Not Me Monday! Shopping Trips

NOT ME! Shopping Experience #1:

I took Tobi with me last Friday to one of my favorite consignment shops and I was excited to look for some new (to me) maternity clothes and maybe a thing or two for Tobs and maybe even something for the new baby.

Among the things that DID NOT happen while I was there are:

I DID NOT push the stroller directly into the frame of the door upon entering making a loud clang and a grand entrance and then immediately after I DID NOT grab the door that I assumed was quite heavy but was actually quite light and slam it into the glass window behind the door again clanging quite loudly, scaring Tobi and all the customers in the vicinity, announcing our arrival for the second time. That would have been kinda embarrassing.

Also in an effort to expedite my shopping I DID NOT decide to load up the top of the umbrella stroller with any thing at all that seemed reasonable to try on. When I got to the dressing area I was NOT totally surprised to find that the store had changed their policy and actually had someone manning the area and counting the items. I was also NOT totally embarrassed when she started counting the mangled mass of clothes I had accumulated. Then she informed me that no strollers were allowed in the dressing room.
So I proceeded to take Tobi out of the stroller and as soon as her feet hit the floor she DID NOT take off running while the sales lady was still trying to untangle the clothing mass...which apparently had been counterbalanced by Tobi's weight. The stroller of course DID NOT flip over onto the floor while and send clothing flying in several directions and I was NOT in the midst of chasing Tobi around the store with one hand and unsuccessfully trying to catch the stroller with the other. If that had happened I would have been completely relieved to finally get into the protection of the dressing room...until I realized that the stereo system for the store was on the floor of the room we were put in... oh boy! a stroller-free 1 year old + lots of shinny buttons and lights = a lot of crazy maneuvering and dancing to keep little fingers from connecting with those buttons....all while trying to actually try on all the clothes that now filled the dressing room.

NOT ME!Shopping experience #2:

Saturday, Ben & I went into a little baby boutique. You know the kind of place where even the basic items are not something you want to have to pay for. Tobi was in the umbrella stroller again and I was vigilantly watching her grabby little paws and keeping her just out of reach of any and all merchandise...this was no easy task since it was a small store with MANY little items. Since I was being so vigilant I would NOT have been surprised to look down to see that Tobi at some point had kidnapped a soft little monkey blanket and had been snuggling it for probably quite some time since the rest of the soft animal blankets were at the opposite end of the store! Sneaky little clepto-baby! If that had happened I certainly would NOT have been so surprised to see that she had gotten a hold of something that I loudly announced "Hey! How did you get that?" And that would NOT have alerted the owner to immediately come over and return the item for us! Oops! I'm sure our $4.95 pacifier purchase made up for inconvenience! I mean if any of that had actually happened!!

Tobren's Baby Dedication ( a look back)

So this is a little flashback to Tobi's dedication back in August. She was dedicated along with her cousin Sadie and 2 other babies from our church. It was such a special time. The church did a great job of making it a meaningful experience for everyone. I really felt blessed by the thought and preparation that went into making it special for all the families involved. It is a priviledge for us to be part of church family that will partner with us to help raise Tobi up in the truth and love of the Lord. The physical act of standing up and acknowledging our desire as parents to raise Tobi up as the Lord would have us to is both a great responsiblility and a great freedom. We have the great task of modeling a Christ-like life for our children, loving them as God would, and training them in truth and grace. But it as also very freeing to know that we do not do this alone. First and foremost Tobi is God's, and He loves her more than we ever could (Which is pretty amazing because we love her a whole lot!) and He already has her life in His hands. And secondly, there is freedom in knowing that we have godly family all around us and our church "family" both locally and all over the world joins with us in this endeavor!

This is the sweet frame the church gave us as a reminder of that day:

A family photo taken on that day:

Pastor Butler praying over our family:

Sadie looking at Tobi:

Tobi eating her baby's head and Kayla joining our family. At one point I think our family grew to 5 and Ryan and Sarah were down to just 2 kids. Kayla loves her Uncle Bennie:

Tobi looking out at all her adoring fans:

Tobi likes her frame, maybe someday we will actually hang it up:

Hoedown Tobi Style