Off to buy Noah's big boy mattress

I'm not one to have anxiety attacks, but if I was, I'd be having one now. We're on the way to get a big boy mattress & bedrails for Noah's big boy bed...that we'll hopefully get put together today. I can't believe we're doing this so early. But he is a climber. Noah is twenty months old today. That's so close to being two! Will I be feeling this way when he turns 20? He's my baby...I guess he always will be. I'm saying a prayer for us all.


Brenda Joy McBride

The Big "C" Poem

This is a poem written by Kathy Cawthon, that I referenced at the Pink Ribbon Getaway.

"The Big C" I heard someone call it.
Another just whispered the word.
That we don't even dare to say "cancer" outloud
Gives it power it doesn't deserve.

So I'm giving that letter new meaning
And refusing to give in to fear
By reclaiming the power for you and for me
And by saying these words loud and clear:

Let the "C" be for "Cure" and "Compassion."
Let it stand for the "Candles" we light.
And a "Chorus" of voices shouting "You Can!"
To all who will take up this fight.

Let the "C" be for "Cash Contribution"
("Credit" or "Check" will work, too).
Let it stand for "Commitment" and "Checkups" and "Cheer,"
And the "Children" "Counting" on you.

Let it mean that we know our "Creator"
Is beside us each step of the way,
And remind us to "Call" on His strength and His love
And to "Celebrate" every new day.

To everyone facing this "Challenge,"
I say it's a fight we can win.
Tell all who will listen, that starting today,
The "C" is for "Courage" my friend!

Alice's 4th birthday party

Today we traveled to Ft. Worth for Alice's 4th birthday party. Noah only napped a few minutes in the car on the way to Ft. Worth, but sometimes you just gotta roll with it. There were live unicorn rides (technically, ponies with "horns" attached), princesses galore, a unicorn pinata, & unicorn birthday cake. Rebekah had pink fingernail polish, glitter hair spray, & princess/prince outfits for guests to wear. Alice looked adorable in her pink princess outfit. If anyone called the "unicorn" a pony, Alice quickly corrected them, saying, "it's a unicorn!" Noah took his first unicorn ride with Daddy nearby & had fun sliding down the slide with Mommy. He was so happy to see Grammie, Bry, Bekah, Paw Paw, Granny, & his cousins. Unfortunately, due to lack of nap & overstimulation, Noah became exceedingly fussy & difficult to wrangle. I'm going to be sore not only from my run, but what felt like 50 flights of Uncle Bry's stairs! He was fine when we got in the car & started watching his shows. I hated to leave earlier than we expected, but I'm glad we got to be there for Alice's special party.

Brenda Joy McBride

Longest run to date

The Tyler Half Marathon is only a couple weeks away so I decided to get up this morning and do a long run in preparation. The weather was in the 50's & I love to run in the morning when it's cold. I loaded new music on my iPod, watched the sun come up, and had the best run of my life...14 miles! It's so much easier to breathe when it's cool outside, but it is different. It took a couple miles for me to hit my groove, but after that it was invigorating! I want to keep pushing myself & taking on new challenges. It's very authentic for me to take that path; it makes me feel on fire for life! I also want Noah to see that it's important to take on new challenges & persevere. When you think you don't have the strength but dig deep to find it, that's the best way to build confidence & self-estem. After the half marathon, it's on to the mud run for another step outside my comfort zone...but I welcome the journey.
Brenda Joy McBride

