Sadness about Fred

Today I was very sad. Sad for many reasons. My uncle is lying in a hospital bed with family and friends surrounding him. He did not know much about who I was yesterday and it really depressed me because we used to have such fun joking each other. He has lived a good life and as a nurse said yesterday to my mom, "you can always tell those who are rich by those he has around when it truly matters." Uncle Ed (I always joked with him about the Fred part) is rich. He has a loving, devoted wife and terrific, accomplished children. He is the very proud grandfather of two adorable kids. He has friends and extended family beyond measure. Although cancer, that dreaded, evil family killer, will take him in the near future, his legacy will live throughout generations. He fought the good fight and he will be at peace with his Savior in heaven. Where will YOU be when the time comes?

Happy Easter 2008

Our Easter was great and filled with family events. We enjoyed dinner Friday night at "Mexico", our favorite place in Roanoke.

Saturday, the Albrights traveled to Anniston for the annual Easter photos at Studio One and then visited with Maw-Maw & Paw-Paw in Wadley. Late afternoon we really had fun at Grammy & Poppa's egg hunt with the cousins. Poppa grilled us some great steaks for dinner Saturday night.

We attended church at First Baptist Roanoke (where we were married) and had lunch at Grammy & Poppa's. After loading the car with all the goodies the Easter bunny left us, we ventured to the "creek" to hunt eggs and eat (again!) with the Clark family. Ava & Griffin are pros at the egg hunt thing now! Griffin was so funny!

Spring Break!

Here we are Spring Break 2008 at Orange Beach, Alabama!!

We had a great time alone with the kids with no schedules to keep but the weather was not great. I think that next Spring Break will have to include Disney plans!!

We did all of our "regular" beach things like eat at Doc's & Lulu's but we were unable to really enjoy the sun and pool. Griffin liked the sand better than last year but he just wanted to eat it!! That was alot of fun-- Ava just loved going to Grammy & Poppa's beach place. She wants to move there!

My baby is 5!!

I cannot belive that 5 years have flown by! My precious little Ava is now a big #5.... She had a great party with her family and a few friends at Sweet & Sassy in Hoover. They dress the girls in "princess attire" and do their hair and a little make-up. She had a ball! Thanks to all of our sweet family and friends for making her feel like a real princess for the day (or week or year or lifetime!).

Ava is such a special little girl and we have been so blessed by her presence in our lives. She is thriving at school and at home with her live-in playmate, Griffin! Please continue to pray for Ava as great things are ahead for her in her life!

Brother and Sister

I am absolutely loving this stage with Ava and Griffin! What stands out most to me is their relationship with each other. Sure, there is a fair share of screaming and "keep him out of my room!" happening, but they are just so sweet together. From sharing food to playing together to Ava's "mothering" of him, I am amazed by the depth I am witnessing. Being close to my own siblings is one of the things I am most proud of in life so I am hoping my two children will be close friends and confidants as the years go by....

A brave, new world

Well, we have entered a brave, new world at the house of Albright. Ava has become the little pop star that we have been dreading for 5 years. She loves Barbie and cheerleaders and Hannah Montana and such. She still loves the kids stuff like babydolls and cartoons but she is entering this "tweendom" too soon! I love this stage of being able to reason with her (most of the time) and have her still love me more than anything in this world. I know that every parent faces the dilemma of allowing your child to fail (on purpose) for character-building but it is so super hard! Ava is such a perfectionist that failure is not an option to her! Oh well, she is like her mama...

John Griffin cracks me up every day of his life! He is my let-loose and party-down child! (Also some of his mother's worst characteristics....) He loves to belly-laugh and destroy anything his sister so carefully created. Lately, she has begun cutting out items from my Southern Living magazines to "decorate" our house. She tapes these pictures at every door frame in the house and screams VERY LOUDLY when Griffin rips them down. I know I shouldn't but I just have to laugh because my children are polar opposite! Griffin does have his quiet moments when he just loves to be in my arms as I am stirring spagetti noodles on the stove or talking on the phone. He is a mama and a daddy's boy.

Here is a photo of my crew during our pitiful little snowstorm in January. You would have thought we were going to have 2 feet of snow listening to the news. I know that our family in Chicago and Michigan would have laughed at us! We didn't even have enough to make a tiny snowman. We spent the day at Grayson's birthday party in Huntsville instead. Maybe next year....

On the job hunt...

So today I am continuing the job hunt. It is an exhausting process because (joy!) I chose a career in which the search is based on word of mouth rather than the classifieds. I know that there has to be a disturbed individual out there who need a counselor! Why not me?

Anyway, I had some good leads but I am frustrated with those now. I am pondering whether it is part of the Lord's plan to teach me patience while staying home with my kids. Don't get me wrong, I do love being with the kids and doing the domestic thing. I just dream of a life whereby I can be totally self-involved 8 hours a day. I know that I need to realize that the kids are only little once and I can always work once they get in school, blah, blah, blah.....

Please keep me in your prayers as I continue the search for a job and for my purpose.