Oscar Fashion High Notes

I did it last year and I'm back at it this year! The past few weekends have definitely been 'weekend warrior' travel fiestas for the Spencers. So - I haven't actually gotten to watch the show yet. BUT - did I get home at 11:30pm last night and stay up to watch half of the red carpet show on E! before crashing? Yes I sure did! So - I haven't seen the show yet, but I have now seen the dresses (my favorite part anyways).

This year there were a lot of pretties but only five really made me swoon. I of all people am not one to criticize fashion so I'll only highlight the ones that I really loved. For you mental picture people like me: I sit here typing in my unfortunate uniform of black sweat pants and my black hoodie from high school. :)

Here are my top five!


Rose Byrne:

First, I have always loved a good bob. It's probably my favorite way to wear my own hair so I am having a moment with her hairstyle. Second, she just looks so dang cool. Look up her dress from last night because the back is equally devastating. I dream of wearing a backless dress someday :)

Viola Davis:

Ummmm hello. Could she look any better? This shade of green is one of my all time favorite colors. And let's face it - Viola has one fit body! She looks so strong and yet so feminine at the same time and I love that. The detailing on the bottom of the dress is gorgeous.

Michelle Williams:

I love Michelle. I really do. To me - she is a great combination of girlie, edgy, and vintage all wrapped up. The detailing on this dress is so beautiful and let's also acknowledge that big pink lips are a staple in my life. Her hair, plus her lipstick, plus her dress equals love in my book.

Jessica Chastain:

The more I look at it the more I love it. The color of the dress with her skin and hair is gorgeous. And the pattern of the fabric lays so well on her figure. Beautiful.

And now for my hands down winner of the night.....

Stacy Keibler:

I don't even know what to say other than wow. Wow wow wow. The dress is stunning and she looks fabulous. Enough said.

I love seeing all the dresses! I start looking forward to the Oscars in January :) I am sure you may have a few different favorites than mine but that is what is so fun about fashion isn't it? I am finally starting to see some Liam-baby-weight come off and I have to say that seeing those gorgeous dresses did give me an extra oomph of motivation for striving towards that goal. One pound at a time is the motto over here my friends!

Love y'all,
Abi

It's Wednesday

And frankly my to-do list is frightening. Impossible even. There aren't enough hours and there isn't enough energy to cross every last thing off that list between now and then. You know the feeling! But there is such a quietness and peace in my Spirit today that stress almost seems locked out. Only God can be thanked for that and so I relish today.

Do you ever think about this verse? Luke 1:35 "The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.' " That one word - overshadow.

Today that's how I feel. There are multiple reasons to be stressed or even to worry - if I listen to my emotions and take once glance at that list. From human eyes - there is no single reason NOT to be stressed LOL. But - then there's Him. And His shadow. And His wings. Today, I am overshadowed. Today I do a bit at a time. I cuddle that six month old bubby and whisper how much I love him. I have a half-swept kitchen (not even kidding). I negotiate a renewal of a billboard for a client. I listen to the birds sing their song. And my soul sighs.

Because He is greater. He is true. He loves me. And He truly loves you.

More overshadowing please. More.

Love y'all,
Abi

Parisien Doors

I have loved this post for over a year and a half. I have dreamed of this post since June 2010. We went to Paris in June 2010. My heart still skips a beat at the thought. When I first got to Paris - it had to grow on me. Most new things are like that though. When we left - I was in love.

One of the most beautiful things were the doors. Gorgeous gorgeous doors. They were so stately, feminine, masculine, worn by years of comers and goers.

So - I started taking pictures of the doors that caught my eyes. I can't decide which is my favorite...but do you have one?

'Sacre Blue!'

'Dance Floor'

'Bordeaux'

'Quick Before They Catch Us!'

'LBD'

'Lord and Lady Wentworth'

'Raspberry Cordial'

'Charcoal Morning'

'My Fair Lady' (wrong city I know)

One for me...inspiration to not quit Weight Watchers :)

Six Months of Wonder, Wisdom and the Wriggles

THIS little masterpiece is six months old today. Oh my! I cannot believe it.

Sometimes my heart feels a little sad at how quickly he has grown but mostly I am excited for him. This boy is on the fast track I tell you. Sometimes that is impressive and sometimes that is just plain alarming!

