Mr. and Mrs. Brandon Howell

We went to my second cousin Tiffany's wedding during the month of May.  It was a beautiful wedding!

Although she is actually my Dad's cousin (my Dad's Dad's sister's daughter), she is only a year older than I am.  Because we are so close in age, I grew up with her more like a cousin than "second cousin".  We were part of the same youth group at Royal Oak Church of Christ, part of Lads to Leaders together, went to Freed-Hardeman one summer for their Horizons youth camp, were in the Metro Detroit Youth Chorus together, packing partners on tour together, had many a sleep-over together, were fellow NKOTB fans (wait, did I just admit that?), and also attended Fraser High School together.  She was nice enough to DRIVE me to school for the card-marking I attended that school - the first of my junior year - before moving to Rochester / Rochester High School.  She is a sweetheart. 

After high school, she went to Lipscomb and I went to Harding.  We both kind of went our separate ways, so I haven't been as close to her (geographically or otherwise) as I would like.  I definitely wanted to be sure to attend her wedding.  It was beautiful.  She had GORGEOUS(!) shoes and dress.  She was beaming.  She picked a pretty light-green color for her bridesmaids.  Her sister-in-laws were two of her bridesmaids, along with her two sister-in-laws to-be and her best friend. 

Doug stayed out in the lobby with Liam while Ava and I watched the ceremony. 

I got a complete "money shot" of her, as she and her new husband were announced as man and wife to the wedding attendees.  Super cute.

The reception was at a nice hall in Columbia, Tennessee.  They had some fun dancing (Ava boogied) and even had FAYGO POP in bottles!  Very cool.  My cousin Chris (my Dad's Dad's youngest sister's son), with whom I actually attended high school at Lincoln (and is only a few months older than me) helped cater Tiffany's wedding reception.  It was well-organized with yummy food.  Aunt Anita looked like she was floating on a cloud all day, she was so happy.  I know Tiffany's Daddy couldn't have been more proud.

Wishing Mr. and Mrs. Brandon Howell a lifetime of happiness together.

Peace, love and wedded bliss,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Doug is Now Employed!!!!!

Back in March, Doug interviewed for a job as a Projects and Portables Coordinator with Fulton County Schools, in Atlanta, Georgia. Doug was referred for this job through a previous co-worker at Preston Partnership.

He was so well-prepared for the interview. He practiced a 90-second "elevator speech" with me. He looked sharp. It sounded like he interviewed well. They called him a few weeks later and mentioned that he didn't get the job, but that he was a strong #2 candidate. We thought the case was closed. Doug became very busy with the Rwanda project about that time.

Doug got a call from the hiring manager for the Fulton County job during mid-May. They wanted to know if he was still interested, as the candidate they chose to hire had not yet agreed to accept the position. They gave the other candidate 24 hours to respond and accept their offer. The other candidate never accepted. They asked Doug if he wanted the job!

They offered him $2k more than he earned before salary cuts at Preston. (That's what the job paid.) Wow. We were just hoping he would be able to find something that would at least pay for the kids to remain in day care. God answers prayers!

It is a hike for Doug. He drives 56 miles round-trip everyday. Fortunately they've offered a flexible work schedule to him. So, he chose to start work at 7 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. every day, in hopes of avoiding Atlanta rush-hour traffic. It takes him about 45 minutes to get home. I take the kids to day care in the morning. So far it has worked out really well.

He will be responsible for any projects within Fulton County Schools, and also for any "portables". These are the mobile / trailer classrooms they add onto schools if there isn't enough room in the actual school building. He is busier during the Summer than Winter as they want the portables to be installed before the school year starts. He will be driving to quite a few schools to check them out and make sure everything is going well. I think there are 100 schools for which he is responsible.

It's definitely a change of pace for him. He doesn't feel quite as much pressure as he did when dealing with deadlines at architecture firms. He is still learning the ropes. He is the youngest employee there. A 66 year-old man, who is also a Viet Nam vet, works for him. I've heard this man has quite a few war stories.

His benefits are amazing. He has a pension, doesn't pay into Social Security, quite a few given days off (due to school calendar) and good vacation time.

The office is located in College Park. They told him that if he is the last one to leave the office, he should close the blinds, turn off the light and lock the door. It doesn't sound like the safest place to be after midnight...

God works in mysterious ways. I didn't realize this detail until Doug told me... Doug wouldn't have been able to work on the Rwanda job if he had immediately been hired with Fulton County Schools! But, he finished the Rwanda job and then got a call from Fulton County. Amazing timing. Better than we could've planned it. God sure has taken us on a wild ride, but we're grateful.

