Vegas 2.0

Vegas 2.0 Top Ten

We had a complete ball y'all.

I scribbled down a few of my favorites on the {acapalla-less} plane ride home last night and wanted to jot down them down here so that I will always remember the highlights of this trip. Because it was so stinkin' highlightable. Loved every second of it.

I scurried off post hissyfit, decided that God creates gaps in our lives for distinct purposes, searched for Him amongst people watching and fried pickles, and came back in a sweet, peaceful, resolute place.

Isn't that the craziest thing?

I had a come to Jesus meeting with myself and decided that I do not want to be defined [or defeated] by our struggle with infertility anymore. The struggle's not over for absolute certain, but I realized that I have missed the mark. I'm not even sure how I got here, but I know God is calling me to something greater than hissyfits thrown in the parking lot of Hobby Lobby. Remember when I recently posted that He calls us to run the race with perseverance but also with joy and humility? That thought has resonated within me for the past week and I just can't seem to shake it. What good is it to run the race {and win it}, if I don't do so with the very Grace {and gracefullness} that He has given me?

He has showered us with blessings that we once only hoped for and instead of wishing away these days, I'm going to marvel at His greatness, thank Him, and lean on Him. It's never too late to recognize all the good that He has done for us and while I guess I don't necessarily need Big Girl Panties for the occasion, I do need to take off my Control Freak under-drawers and remember that He is writing our story, not me.

Pen down. Deep breath.

So here goes, my top 10 favorite moments: 

1. Soaking in the bath...and watching tv. At the same time. Whaaat?? I did it. 3 times.

2. Plucking approximately 1589 eyebrows (that somehow do not exist in Georgia) under the glow of the 100x magnification and illumination vanity mirror. Yes. I took a picture of it. Better believe we will be Googling this for our bathroom counter at home.

3. Fried pickles at the Grand Lux.

4. Gap Curvy Jeans. Before hopping on the plane to Vegas, I had one pair of jeans. ONE. I discovered Gap's 1969 Curvy Sexy Jean, with the help of a local drag queen/Gap clerk, and haven't looked back. He also talked me into some sparkle lip gloss. Smack!

5. Speaking of all things pants, I dove head first and snatched up my very first pair of Jeggings. And only 6 years too late. No more fold-tuck-roll-stuff just to get into a pair of tall boots.

6. Frrrrozen hot chocolate. I wasn't being overly dramatic with my "r"s. They really spell it that way. I heart Serendipity's.

{We were so. stinkin. tired. this particular morning. Apparently 4am doesn't look so pretty the next day at 10am when your sippin' frohotchoc. Sigh}

7. Rock of Ages. 80's Big Hair meets Jazz Hands. Broadway's interpretation of all things spandex and Whitesnake. Love. Love. Love. I am still fist pumping and it's been 2 days.

8. Cupcake Collision. I prefer to call it Cupcake Tsunami. Holy chocolate. A close second to frrrrrozen hot choc at Serendipity's.

9. Remote control roman shades. I'm serious. How much fun are those bad boys and where on earth can I order them in Atlanta?!

10. Falling in love with my sweet husband all over again. Truly, this trip was amazing. Sneaking away for a few days and reconnecting was just what we needed. Vegas shenanigans and all...The fact that he watched Miss America with me (we still can't get over grown women tap dancing and twirling batons), let me practice my Broadway moves all hours of the night, and pretended not to notice when I bumped the heat up several times a day in his ice box hotel room, he's my bombdiggity.

Love him to pieces.

Remember last year when I texted my friend Jill to tell her that I saw nekkid girls dancing in the hotel lobby and smoked a faux cig only to accidentally send it to my mother-in-law? That my friends, is why I did not text anything about anything this weekend. You know what they say...

What happens in Vegas...

Aca-Awesome

A few weeks ago we had one of our super favorite date nights. We ate dinner at Ricos (shocker), rented a Red Box, and ate cake [in bed]. It was glorious. I was in charge of the Red Box, so I selflessly picked "Pitch Perfect". Because it was about baseball and C would love it.

Um. Turns out, notsomuch MLB (oopsiedaisies) but aca-awesome! An entire movie about acapella super nerds taking the pitch pipe by storm with Fat Amy, I mean, Patricia prancing around in all her fabulous sassiness.