So here's a little categorical update:

Sleep: We have wonderful sleep accomplishments and head-scratchers the same my boy. He has been sleeping through the night since he was seven weeks old and that has been a huge blessing. Around 4.5 months he started waking early in the mornings. Make that an hour early. I have discovered that since I work in the office two days a week it is top priority for me to get him to sleep until 7...otherwise it's an interesting dynamic to put it nicely lol. Soooo that's one of our wonderments right now. Thankfully Liam wakes up happy and it is one of my very favorite things to walk in and say 'Gooooooooooood morning Liam!' and see that huge smile and laugh and he usually starts doing a stationary bounce on all fours. This boy takes on the day with determination! Our naps have been good but we're definitely in the middle of a transition to less daytime sleeping and more waketime. Check with me on that later because I currently feel lost and am praying for a lot a lot a lot of wisdom to help him with the transition. LOL!

Eating:
For the most part, nursing has gone well! We have definitely had bumps here and there but we're still nursing and it's more precious than I could have known it would be. It is simply a crazy miracle to be able to feed a child. Also, it has become his most still and quiet part of the day so I especially cherish that lol!!! Liam got to start cereal two weeks ago. We started with rice cereal which went great until day two :). On day two I mixed in a formula that was in a word - horrible - on Liam's system. So we took a five day break and started again but this time with oatmeal cereal. Although I know the formula was the problem - we will come back to the rice cereal sometime later. Next up - squash! Ooooo la la. lol.

Playing:
Homeboy is on the move! Not quite a crawler but he is working on it ardently. He is pretty much sitting with a few wobbles included. Over the past week he has started laughing a lot. He finds himself to be hilarious mostly! LOL. But mommy and daddy garner a good laugh here and there too. He loves his jumperoo. He still loves his activity mat. And recently - he loves playing in his crib after he gives me every sign he's sleepy. I think he may be plotting just to get some alone time to play before going to sleep :)

Right now - he says da da da da da da da A LOT. I mean, come one! What's wrong with ma ma ma ma ma I ask??? Zion tries to claim he has said his first word and indeed it is Dada. I dispute that LOL.

My favorites:
- The sweet smile and coo right after his tummy is full from nursing. Melt me.
- Morning snuggles on the weekends when Daddy is home. We all snuggle and talk in bed after our first feeding and it's precious.
- Liam is a studier and a learner. He especially loves watching Daddy to see what he is doing and how he is doing it. I'm probably crazy but I think he already wants to be like Daddy.
- The fact that this six month old is fairly convinced he can drink out of a big boy cup - watter bottle - anything. Sippy cup here we come!
- I love that he enjoys people. He smiles for people and doesn't mind being held by people he doesn't know (for the most part!).
- I am amazed by how strong he is physically. I mean, sometimes I can barely hold him from all of the contortions he's working. Rocking him is a joke from time to time. If he's too worked up he'll simply stand on you when you try to rock him - put his hands on your shoulders and rock/surf. I can't help but giggle.
- Finally, I am honored to watch this little man unfold. His personality is a delight, his passion is alive, and his sweetness oozes. Just to think - God had a specific purpose in creating Liam Spencer and we are just along for the ride.

On the horizon: journeying into the world of making organic baby food. Bring it squash, carrots, bananas and such! Bring it.

Thank you God for the honor of being a mama and for Zion who so passionately parents with me. After this one, I wouldn't mind having a tribe of boys. Who knew this would be so precious??

Love y'all,
Abi

P.S. The wisdom referred to in the title is the many many prayers of sincere desperation for God to get down here right this very minute and tell me what to do with little man and how to mama him. I have gotten fairly demanding with my requests lol! He keeps coming through just like He always does. Thank holy goodness!

Mommyworld

Don't you hate the compare and contrast game??? Everyone battles against it - some of us battle harder than others! So a lot of my friends who are mommies blog about their babies and their mommyworlds. And I read every sentence of every post. Seriously - I love them. I have always been nosy and therefore personal blogs just fill me up on the little fun details of friends and even just aquaintances lives.

So WHY OH WHY do I come up against such a wall when it comes to blogging about a certain little man and my life these days???? I love reading about the minute - even boring - details of other's lives but can't seem to bring myself to blog about ins and outs of what's going in this life of mine? Talk about a quirk!

Maybe it's because when I started this blog I was already pregnant but set out to not just make it a pregnancy update blog. I limited myself to one baby blog update a month and tried to throw in posts on other heart or life issues. Maybe that was because I knew what it was like to have to wait to be a mommy when it had been my heart's desire since I was little? I knew what it was to listen to people incessantly talk about pregnancy or their babies and at the same time stamp down thoughts like 'what if that never happens for me?' Not saying that my thoughts were right on....it's just where they were.

Now it's the same thing with my bubby. If I was transparent - I would say that I feel like I am living the best dream ever. That I love being a mama more than I could ever even imagined. That this little man has ushered in a joy unspeakable into our lives. That I am pretty much obsessed with him. LOL.