Noah's 1st Jump Out Of His Crib

Noah is 19 months old & is a CLIMBER! He has no fear and Michael and I have been exceedingly worried that he'd try to get out of his crib. Just this week, Michael started pretending that he was leaving the room & would secretly go into Noah's closet to see if Noah would try to get out of his bed while resisting napping. I told Michael that Noah wouldn't just randomly jump out of the crib; that he'd at least fuss first, and we'd be able to hear that. I WAS WRONG! After spending over an hour trying to get him to nap yesterday, I finally got Noah to sleep. I heard him briefly stir after I left the room, but there was no fussing...just a sudden scream and cry that was not the usual cry. I lept down the stairs to open the door and found Noah standing up on the floor. He had a scratch on his right arm, but that was his only injury. Unfortunately, Noah then realized that he could escape the crib. I tried (unsuccessfully) to put him down again, and I tried Michael's trick of hiding in the closet and peeking around the corner. It must've looked hilarious. Noah thought I left the room & immediately began screaming & plunging himself over the crib (head first) again. When I went to Noah's room this morning to get him up, this is what I saw! Michael was so worried that Noah would climb out of his crib, that he went and bought a video monitor and proceeded to prop these large pillows & bean bag up so "at least he'd have a soft landing if he did climb out." I had to take a picture and document this so that my son could one day see just what he put us through! (and just how much his Daddy & Mommy love him!) Today, I wore that kid out. We went to Toys R' Us. We went to the park. We danced. We read books, watched shows, and got a new toy. He was literally carrying his pillow around and lying his pillow on the floor because he was so tuckered out. It took less than 5 minutes to put him down for his

ONE & ONLY NAP. No escape attempts made!

Girls Night Out! :)

Debbie, myself, & Christine

The girls

Elizabeth reading my blogs about her for the 1st time

Mary Beth & Elizabeth...so funny together! You wouldn't have known that they've only briefly met once before girls night.

After a long week, I was so relieved to go out for cocktails with the girls. There is no better medicine than laughing...and boy, did we laugh! I got some much needed advice about getting my child to one nap and transitioning Noah to his big boy bed, as he jumped out of his crib today...and then proceeded to try it again and again. Seasoned mothers, they all were doubled-0ver in laughter when they heard that I pretended to walk out of Noah's room but really hid in his closet to see if he was going to jump out of his bed! Yes, that's true. Not until much later could I explain that he can't see his closet and the door from his crib due to a hallway, but at that point it was pointless...I was already the laughing stock of the ladies....and so happy to be there! Christine, Debbie, & I obsessively checked our phones & now Mary Beth is back on Facebook. You had to be there. Glad I was!

Pink Ribbon Getaway for Breast Cancer Survivors

Today was the 3rd Annual Pink Ribbon Getaway for breast cancer survivors. I've been a guest speaker for the event for the last 3 years and am humbled and honored to be a part of such a special day. This year my topic was "There's no place like hope." I talked about how hope isn't contingent upon a certain outcome and shared various stories about my mom. I also wanted to address this need of women to ask for help and to give up the idea of superwoman. NONE of us have it all together all the time. Specifically, I talked about how Mom & I used to bake cookies together, and how that was a special memory. She died in October of 1997 and I remember that 1st Christmas, stricken with grief, asking myself "Who's going to make the cookies?!" (I then told them how I obsessively made hundreds of cookies as a way to just get through. And we each get through illness, grief, and the tribulations of life by just doing the best we can.) I then shared how it's important to look at our challenges in another way. Only each one of us assigns the meaning of our challenges. I.e, I HONOR my mother by the LIFE I LIVE...key word, LIVE! Near the end of the talk, I asked the survivors to participate in parts of the poem. I asked them to say outloud every word in the poem that started with "C." (I'll post the poem in another note). I couldn't believe how much they participated! Some of them were cheering through the poem. It was so much fun. I wrote an additional line of the poem & read it out loud at the close:
"As I look at this room of survivors, I'm inspired to celebrate!
As a show of support for EVERY survivor, I did something special....I baked!
I baked each survivor a cookie, using Mom's old recipe.
Enjoy this cookie as a special gift, a gift from my Mom, a gift from Marie."

Several firefighters and staff then passed out cookies to all the survivors. Such a special day!

I baked about 150 cookies for pink ribbon. There's a few pink heels for the Tyler firefighters that were at the event promoting the pink heels tour. I sent the extra cookies with them to the station. They have been amazing to me and to the entire community.
Rows of Pink Cookies!

Some of the members of my support group & Sheriff J.B. Smith

My friend and coworker, Patty...recently diagnosed and doing GREAT!

The keynote speaker, Kathy LeToure. She was hilarious and very compelling. I was crying throughout parts of her speech. What a testament!