Love.

Chris kept mumbling something about it being, aca-awful but belly laughed right along with me. Don't lie ChrisDavis.  You laughed. Especially when Fat Amy said she was horizontal running.

Totally reignited my love for all things acapella. So much that I sucked Super Coop into my YouTube searches for sing offs. He's so stinking cute and impressionable, he dove right in with me.

Ok so fast forward. It's Friday night and this mama is on board a flight to Las Vegas, surrounded by a group of ridiculous geeksters hitting the city for some sort of ill Hangover III attempt. One of them smells like a Krystal burger. They are so loud and aca-nnoying that I have to keep turning around and giving them the Mom Glare. Every 3-4 minutes one of them hollers out something that sounds like "SILAS". What on Gods green earth does that mean and why hasn't the plain clothed Air Marshall kicked them in the ball sacks yet?

Then it happened.

They broke out into the 12 Days of Christmas. On January 11th no less. Acapella style. For serious.

I quietly put my Mom Glare back in my Vera Bradley tote and my tolerance for their potty mouths and foul smelling cheeseburger cologne increased ten fold.

I have to tell you, getting mad and pitching my hissyfit has prove to be one of the most therapeutic and beautiful things that's ever happened to me. It's made me seek Him though I wanted to scream and shout. To draw near to Him when I wanted to run away. To thank Him when I wanted to beg and plead with Him.

 I realized that we have to not only run the race with endurance [even when we want to whine and kick over small store displays], but we also have to run the race with joy. No matter the circumstances.

Vegas better watch out, this Sugar Britches is about to drink boatloads of Frozen Hot Chocolate, shop every single floor of H&M five times over, and soak up all the good God has given us.

Thank you all for loving us, in spite of us, and for encouraging us every step of the way.

If you need me, I'll be at the slot machines. Or maybe on the gondola.

Ok who'm I kidding? I'll be at the Gap.

Hissyfit

I have spent the past few weeks throwing the biggest hissyfit fit.

I've been rotten.

Stinky.

Down right ugly.

We got the news over Christmas that Chris needed to start some new injections over at the Cancer Answer. The kudzu is NOT back, hear me, praises praises praises unending for that absolute miracle. I mean it. My gratitude for that is unwavering. Always will be.

And my gratitude that these treatments will restore my sweet hubs spirit and strength is abundant. It truly truly is.

Without saying a whole whole lot, I'm just tired. Isn't that the whiniest thing on the planet for me to say? I have to fight the urge to lay in the floor and wallow and cry out that nothing ever seems to come easy for us.

The beauty of that is that God never said it would be easy. I am forever grateful that He is our "constant" and somehow manages to reign over every little thing that we interpret as a "bump" in the road. And the best part is that He is in the middle of making something mighty and grand out of what we consider "trials" *insert overly dramatic sigh and slightly annoyed eye roll*.

But I still got mad.

Sugar Britches gone cranky tank.

Not at God. Even though I shouted at Him twice when he woke me up INVOLUNTARILY to call out to Him at five o'clock in the morning. I told Him I would give up sweet tea for 31 days to be still and stop crunching ice long enough to hear Him out. The third day He woke me up with silly praise songs streaming through my head, I decided I would take my sweet tea right back.

You can't have my sweet tea and my sleep.

My friend Amy said I should rename Sugar Britches "Sweet Tea and Devil Eyes". Cause those were the eyes I shot at the Target clerk right after I almost kicked over an entire display of family planning products.

Right after I screamed and pounded my fists in the parking lot of Hob Lob.

In the midst of my bitter chaos I can hear God whispering over me that He's not done with us yet and that He's going to make all things new and beautiful.

Isn't that the craziest thing?!

I'm being ugly, God. I'm shouting and acting like a crazed beau font Toddler and Tiaras baby when she learned she didn't win grand supreme.

My spirit of gracefulness is so far from me right now. I've decided until I get it back, it's ok to scream. And shout. And get my panties in a wad. And cry. And holler. And knock over (small) displays if I need to. I have a God who has promised to love me through it.

And that's what faith is to me, seeing the mighty hand of God in the midst of our own human uncertainty and ugliness. Knocks the sweet tea right out of my cup every time I think about it.

With love and smooches,
Scarlet
Founder and CEO of Sweet Tea and Devil Eyes Whimsical Gifts

(PS did I seriously come down with Scarlet Fever in the midst of all of this? Why yes, thank you, I did.)

2012 ReMix

I have about a gazillion things I could blog about but I haven't had sweet tea in 23 hours and I'm already Jonesin, so this'll be interesting.

My bet is that I'll be screeching into the Chickfila drive thru at 7am tomorrow ordering a medium (with extra ice).

Lots of sweet blessings in 2012. We are counting them one by one and recounting them again and again for good measure.

In 2012, we sipped frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity’s in Las Vegas, discovered the beauty of lollipops in the bathtub, celebrated our little man, Super Coop, turning TWO with a ‘stache bash to remember, carried Ella Grace for a little bit and learned how to walk with Grace even when we wanted to fall apart, discovered Target Food Court Nachos, ate at Rico’s 57 times (that’s once a week plus a few), celebrated TWO years of hubs kickin’ kudzu to the curb (God is mighty!), got hooked on Honey Boo Boo and Duck Dynasty and lost a few too many hours watching both, scooted off to Gulf Shores and Litchfield by the Sea to soak up the sun and sea, hit our knees in prayer for two particular sweet miracle babies, Baby Parker and Baby Emma, started up Sugar Britches and discovered the beauty of all things monogrammed, celebrated yet another fabulous Thanksmas with our sweet family in the mountains, and soaked up the JOY of Christmas under the glow of the twinkle lights.

This 2013, we rejoice in the fact that God makes all things new. Isn't that a mighty beautiful thing!?

Happy New Years sweet friends! May this year bring you abundant blessings and unending joy.

CNN

I have watched more hours of CNN than I'd like to admit. Every time the thought crosses my mind to turn it off and busy myself with things less troubling, I remember that the sweet people of Connecticut don't have that option. As long as I am connected, I am on my knees for them. As long as the thoughts of Friday cross my mind, I am covering them in prayers.

I've been home for the past 9 days. I keep giggling because I haven't taken this much time off since our honeymoon. What I would give to be sitting poolside sipping "Yo quiero Pepsi" right about now. Instead I am thanking God that I get to be the one passing out Boogie Wipes and giving great big hugs all day long.

Coop is on day 8 of a fever we can't seem to break and is just pitiful. Chris has been feeling terrible since Thanksgiving and I've been so worried about him. I felt myself get lost in the chaos and instantly fell to my knees seeing how small my concerns are in the grand scheme of things. I put on my big girl panties and fell asleep whispering praises of thanksgiving for my precious boys and for the time we get to spend together.

Chris had an appointment with his oncologist this morning and praise the Lord, his scans remain CLEAN! Now to problem solve on why he is feeling like he is. Dr. Szabo thinks that the effects of chemo are hanging around a little longer than we expected. Lots of tests to determine what's up and what can be done to make him feel better, but hearing the words "Cancer Free" never ever ever gets old!

I went hunting for the anniversary date of his chemo and radiation end date tonight so I could plan a little something and pulled up this old blog post: http://betweenthelines-alidavis.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-2010.html

I instantly knew I needed to re-read it. Again and again.

Our Christmas cards sit at the Target photo counter waiting for us to pick them up, our Pink Pig tickets hang untouched on the bulletin board in the kitchen, and I haven't had a shower in two days. And the beautiful thing is that not one of those silly things matters. Not a one.

Hug your babies tight tonight. Tell those that you love how much they mean to you. Know that more often than not, good really does triumph over evil and that God is amongst those that mourn. Our time on this earth is not without struggle. We were never promised that. The beauty is that our eternal home is paved in gold and secure with the one who carries us during times like these.

Walk with confident humility with your head held high knowing that His sovereignty reigns and His grace covers all.

Bobs and Bobbins

I'm itching to whack my hair off again and rock the mom bob. Only problem is I'm ridiculous and get sweaty palms just thinking about doing it because it reminds me of a different time and place.

If I cut it, will this little peanut please stop growing like a weed? Who's tiny baby is this anyway?

Chris had a scan Monday. All I could think about Sunday night was how God carries him from scan to scan, and covers him with His sweet grace. That thought alone knocks me to my knees with prayers of gratitude in a quick minute.