So I joked to Doug about his change in employment... He went from working on skyscrapers to working on trailers! He had to laugh.

Peace, love and the projects,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Mother's Day 2010

Happy Mother's Day to our moms! We hope your day was absolutely amazing.

This year's Mother's Day was the best. I opened up cards and some gifts on Sunday morning. The kids gave me a card each, Doug gave me a card, and other relatives sent them as well. They got me a nice James Avery buckle ring, too. Ava likes signing her name to cards now, and likes to put happy faces on them, as well. Ava signs Liam's name for him, too.

Doug asked where I wanted to go for lunch after church. I didn't want to brave the crowds, so we got take-out fish-tacos from Houlihan's. I actually got a nap on Sunday afternoon. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Cool but breezy and sunny. So I watered-in the sod I planted the day prior and just enjoyed a nice, lazy Sunday afternoon. It was just what the doctor (or the mommy) ordered. :-)

Ava's project from school:


A project she did while at church:

The James Avery ring the kids and Doug bought for me. (Note: I had no idea who James Avery was until I got this ring. Doug mentioned we received a catalogue in the mail and he thought I might like one of the rings, so he bought it in a local store.)

Ava's artwork:

Artwork on Liam's card for me, courtesy of Ava:

Peace, love and Mother's Day goodness,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Mrs. Barb's Class

Since Ava returned to school on April 12th, she has been attending in her old classroom. All of her other friends, including her best friends Emma and Hillary, moved up to Mrs. Barb's classroom around their birthdays, March timeframe. (See post which mentioned Owen: "Ava Turns Four".)

As I mentioned, I didn't want to push Ava into the Mrs. Barb's class, but wanted her to go when she was ready. I mentioned to Ava that she might be able to learn to read like her buddy Matthew (who is 6) more quickly if she went into Mrs. Barb's class. She enjoys trying to sound things out, so I thought this might get the point across. Her current class was sometimes combined with an even younger class, too, so I felt like Ava could really benefit from moving up to the 4-5 year-old class. Again, I didn't want to pressure her at all, so this was the only time I mentioned it.

In that same brief conversation, I told her that we could make a treat to celebrate going into the new classroom, whenever she was ready. Without any prompting, the next morning at school, she asked (on her own) if she could go into Mrs. Barb's classroom (on 05/11). Later in the week, Ava and I went shopping for cupcake supplies and then made them on Thursday night. She really enjoyed decorating them! We took them into school on Friday 05/14. They were a big hit with everyone at school. This is the picture from the Betty Crocker Web site. We used different colored cones, too.



http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/surprise-cupcake-cones/cfa34a11-41ca-4259-9df1-95b62631f81a?WT.mc_id=taf_recipe_BC

Mrs. Barb pulled me aside when I went to pick-up Ava on Monday (5/17), before I got Ava. She said "I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of how Ava is growing up. She is such a sweet girl. She listens so well and follows instructions, and she has only been in my class a few days. I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of her."

She said that Ava cleaned up without being asked to clean up, and another time she sat down on the mat because she knew it was time, when Mrs. Barb asked everyone. (I guess it took other kids a few times to follow directions.) Mrs. Barb says she reached into the treasure box and reached past the standard stickers, to give Ava a more substantial reward because she felt she deserved it.

What makes me even more happy is that Mrs. Barb told me she had pulled Ava aside earlier in the day, to let Ava personally know how proud she was of her. I am so proud of Ava, and let her know this, as well. She is so thoughtful and caring. I love that she does this on her own, and not because she is prompted in any way. She is certainly growing up. I love to see her embracing her responsibilities, and owning the process "of growing up". Such a big girl!

Peace, love and sweetness,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Trader Joe's

In the interest of cheap entertainment, one day I got a wild hair and decided it might be fun to take the kids to Trader Joe's. They have mini-grocery carts there, so I thought it might be fun for the kids to push them around while we QUICKLY shopped. ;-) I attempted this feat on my own. Not unusual. At 5:30 in the afternoon. Before the kids ate dinner. Probably won't be doing that again.

Ava is an ace with the carts; she has used them at Whole Foods in the past. This was Liam's first time driving a cart. Entering the store, all was fun. The kids each picked out a cart and we headed on our merry way. The kids picked out some fruit leather (fruit that has been pureed and dehydrated) and we picked up a few other things. I felt like a cart-wrangler. And we avoided the wine aisle like the plague... New cart-driver Liam + stacks and stacks of glass wine bottles = impending catastrophe. Disaster averted.

