May 2010 in Review... (I know... its not over yet, but its been a doozie thus far!!!)

It has been a busy couple of weeks for us, and is just the prelude to the whirlwind that awaits! In an effort to stay on top of ‘current’ events, I figured it was time to bring everyone up to speed on what we’ve been up to!

May 2010, while not quite complete, has held some pretty major milestones… and is poised to claim one more biggie before calling it quits! A baby shower, Mother’s Day, Caleb’s 2nd Birthday, Kevin’s graduation, visits from Ma/Pa Alspaugh for Graduation, and Grammie Sue flying in for the birth of Jr. is the highlight reel from this awesome month… We’ve yet to see if a ‘birth’ will make it into the line-up before May wraps!

A few of the more memorable moments from the month include….

At the baby shower, I opted out of the ‘traditional’ shower games, and decided a ‘baby themed’ game of our family favorite “Fish bowl” game would be more fun….. It certainly did not fail to deliver the laughs watching a room full of women try to act out clues for answers to “Breast Pump”, “Circumcision”, and “Knocked Up”!!! I think we ALL got a little more comfortable with each other before the end of THAT party!

Caleb’s 2nd Birthday was a success all-around! I took my lessons learned from throwing his 1st B-day and pared down the invite list from ~40 to 20, and moved it from a weekend where the revolving door worked ALL afternoon to a BBQ on a weeknight… Helping keep things moving and people on time both in coming and going!!! Much less stress for Mama… and Caleb couldn’t have been any happier with all of his ‘friends’ at his ‘party’… the two most common words of the night! It was awesome seeing his face light up that everyone was there, and watching all of his energy as he ran from room to room ‘checking out the scene’. It was a little bittersweet for me, knowing how much his world was going to change in the next couple months, but made it ALL that much more special to honor him for the amazing little man he is!



Graduation, being the next major milestone, is an impossible task to summarize.... There aren't words to explain how it felt attaining a goal Kevin and I have been working toward for essentially the entire duration of our marriage! While I do feel a sense of pride in my own contributions of support/cheerleading on the sidelines, it is overwhelmed by the awe and gratitude I have for Kevin…. And since I have NO shame, I will use my ‘semi public’ blog ;) forum to heap more accolades upon him! Thank you babe for being the MOST amazing husband a girl could ever ask for, thank you for putting in all those LONG hours, sleepless nights, and sacrificed weekends to make our dreams come true! I appreciate you more than you could possibly imagine, and am so thankful my babies have such a wonderful role model in their dad! I LOVE YOU!!!

Saturday was QUITE the marathon event however… Wake-up call at 5:30am, on campus by 6:45, Ceremony from 8-10, walking the campus for pictures until ~12:30… An impromtu interview from our local news..... (http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/education/students/college-grads-look-to-the-future)

Home for a quick lunch and nap for Caleb, then off to a great after party with a bunch of our Texas friends that have been cheering us on along the way! Needless to say, doing all that while 9 months preggers left me feeling like I’d been hit by a Mack Truck Sunday morning, so we played it VERY low key on Sunday… Church, a nice breakfast, then naps/pool for the remainder of the day!

Mom/Dad Alspaugh fly out tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, and by Thursday my mom will be landing to kick off our next big adventure… Welcoming Jr. into the world!!!! As you can see… things are QUITE hectic around here, so don’t be TOO surprised if my next update is a ‘recap’ of JUNE! :)

"Julie" Blume.... Thank you God!

Judy Blume may have coined the phrase “Are you there God?... It’s me Margaret” in her quintessential tween epic, detailing the constant struggles, ups, downs, and everything in betweens of your average pre-pubescent girl, but I’ve decided it’s time to write the sequel… In very “SHORT” story form of course, as I lack the time and motivation to draft the full novel.

You see Margaret and I, well, we shared quite a bit in common in our early years… Both lagged severely behind in ‘physical developments’ (aka… sweater puppies), were hopelessly inept in the art of early flirtation, or for that matter even normal interaction with anyone of the opposite sex… and while Margaret only ‘worried’ she wouldn’t know how to kiss when the time came, I cemented that notion by actually laughing out loud at my first attempt, because it ‘felt funny’…. That relationship, of ALMOST a month, promptly ended 3 days later. Without digressing into even more embarrassing stories of those awkward years, I think it’s safe to assume I quite completely personified our fictional “Margaret”, in person.

That book undoubtedly became, and remains, a cult classic likely in large part to how relatable the title is…. Are you there God??? As I stand on the cusp of the next chapter in my life, I can undoubtedly answer that question with a resounding YES!!!

So what became of our terribly awkward, pre-teen Margaret… (aka Me)… that allows her such conviction in knowing God was indeed there, and listening ALL those years???? She continued to fumble/struggle through the remainder of her adolescent years, desperately trying to fit into a crowd she was never meant to fit into, only to realize, at a MUCH later age, that being awkward at that early age was all part of the ‘plan’. It kept her out of more trouble than she likely could have handled in those formative years, and allowed her time to develop a ‘personality’ that would later capture the heart of the boy she was SUPPOSED to kiss…. The boy that would teach her that all those quirky, ‘awkward’, tendencies were something to be embraced, and love her for them, not in spite of them. After meeting that boy, she got to sit back in awe at the amazingness of the life that unfolded before her, and many years later had a much different letter to pen to God…. That I’m assuming went something like the following:

Are you there God?.... It’s me Julie:

So I’m still awkward… but I’m not complaining about it anymore! I wanted to write you a quick note to say THANK YOU! I don’t know how you do it… and more often wonder WHY you do it… but you continue to amaze me day in and day out by giving me everything I’ve ever wanted out of life… and something’s I never even thought to ask for! I just wanted to let you know that I’m enjoying EVERY minute of this awesome life you gave me, and every minute I’m able to spend in the lives of the even MORE awesome people you’ve filled my life with! If I’m being totally honest here, I do get a little nervous that you might have this ‘life scoreboard’ you monitor, and given all the blessings I’ve received in such a short time span, my quota is almost up. I know, I shouldn’t concern myself with such things, and just be thankful in the moment… but you’re kinda spoiling me here… again… NOT a complaint. Just wanted to say, you pretty much rock at planning my life... thanks for the awesome husband, friends, family, kids, job, house, opportunities, love, acceptance, and grace! I will certainly continue trying to ‘pay it forward’ as best I can, feel free to give pointers on how to improve!
Also, given my recent spoiling… should you feel the need to ‘test’ me, give me an ‘opportunity to grow’, or whatever the current buzz word up in heaven is for the more ‘challenging’ times in our lives down here… If I can ask one thing, it would be that you cement all these wonderful memories in my head right now so that I have them as strength to draw from. I’d like to say, I’ll never question the plan again, in light of recent awesomeness… but I know that would be a lie, considering I see everything happening around me on a daily basis, and still can’t help wonder what the point in some of the struggling I see others going through is for. If you can continue to protect those that I love, and keep them safe, so we can spend MUCH more time together down here, I would REALLY appreciate it!
Thanks again for everything, I can’t wait to see what you still have in store! Love ~*~Julie~*~