and kitchen? PLEASE ha ha! :) Pray that I can get it all done and that I don't pop her out in the process!

Long week!

Well Monday when I went to the doctor I was 1cm and 50% effaced! Kinda insane! She didn't tell me not to go to camp but she didn't advise me to go either... so you guessed it, I WENT! ha ha! My feet were swollen 110% of the time! lol yay!... gross! I've never had ogre feet before and let me tell you, it was no fun!!! The picture above of my feet, was about 50% of how bad they had gotten by last night but I would like to inform everyone, I now have ankles again! :) YAY!

We had an incredible week at camp, I do not regret going AT ALL! Monday night with our girl's devotionals started out strong... usually the girls don't open up until the 2nd or 3rd night so it was awesome to see them already thinking about what they wanted to get out of camp.

Several of our kids surrendered their lives to Christ... so basically whatever he wants for them they are now willing to let him use them! :) I think that's HUGE! We had one of our girl's gain reassurance of her salvation and I know that was a big big big decision for her, because it was really scary for her! There were many other decisions and self realizations that were made this week that just topped everything off! :)

I seriously love our kids so much... not only are they funny and laid back... but they helped me all week long. I didn't even have to ask and they would offer to get things for me like one of a million cups of ice, or food in the cafeteria, and so much more. It made me feel loved for sure! :) There were a few teams that were VERY VERY competitive and that pretty much turned our kids off immediately but they still did every game with stride, ease and a good attitude for the most part! :) I love that they don't care about the small things like that, they just love to have fun with each other... and yet they each are still so very different. VERY REFRESHING! Their different personalities compliment our youth group perfectly so that we are made up of so many different people but have that one common bond in Christ... love it! :)

Thank you guys for an amazing week and parents for letting your kids go! We love you so much!

Well...

... It's that time of year again... yep that's right! Tomorrow around 1pm we will be leaving with 35 of our kids to head to Fruitland Park, Florida for The REFUGE! WOOT WOOT!

At 8:15am I have an appt. where they will check for the first time to see if I've progressed any, as far as labor goes. I will also find out if and when I have to be induced. Last Monday she weighed 6lbs and 14oz... and I was also measuring further along... SOOO their plan is for me not to have to have a csection... and if that means inducing I'm fine with that because I'd like a semi natural process lol YES I AM STILL GETTING AN EPIDURAL! ha ha! Anyhow, I will update on facebook tomorrow to let everyone know what the verdict is! :)

Regardless of my progression lol my plan is still to attend camp this week... I guess we'll see what the doctor says but I'm pretty dead set. I've expressed my feelings to a few people but my main thing is, camp is the one time every year when we can get these kids out of the norm and get them to think about life and open up. If I miss out on these connections, I will feel disconnected all year long. Obviously if it comes down to Avery's health I will stay but I won't be happy about it at all. :( I will have a golf cart all week and will be in a downstairs cabin!

Please pray that everything works out well and that kids lives are changed and that the few we are taking that are unsure of their salvation make it right! I'm so excited to spend some time with my girls!

Getting there!

Well this Friday will make me 34 weeks... which is absolutely insane! I cannot believe that time has flown by this quickly! I have 2 1/2 weeks of work left and then it's off to camp with the kiddos!

I'm going to miss Maddie Grace so much... I've been taking care of this precious girl since she was 3 months old and in just one short week she'll be 2. Again, TIME FLIES!!!! I definitely feel like she's apart of my own family and I am already beginning to become territorial over her with the new nanny that's coming in... she's mine still! :) Avery and I will have to go over and visit with her often!

Although it is sad leaving this chapter of my life, I am so excited to begin the next... becoming a mommy! I have been having frequent dreams about her arrival... some precious and some just plain weird, but they say that's normal during pregnancy lol. My last dream was yesterday during my nap... I was visiting my grandmother (who passed away in 2005) and we were talking about baby Avery and me being a mommy. I had my hand on my stomach and I could feel her hand pressing against mine and all of the sudden she popped out of my belly... NO LIE... I gave birth not through the birth canal but through my freaking stomach! lol weirdest ever! But this just shows you how much I have been thinking about her and wanting to meet her so soon! :)

Florida Baby Shower (Cont.)

All because of the two very special ladies above... my day was so extremely special! :) When I walked in there were near 60 ladies there from our church! There was a crib set up with all of the presents in and around it... can we say overwhelming?

I've said this before but when you aren't from somewhere you don't always feel at home... which is how I feel quite often here in Florida.... sometimes I'm not sure why but other times I just feel out of place. Because I feel like this a lot, I wasn't quite sure how the shower would go... but it made me feel special they were doing one none the less... I can say now that the ladies in our church went above and beyond themselves to make me feel at home on Saturday and for that I am extremely blessed. It's so nice to be proven wrong sometimes! ;) I feel so overwhelmed with how much people showed they care and I appreciate it so much. One thing that happened that was amazing was, Cindy's Sunday school class (my mother in law), took it upon themselves to gather up money from the entire class in order to give to me in cash so that Sheldon and I were able to buy a big item that we still needed. THEY GAVE US NEARLY $250!!!! (That night we went straight to BabysRus and bought the stroller travel system we registered for!) Talk about a good slap in the face! AMAZING! The whole time was just very emotional! AGAIN, I knew God would provide for us in every way needed but yet again, I AM SHOCKED! lol and I shouldn't be! :) HE IS GOOD! Thank you so much to everyone that took part in the shower and helped to make it special for Avery and I, we appreciate it so much and I cannot wait for her to meet and get to know all of you! :)