We went to the check-out line, where I then saw a neighbor (from the next street over in our sub) standing behind me. I said hello, but I wasn't sure if she recognized me. I then turned my attention to the cashier, so we could check-out. In the meantime, Liam is straying with his cart. Somehow he took Ava's (as I later found out), and Ava grabbed it back. With a vengeance. Neither would let go. With both kids wailing, the cart ended up on its side with a crash that only a grocery cart can make when turning over. :-) WWF Smackdown just about ensued. (I kid, but Liam was crying VERY loudly). I had to be "that mom" that day in the grocery store, grabbing my kids by the elbows and whispering what might look like death threats into their ears. Fortunately I remained calm and didn't yell at them. Serenity now!

With (what seemed like) all eyes on me, I didn't sink into the floor this time. The neighbor behind me says "Oh but you'll miss this when they're older." :-) Hmm. I told her I would doubt that... In the past I would've melted into a puddle, but for some reason, I didn't. I'm learning not to sweat the small things, I guess.

Liam and Ava play SO well together, for the most part. The only issue is if someone takes a toy from another (or someone wants a toy the other one is holding - of the 50,000,000 toys within the perimiter of our house). It happened, though. I don't think I could've helped it.

We then made our way to put the carts back, but Liam was upset when we had to return it. He wanted to keep it. He started wailing again. I had to carry him out of the store as he attempted to escape my grasp. I guess that's what I get for taking them there before dinner time.

We went back as a family last weekend. We didn't go at dinner time. So much easier! Liam EVEN ventured down the wine aisle and didn't bump into anything. (I still might suggest bumpers in this aisle to them sometime... :-) Doug took the picture below on our family trip there. These are our professional shopppers!

As a sidenote, a few days after said incident, I took the kids to Pike's Nursery by myself. It was pretty hot and humid that day. Each of them wanted to pull one of the Radio Flyer wagons and put a plant in their wagon. One of the workers commented that she was very impressed that I was able to coordinate two kids both pulling wagons and simultaneously direct traffic. There weren't any plants that spilled over, no wagons overturned. It was a fun and uneventful trip, until Ava's nose started bleeding in the mini-van on the way home! :-0 Small victories, I guess.

Peace, love and kid cart calamity,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Ava's First Dental Appointment

After spending months passively trying to whittle down pediatric dentists, I decided we should probably just take Ava to our regular dentist. Laura, who schedules the office visits and takes care of insurance and billing there, originally suggested I take Ava there. I struck out with pediatric dentists that would cover dental cleanings 100%. So, I finally scheduled her appointment for 05/14.

I was a bit curious how Ava might react to having instruments and gloved-fingers inspecting her teeth. She did SO WELL! She couldn’t have done better. I took a few pictures outside of the dentist office building to document our adventure. When we went in, she didn’t want to go into the waiting room, but wanted me to carry her. We met Amanda, the hygienist who took care of her, and we walked back together to the dental chair.

Ava got into the chair, and flopped down with her head on the lower part, while she leaned on her elbow. I had to laugh. Amanda explained how she was going to clean Ava’s teeth (in a kid-friendly way). She then had her get down and showed Ava how her “squirty” water tool worked and showed her the straw-suction hose. She showed Ava the toothbrush that rotates like Ava’s toothbrush does. She gave her a choice in toothpaste flavors (bubble gum? Grape?). Ava chose grape and hopped back into the chair.



Amanda told Ava she was going to count her teeth and asked her how many she had. Ava counted seven. Amanda counted 20. ;-) The cleaning began and Ava was a champ about it. She giggled when the toothbrush tickled her. Amanda flossed her teeth and then gave her a choice in fluoride flavors. Grape it was. :-) Amanda knew the bite tray wouldn’t fit in Ava’s mouth, so she just put the fluoride on a cotton swab and applied it that way. Amanda was SO GOOD with her! She has worked as a pediatric dental hygienist in the past, so we were in good hands.

She gave Ava a choice in princess toothbrushes, put some heart-shaped gingerbread cookies (a staple at this dentist’s office, made by the dentist’s wife) in the bag and told Ava what a great job she did. The dentist (Dr. Gavric), who was equally as sweet, checked Ava’s teeth and said they look great. No cavities.

Passed with flying colors! Great job brushing, kiddo!


Sparkling clean teeth!


We had a few other errands to run before I had to take Ava back to school. Ava chose where we went for lunch, so we dined at Panda Express. We followed up lunch with a trip to Target to buy a nightlight. It was a fun girl’s lunch date.

Peace, love and no cavities, Ma!
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam