Sweet, Sweet Little Girl

Avery has not been feeling well lately. She's had a cold and all the yuckiness that goes along with that, but after some great decongestant medicine the doctor gave her, she's been better.

Yesterday she started running a fever, but it would slowly drop after taking medicine. I could tell she didn't feel well all day. She didn't cry a lot or even whine, but she layed around on her blanket and wanted to be held a lot. Her fever subsided and she was ready for bed last night at 7:15. I layed her down and she slept soundly until 10:30. After calming her down and taking her temperature, it was back up to 103. As I headed to the kitchen to get her some more medicine, I remembered Kenny saying he gave her the last dose that evening. (So, thank you Kenny for getting out of bed to make a Wal-Mart run at 11:00 at night. I know I downed Wal-mart in a previous post, but it is nice to have a place open 24 hours a day.)

Anyway, her fever started to go back down, and after watching some of Disney's Sing A Long, Avery was ready for bed again. I checked on her throughout the night, and her fever continued to return to normal. At 4:00 it was completely gone. I got a good night's rest from 4-7 because I thought she was better. Then at 7:00, I peeked in on her to see how she was doing.

She was just laying there in her bed with her eyes open, not moaning, talking or crying. Her fever was back to 103. After some medicine, she went back to bed at 8:30 a.m. It's now 10:00, and she's still asleep.

I started this story to brag on how sweet our little girl is. Last night, in the middle of the night, I gave her some juice. I could tell it took all of her might, but when she handed it back to me she said, "tank too." (Thank You.) She did it again this morning. Nothing sweeter than that...

Well, maybe this... I take her temperature with an electric ear thermometer. Each time I took her temperature last night or today, she would take the thermometer and put it in her ear. When she was satisfied with her 'reading,' she would put it in her other ear. Then she would hand it back, snuggle down and rest.

I hate that she feels so bad, and there's not much I can do except comfort her, but at least I can comfort her.


(You may be asking why I'm not freaking out about why she has such a high fever, but our other little friend had the same thing last week, so I'm assuming it's that.)

Giving To Jesus

I'm not sure if I've shared the story of the first time Kenny and I gave money to Avery for her to put it in the collection plate at church. Here's a quick re-cap for those who haven't heard.

Avery was about 9 months old at the time, and we gave her two pennies to put in the plate that morning. During the service leading up to time to put the money in, she held on to her 'treasure' so tightly that her fingers turned white. Our worry was that she would not put the money in once the plate passed by.

Our worries subsized when the plate came by. She looked at the plate, then looked at her money. It was then that she threw the pennies over her shoulders and grabbed all of the money already in the plate.

Fast forward; Avery is now 18 months old. I don't know why we've waited so long to try to teach her again about giving, but we decided to give it another whirl.

In our church building, there are giant pictures hanging in the space between the balcony and lower levels. One of them contains a representation of Jesus, and Avery is fully aware of where "Jesus" is at all times.

This morning before time for the collection plate to be passed around, we gave her some change. She was very careful with the quarter and nickel. Kenny explained to her that we were going to give the money to Jesus.

It was then that she looked up, found the picture of Jesus, and held out her coins to give to Him. It was wonderful to see this time she was willing.

In the Twilight Zone

I knew going into it that my grocery store of choice was going to be lacking as usual. Little did I know how lacking.

I normally go to Wal-Mart simply because of convenience. Usually, they have everything you need all in one-stop shopping...not the one on Atlanta Highway. They normally are not well stocked, but I've learned to deal with it although it is very annoying.

Today Avery and I took the trek to get our shopping completed for all the Thanksgiving goodies we intend to prepare for our much anticipated company that will arrive next week! (My mom and dad, along with our good friends from Huntsville, Jon and Stacy with their two kiddos, Lawson and Jordan.)

When we arrived, all was normal. Then we got to the back of the store and noticed a bizarre phenomenon.

There was no food in the cold sections. I say none, but there were a few items. Milk, assorted bisquits, some butter, orange juice. But get this; where there actually was food, it was only the name brand, and there were only two or three items on the shelf. Same situation was going on in the freezer sections. The only thing that was pretty well stocked was turkeys. I guess they knew there would be an uprising if there were none to be found the week before Turkey Day.

Of course these were not ideal conditions in which to shop for a Thanksgiving meal; however, Avery and trudged on. I must admit that I was perturbed and silently vowed to never shop there again. The last straw is the last straw, right?

Then I heard it. A woman saying to the stockers what we all were thinking. "You all are sure understocked, huh? (polite laugh)"

"Yes," answered the man. "Our electricity was out too long so we had to throw out all the food and start fresh."

Well, at least what I was able to grab before the two people behind me finished everything off, was fresh. Then I felt bad...for a second.

The more I think about it, I realize they did whatever was needed to fix the problem. But my question is this. Don't grocery stores know that something like electricity going out could be a problem, and shouldn't they have back up generators?

If someone could please explain this, I would appreciate it.

Pat the Bible...

Every morning after breakfast, Avery and I enjoy a Bible lesson together. We start by singing songs and asking simple questions, then we move on to the 'lesson.' We've been working on the days of Creation, and so far she can tell you what was made on days 1-3 without prompting of the actual word: "Lye, Sdy, And" (light, sky, land). She can repeat everything from days 4-7, but one of these days I just know she's going to surprise me and know it all.

The other day we sang "The B-I-B-L-E," and she yelled, "BIBLE!" before we even finished spelling. I'm just repeating myself when I say how it amazes me how much she can soak up. I also got to watch her in Bible class last Wednesday night (because I couldn't quit coughing in ours). It was a joy to see her know all of the hand motions to songs and questions.

But I digress...On to the fun that started me writing...

One of her favorite songs when she was an infant was "Pat The Bible," ("Pat the Bible 1,2,3. God loves Avery and God loves me"), and I'm happy to say that it continues to top her list of favorites. My heart jumps everytime I see her cute, chubby hand patting her little pink Bible.

This morning, I handed Avery her Bible while I put her milk back into the refridgerator. Upon my return I heard her sweet voice, singing. (Her singing is a higher pitch than her talking voice..so sweet!)

As I listened closer I heard, "Pad da Bibul, la da da..Dod wuvs Avee..da la la." All done while patting her pink Bible. I held in my squeals of delight until she finished, but no longer. When she looked up, she had a happy little twinkle in her eye. And that's just what she is to me..a twinkle in my eye.

Weekend With Uncle Tom

Kenny's brother, Thomas, got to come visit us this past weekend while he looked at Faulkner for school next year. It was such a treat having him around since we don't get to be around family often.

Of course Kenny and I enjoyed him, but I'm pretty sure Avery took up most of his time. She would not leave him alone, wanting kisses and hugs from her Uncle Tom.

My First Pony and Daddy's Lil' Eagle

Yesterday at school there was a Fall Festival, complete with a pony ride! Avery was very excited to see the horses that were not so mini to her. After buying tickets and wading through the line, the wait was over, and it was time to ride! Kenny picked the smallest pony for Avery, and she was adorable perched on top. Even though she is a brave sole, she wanted her Daddy close by.

We were glad that they let the kids ride for a while because she really enjoyed the 'trail ride' going around and around and around. Just like most good things, it had to come to an end, and when it did, Avery was not a happy camper! It was a good thing we already looked at everything else because with the ponys in sight, there was no other option but to leave for dinner.

In other news, I'm sure those who read Kenny's blog have kept up with the latest flag football news. Before "ladies night," Avery decided that she needed to join in the fun. She was Daddy's little Eagle.

Clowning Around with the Clowns

Avery and I traveled with the varsity volleyball team to the state tournament, held in Pelham, on Tuesday night. It was a fun time (until they lost), but Avery was a trooper as usual.

Since Tuesday was Halloween night, I was a little disappointed that Avery would not get to go trick or treating for her first 'real' time. Luckily Coach Ainsworth had us covered, and told all of the girls to come prepared. So, Avery donned her clown costume (that my mom made for my brother, then I wore it as well) and proceeded to each girls' hotel room.

On the way out of our room, she ran into another team, just arriving. They all thought she was so cute that they started digging through their bags, looking for goodies to drop in the jack-o-lantern! Avery practiced her good manners, and in a sweet voice said, "tan-too" (thank you).

Once off the elevator, which she loved, and is finally tall enough to reach the button, she took off down the hall. After we showed her which door to knock on first, she balled up her little hand and knocked. "Teet!" was all I could get her to say, but she probably didn't even have to say that. "Oo's" and "Awe's" and "How Cute!" followed, and more candy was dumped into the jack-o-lantern.

Unfortunately, there were only four doors to knock on, and she accidentally knocked on a stranger's door. They weren't in..good. Then, we returned down the elevator to our room. She knocked on our door when we got there, and once inside, turned around and knocked again.

It was late; it had been a long day, but how could I let her go to bed without a small taste of her gold. So she enjoyed some smarties before heading off to Slumberland.