A blue duck and candles

Before my birthday, I would jokingly ask Sage, "What are you going to get me for my birthday?" I didn't really expect her to respond, but without missing a beat, she said, "A blue duck and candles." She consistently answered that way every time. I told Travis and we both laughed. On my birthday, Sage brought me my gift and sure enough....

Boo Boo's boo-boo

Last night, I had just shut the back door to get into the car to go sing. I was walking around to the front when I heard my mom beating on the window. She was screaming, "She hit her head!" I ran to the back door because I knew she wasn't being dramatic. As soon as I walked out, Sage had ran playfully towards my mom, tripped on the carpet, and hit her head on the corner of the coffee table.

Head wounds bleed--a lot. A whole lot. Travis already had a towel on it, but it was covered in blood. Their shirts were covered. She was screaming. They were all crying. He took the towel off for me to see; it was bad. I had a second to panic, get mad, get scared, or a little combo of them all, but no.......I immediately got down with her and started praying in the Spirit! THAT was amazing. She calmed down. Instantly. She didn't like the towel on her head, but we got in the car and sang, "Jesus Loves the Little Children." She loved that. I talked about how we'd carve a pumpkin the next day. I called Renea to call the church and let them know I wouldn't make it. That word traveled fast as several people called to let me know they were praying.

Sage actually thought her wound was really awesome in the mirror at the urgent care office. She was asking where particular people were that she thought would be interested to see. Sage is really smart, so I tried to prepare her a bit (without scaring) that the doctor was going to fix it, but mommy and daddy wouldn't leave. They took xrays and we sat in the office a while, but then it was time--the reason we were there.

The cut was right above the outer edge of her eyebrow, and it was deep--really deep. She tensed and screamed when they numbed it, but she never tried to get up. She cried the whole time, "Mommy! Mommy! I want you! I want me! (pick me up basically). Meeee!" It wasn't fun, but my mind went to the cross--how Jesus, in all of His perfect innocence and love, suffered for me. How God the Father agonizingly heard His cries and did nothing. Just in that mere instance of a (in comparison) small injury, I knew I couldn't have done it. I would have never even sent Him to the cross, but He did "for the joy that was set before Him."

It's interesting that in a time like that God reminded me yet again of how He loves us. He really, really, really loves us--and Sage. She's okay. She got 6 stitches, but she's okay. When we prayed last night, I thought at first she said, "Jesus touch my boo boo." but I actually think she said, "Thank you for my boo boo." I'll never know how that little mind works, but I don't think she was confused. She loves the Lord already, and she'll thank Him always. Lesson learned again.

Boo at the Zoo

This is backtracking a bit, but I wanted to post some pics from when we went trick-or-treating at the zoo. We all had a great time.

A Priceless Moment Caught on Camera

What can I say about this other than that it's awesome?

One of the Best Nights Ever

Last night truly was that. I had a group of people come out to show that they loved me. Not that I don't know it, but my birthday is Tuesday, and who doesn't want to feel special on their birthday? I did not lack for that last night, that's for sure.

Travis and my friend, Angelle, have been planning for a few weeks, and other than the date, it was all a surprise to me. They got Classic on Noble, which is THE nicest restaurant in town, ALL to ourselves. It was SO nice and so beautiful. We had music, great food, great friends and good drinks. I got some really nice things--a HOOKAH finally--but just the fact that people were there for ME was enough. I couldn't have asked for better friends or a better night. Thanks to all who were there and especially Travis. I love you.

Breaking the Span of Silence

It's been a while since I blogged. I just got back from Ky after being there for a week. It was a really nice, unplanned trip. I didn't have to sing this past weekend, so I took advantage of the free week. Sage was super excited.

We got to take her trick or treating at the zoo, which was cool because I got to do that when I was a kid. The only downside was that the train broke right when we were about to get on it. That MAY be the Lord disciplining me because I called this lady "fat and ugly." BEFORE you judge me, listen to the details.

First let me say that "boo at the zoo" is for CHILDREN. It's VERY kid-friendly: Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, princesses....the whole deal. There's no vampires or evil here, so 10 year olds wearing bleeding masks are not appropriate. While buying tickets for the train, this kid that appeared to be 7 had just that on--a bleeding "Scream" mask. Sage FREAKED. I said, "Don't look at it. It's ugly."

I heard the dad say, "Take that off. You're scaring the baby." Then the mother said, "It's Halloween, she can get over it." Soooo....ahem, if you know me, simply POINTING out that the "fat, ugly lady said it" after pushing her out of my way was mild. So...no train, but we did ride the backwards carousel, which was very fun.

AND my birthday is Tuesday. I'm accepting gifts now. :) Tomorrow, Travis is throwing a party for me....that's all I know. Everything is a surprise, but I'm VERY EXCITED. Sage and my mom are flying in on my birthday, and we'll spend the day shopping in Birmingham. So, it's going to be a VERY busy week, and I cannot WAIT until tomorrow. I'll post pics if it's appropriate. Seacrest, out.

