Alabama the Beautiful

I am so torn up about this whole tornado situation. I have cried numerous times. My heart is so broken for Alabama. I feel so helpless. Jared has already signed up to be a clean-up volunteer, and we have donated bottled water to the Dream Center at Church of the Highlands, but I still feel completely helpless. We had some friends lose their home in Ashville, and 2 people that work with Jared lost their home and lost their relatives.
Tuscaloosa really hits home with me, I spent 4 years of my life in that town and on that campus. I am a proud Alumni of the University. It is what I would call my 2nd home, I look at the before and after pictures and it makes me sick. I used to roam that town that is now unrecognizable. I used to shop in those buildings that are now leveled. I think about the students that were scared to death, probably wanting to be with their parents, crying, hiding while roofs where being ripped off the buildings they where in. Its just too much to take in, especially now that I am a parent myself. Tuscaloosa and many other destroyed cities will go on, buildings will be rebuilt and lives will start again. But there will always be loss. Of memories, of loved ones, of homes, of history.

I am not perfect and I certainly don't try to be, but I just want to encourage anybody who reads this blog to be in prayer for the people who are hurting and the people who are helping and the state of Beautiful Alabama. I know when I feel like I can't do anything I can always talk to my Heavenly Father. Its time for us to serve. Its an awesome opportunity to come together as one body of Christ and really be like Jesus and serve. I want to serve God, so I serve people.

Exciting Weekend

Well, this weekend was a little exciting for the Joneses. Well, I guess for Sittre Paige the most. She has been begging the past 2 weeks to get her ears pierced, and I'm not gonna lie, it was me who had the problem with it. Because I just knew it would hurt (only for a minute) but I still didn't want her in pain. This past Saturday (Jared with me) we took her to Claire's and just went for it, she was SO excited, she picked out Hello Kitty earrings and as you can see from the pictures there were some tears involved but once she saw the earrings in her ears she was jumping up and down. I have been cleaning them religiously to avoid infection but she loves them so much and she was so ready for her first pair of earrings!!

Stella and I giving sis a pep talk First Ear (look at her face in this one and then check out the second ear picture)

Second ear was a little out of control as you can tell from her face (we almost left with just one ear pierced)

All done and pumped about her new earrings!

On Sunday, Sittre Paige and Jared were on their way out the door headed to a birthday party and she turns around to tell me bye and says that her tooth hurts. I said let me look at it. We have known for a while now that her two bottom teeth are loose, well today one of them was just hanging by a thread so I took her to the bathroom and gave it a few tugs and it was out!! My first baby has lost her first tooth! Pretty sad day to me. (pictures to come soon)

She practically grew up right before my eyes this weekend.

She's a STAR!

My daughter made her way onto another blog. I mean of course its because her mom is a shopaholic but lets not get into that.
Click on this link:
http://frenchflea.blogspot.com/2011/04/future-french-flea-shoppers.html

shhh...don't tell my hubby.