We had a bit of a scare over Turkey Day weekend that had us on the phone with the Cancer Answer. I wonder. Have they found that blasted answer? Do their elevators still smell funny?  Chris handled it like a rock. Always does. Silly me got all worked up and had to eat three plates of spoon corn bread to calm down. I know it. But the thought of him feeling so bad again just makes me want to hurl. And sweat. And go to Hobby Lobby. *Thank you Danielle for rescuing me and helping me get lost in the wooden letter aisles.*

Mostly I've been rocking the jazz hands and happy dance these days. Filled with joy, and all from this little Sugar Britches adventure. Haven't even had time to blog. Or put away our Fall decor. Or cook anything that doesn't involve a crock pot or a trip to Ricos.

This little machine has a) brought me more quiet time than my garden tub ever did (remember when we didn't buy a house because the tub wasn't big enough for sweet tea and prayers??) b) not gotten us pregnant but taught me that lots of mighty things can happen while you are in the "waiting", c) not stopped running for more than 2.2 minutes, d) stitched about a gazillion fleece scarves, and e) made me SO DERN HAPPY.

I get to shop. I get to monogram everything under the sun. I get to see folks faces filled with joy when they receive their creations. There's nothing sweeter.

Except sweet tea.

Thanksmas 2012 and Baby Emma

This weekend was Thanksmas 2012. That's synonymous for food-coma-while-surrounded-by-our-entire-family-while-playing-games 2012. Insanity, y'all.

My parents are too good to us. Entirely too good.

They live for Thanksmas all year long and spoil us rotten from the time we get there til the time we all leave. We will get an email with the details of next year's trip in about t minus 2 days.

They think of every little detail and go out of their way to make sure that we are all together, having a complete ball.

The weekend is always like food for our souls.

Speaking of food, my mom cooks for all 20+ of us. But you'd think she was cooking for a small army. We graze ALL WEEKEND LONG. And it. is. fabulous.

We ate pinwheel sanmiches til we couldn't see straight.

Sausage balls and biscuits every morning.

Chili and taco soup.

Brisket samiches.

Fried chicken.

We were only there for 3 nights.

You do the math on that.

We ate A TON.

We also met the nicest Carnie in Pigeon Forge. He let Coop ride the rides at Kids Kountry (eeek with the K alliteration) after dark. Even though we arrived 4 minutes after the park had closed.

Made Coop's night, can't you tell?

Miniature Grumpett. Anyway. The Carnie, wish we had taken a picture of him. He was just too sweet.

We always stop at a Christmas Tree farm in North Carolina on the way home and scoop up our Christmas tree. Tell me how in one years time, we went from this...

To this.

Mercy me.

So we're home and tonight for dinner, we had ice cream sandwiches. In our PJs. Ok, also while snuggled in bed. Only Cooper tee teed on our bed the night we left, so our entire bedding set had to be taken to the cleaners for damage control. So we ate 'em in our frumpy no-comforter-or-blankets bed. Which means I am going to freeze tonight. Sweet.

The weekend was so full, it really was. But I can't tell you how many times I hit my knees this weekend for our sweet friends the Cheeks. Baby Emma was born last Sunday and is in the {completely unexpected} fight for her tiny little life. She has brought so much glory to God and is a little warrior already.

I cry out to God for her again and again each day. Her mama is just absolutely precious to me. When Chris first got sick way way back when, Kelly brought us this little bamboo plant. It was to bring good luck, and goodness me, did we need it in those days. Chris guarded that little plant with all his life for YEARS. Every time I turned around, he had it situated in a new place in the house.

We moved and the bamboo plant moved with us.

I nearly killed it a dozen times over. On accident of course.

I am re-reading Angie Smith's book right now and just ran across a quote that made me instantly think of Kelly and Andy. "At the end of each day, regardless of what it had held, we knew that she had been given to us for a purpose, and we were seeking wisdom as we embraced that. To be brutally honest, it wasn't because embracing it came naturally. It was because we didn't know how to survive without believing that God was in control".

Isn't that the truth?

Baby Emma needs your prayers, sweet prayer warriors. Will you please do me an itty bitty favor and cover her in the coming days and weeks?