Here's the deal. I think what irritates me is when people talk about their pregnancy/life/mommy/baby experiences as if we all find it to be the MOST important information in the world. As if their pregnancy is unique and we all need to know all of the details. Basically - as if the world revolves around their experience. You know what I am talking about!

The truth is that most pregnant girls feel like everything they experience is uniquely wonderful. It's a feeling every expectant mama has - myself included. What I realized while being pregnant is that there is simply nothing unique about being pregnant. Again - not saying that I am right about all of this....these are just my weird little thoughts.

I came to embrace the sacredness of pregnancy instead of the uniqueness of it. Which is why the word 'preggers' or 'preggo' never escaped my lips. Perhaps I am overly sensitive to those who are waiting on the desires of their hearts to be fulfilled - but preggers and prego make pregnancy sound the latest fad that you simply must try dahling. Fahhhhhbulous. It brings pregancy to the level of something cutesy that everyone's doing. I would venture to say that any precious heart of a girl who would love nothing more than to be married or carrying a sacred life in her belly (but for whatever reason isn't yet) isn't a fan of the words preggers or preggo either.

You didn't ask for this rant did you????? LOL. I am going somewhere with this!

Having said ALL OF THAT! Geesh! I came to also realize that my sweet baby Liam deserved my joy and celebration - even publicly - even if it touched on tender places in the hearts of those who were waiting.

Which brings me to my current post title 'mommyworld.' How silly is it that I am not really blogging about his sweet life and little moments because I don't want to come off as bragadocious or flaunting?

So here I am. A mama in love with a precious boy. Thankful to God for bringing fulfillment to the desires of my heart. And willing to give this blogging thing a refreshed effort. Wanting to share more of his life and my new life in a new role. And trusting that God knows the desires of my heart to find that happy balance of celebrating but not assuming that my favorite topic is your's too lol.

Bare with me as I figure out what works for me!

Bite Size Bible Study: "I Will Be With You"

I haven't spent a lot of time in the Old Testament over the recent years. But as I was pondering where to jump in - the book of Joshua stood out to me...so I don't think about things too long. :) I just assume that's God and go for it. And God is a really good Leader isn't He? As we approach this new year what could be better that focusing on the themes of God's fulfilled promises to ineherit land and space?

Joshua 1:5 "Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you."

WHAT WORDS! What words. Just as I was with Moses....think about the intimacy of God's leadership with Moses as he led the Israelites. He spoke so cleary. He led so definitely. God interacted with Moses so closely so that Moses could rightly care for God's precious people.

Why can't I put my name in for Joshua's name? 'Abi - just as I was with Moses, I am going to be with you in 2012.' I don't think that's too risky of a theological gamble.

So - what if my expectation of the Lord 'being with me' went up? What if I look for Him more? What if I quiet my heart to hear Him speak more because I KNOW He is ready to lead me? What if I trust Him more?

I don't know about you but I have this stirring in my heart that 2012 is going to be a big and important year. Today, my heart is singing with the renewed reality that my God is with me.

We just celebrated Christmas - our Emanuel God. God with us. He gave and He came to literally be with us. There is no greater intimacy and there is no sweeter invitation to relationship!

Joshua 1:5 "Just as I was with Moses, I will be with you (insert your name here)." Let that ring over and over in your ears today!

Love y'all,
Abi

Bite Size Bible Study: Don't Be Afraid

I have been having this phrase 'bite size Bible study' rolling around inside of me for a while. It's not that all we need is just a bite of truth. It's not that five minutes is the grand goal of time with the Lord.

But - it IS that sometimes what I really need is one bite. One thought. One message to chew chew chew on all day. One direction to point my heart towards as I put my Bible down. Sometimes my brain is just too scattered to go in many directions and I am called back to the simplicity of the moment in God.

So, how about a quick Bite Size Bible Study my friend?

Here's what I read this morning:

Luke 1:13 "But the angel said, 'Don't be afraid Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.' "

Two things - don't be afraid (insert your name here) and God HAS heard your prayer. Oh man don't those two things go hand in hand? If I was truly confident that God has heard my prayers, my cries, my whispers - then why would I ever have need of being afraid???

Granted - this portion of Scripture is truly referring to Zechariah's fear of seeing Gabriel - a mighty angel - right in front of his very eyes. But as I read it this morning, I could hear the Spirit of God just saying 'This is for you. Don't be afraid my girl because I HAVE heard your prayer.'

If you read on in the chapter - it goes on to detail God's answered prayer for John and Elizabeth of a son. And boy oh boy - not just any son. Did their waiting pay off? Yes, yes it did. Did God honor their decision to wait and trust and not turn their hearts off to Him in the meantime? Yes, yes He did.

So, today friend - don't be afraid. God hears you. And the wait will be worth it.

Love y'all,
Abi