Pissed off

I'm not in a great mood today. I'm tired. Travis worked all day shooting the race yesterday. I'm tired. I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm tired. I was gone for THIRTY minutes this morning to run to the store after dropping Sage off at school. By the time I got home, my flip flop had been chewed into a million pieces along with several of Sage's diapers.

"Oh that's just a puppy...." SAVE IT.

To all of you dog lovers, I applaud you. I'm TRYING TO BE ONE. SOME DAYS, I THINK I AM. Until, that is, my shoe is chewed up, my walls have holes in them, my carpet is snagged, windchimes and shoes have been carried into my backyard, my front yard has a massive hole in it, my kitchen cabinets are scratched and chewed...I'll stop there. Do you know how much it is to replace kitchen cabinets? About 20 grand. Have you ever seen a $20,000 dog? I'm just TIRED of it. I'm the one taking care of them and cleaning up after them--not TRAVIS. I could have had another baby for the work it is to have a dog.

If this offends you, I'm really not in the mood to care. Forgive me. Hi, my name is Julie, and I don't love dogs.

Warning: These Pics Are TOOOOO CUTE!

So here she is in all her "farmer attire!" I know you'll agree that she's adorable! Before Travis took her to school, I told her, "Sage, it's ok that you are the best farmer." LOL, Travis goes, "Julie don't tell her that." I said, "Travis! No one else in this world may tell her that, but here, she's going to know that I think she's awesome." :) Then he went on to say about the fine line between confidence and arrogance...blah blah blah...just look at the pics.

This one is one of my favorites.

Look at that face.
I've always called her "boo boo," and the sign behind her says "Halloween Boo Boo."

Electricity, Surprises, and Farmers

So I was on the home stretch of being alone for an entire week. Travis was due to come home tomorrow. What do I do during this week? The smart woman will do things that she couldn't do when her husband is home. Things like getting the prized male, dog after Travis's own heart, neutered. Part of me wanted it done because I was tired of seeing all that Mayer had. Part of me wanted it done because he had to spend the night at the vet. :) But at the last minute I canceled because I realized I'd be bringing all 61 lbs (he's a cow) of him home by myself with Sage in tow as well. So I thought better of that.

So I went to my next item of things to do while Travis is gone: getting Mayer an electric dog barking collar. Translated, that's a collar that sends electric volts to the dog when he barks. He barks and chases everyone that walks past our home. I actually looked forward to it. He has given me so much grief about barking at people, not to mention that he completely ignores our commands when he's outside. So I bought it, strapped it on him and let him out. Soon enough, someone was at our house. WOOF, WOOF, WOOF...then Mayer jumped straight into the air. It really was funny at the time, but then I felt sorry for him because he didn't want to be outside. He'd go out and then sit on the steps to come right back in. SO, I took that back today too. Sigh...maybe I really do like him.

Meanwhile, I was watching TV this afternoon while Sage was napping. Chanel was laying down while Mayer was outside. There was peace. Then I hear the doorknob rattling. I thought it was Mayer because he is that big that he can see into the window of the door and rattle the handle.
I went to let Mayer in, but it wasn't Mayer. It was TRAVIS! REDEMPTION! He actually told me that his plane came in tomorrow, but during the trip he realized that it was today. He never told me, so I still thought tomorrow. What a nice surprise!

Sage got up from her nap not too much longer, so I told Travis to stay in our room. I went in to get her, and said, "Sage go in my room and get your blanket." She just stood there and said, "no." I came up with some other things and nothing worked. Finally I said, "Chanel is in our room," and off she went. When she got in there, she kind of jumped back to see Travis. Then she ran into his arms and just hugged him for several minutes. Then she looked up and said, "I missed you, Daddy." It was definitely a Kodak moment. A few more minutes went by and she goes, "And you're not Chanel." Haha, she doesn't miss a trick.

Reunited....
And the farmer part of this has to do with the fact that since it's October, Sage's teacher is having them dress up as Farmers for Fun Friday. She has some boots and overalls, but we needed a hat. So Travis went out after Sage had went to sleep and got a hat and a bandana. But Sage isn't the ONLY farmer...
This is one of the funniest pics I have ever seen.

More please

I was cleaning up the kitchen for the evening and Sage wanted some more juice. I said, "Okay, but just a little bit more." How she responded is in the video below. The video isn't her, but what's playing is how she answered. I was ROLLING.

Model

Sage was really proud of her outfit yesterday, so she posed for a couple of quick shots before she went to school.

You NEVER know

When I was getting ready for church yesterday, Sage found a belt of mine. She put it on...well sort of and goes, "I'm PERFECT!" I said, "What did you say? Did you say you were perfect?" She excitedly says, "YES!" And then of course I said, "Yes. Yes you are." Sweet girl. Not lacking in confidence, that's for sure.