January 2018 – The Lobster Shell

When Logan turned 16 he got his first car, Bertha, at least that’s what I called it. Fast forward 12.5 years and it is FINALLY time to part ways and say our goodbyes.

He’s needed a new car for at least the past 3 years. But being the trooper/frugal man that he is, he stuck with her through the ups and the downs… mostly the downs. When the air conditioning decided to only work on the passenger side and only when you had it in the right spot, between the 4 and 5 marker, this big (former) defensive tackle kept with her, and let his hair blow in the wind; at least while the window still rolled down. But then Bertha decided she didn’t want that driver side window to be able to roll back up. Luckily for Logan, this happened on a rainy day…at 6 am…on his way to work. Yet, Logan still stuck with her and fancied her up with a nice doorstop wedged in the bottom of the window. So now, during the beautiful Florida summer, this man got to experience the luxury of no A/C and no wind blowing through his luscious locks. On the plus side, he did have his own personal sauna. People pay a lot of money for that.

When Bertha could no longer bear the weight of Logan’s extra muscular forearm, her center console finally broke in two. Logan the money savvy stud muffin that I love persevered through this troubling time by buying a console top on ebay. Of course it wasn’t the correct color, and he installed it himself.

So apparently center console #2 also started to break.

Bertha was now looking as stylish as ever. I think my favorite thing about this wonderful car was the cracked bumper. In fact, the cracked bumper was actually the start of her beautiful transformation. It happen 5 years ago in the middle of the night. I was following Logan home when he stopped suddenly in the middle of the road resulting in me rear-ending him, busting his bumper and totaling my car. To this day he insists that there was a litter of kittens crossing the road. I saw no kittens, only my airbag blown up in my face. Since I love him I took him at his word.

Now, Ol’ Bertha was so loyal to her beloved Logan she molded the driver’s seat to his body. Good for Logan. Not good for me. The seat was so broken in I looked like a little 90 year old lady trying to drive an Escalade. Did I mention Bertha was a Chevy Impala?

Bertha was on her last limb and we all knew it. It was time for Logan to go shopping. Since he was in Georgia, he called me while he was looking around. As I listened to the conversation between Logan and the car salesman I heard the following:

Salesman: We’ll give you $500 for the Impala.

(Knowing Bertha’s condition, I think, “Hey, that ain’t too bad!”)

Logan: Nah, at that price, I think I’ll just keep it.

WHAT????

After discussing it and reevaluating Ol’ Bertha’s beautiful and oh so charming characteristics, he decided to trade in his loving Bertha. And we welcomed Ava the Avalon into our family with open arms!

Family, Places

Christmas Travels Part I- Rock City

January 14, 2018January 14, 2018 thelobstershell

mttop — Daddy is SO lucky to be surrounded by so many girls!

Daddy moved to Signal Mountain a little over a year ago and let me tell you, it’s a neat little place. Just slightly north of Chattanooga, it boasts the benefits of the city below, the views of the Tennessee River, and the quaintness that comes along with being in the beautiful state of Tennessee.

Lochlan playing with the butterflies last July.

BTW if you’ve never been to Chattanooga I would DEFINITELY recommend making a trip!

Last Christmas we stayed a couple days and got season tickets to Rock City and The Tennessee Aquarium, which FYI, is a tax deduction, so save those receipts! We’ve gone to the aquarium a few times and absolutely love it, especially the beautiful butterfly exhibit.

But this Christmas we only had 24 hours and decided we had to go see the lights at Rock City! It was gorgeous! From the top of the mountain you can see into 7 states and the view is breathtaking! Especially if you stand a little too close to the edge, but that’s for a different reason haha.

Lochlan loved the lights and Miller Grace loved everything! We had the best time dancing through the different lands of lights, eating cotton candy the size of our head, and exploring deep in the caves to see all the gnomes!

Miller Grace was SO excited to decorate her very own Gingerbread man. I gave her the money and she went and purchased it all on her own. She took it to the table and picked her favorite color and within seconds broke it in half! Talk about devastated!

So excited to decorate…

total devastation when it broke!

The cookie lady was so sweet and replaced MG’s cookie right away. I helped her hold the icing for the next one!

finished_cookie — Perfect enough to eat!

One of the things I’m looking forward to most about moving is being able to visit Daddy and Candice more often and enjoying the different events at Rock City through out the year.

Daddy and Miller Grace during our visit last year.

*Side note- This year we went on Thursday, December 21st and it was PACKED! Last year we went December 28th and it was much less crowded.*

Home

The Lobster’s Shell

January 6, 2018January 7, 2018 thelobstershell

I heard a parable about a lobster- the way it grows. The lobster becomes uncomfortable as it begins to outgrow its shell. It might start with a little tightness here or an annoyance there, but soon the lobster is made so uncomfortable it has no choice but to shed its shell and grow a new one. When the lobster sheds, it loses its protective hard layer, leaving it vulnerable until it can rebuild a new one that fits it better. The moral of the story was actually about retreating during a time of vulnerability, and that taking care of yourself is important during a time of growth. But the larger take away for me was that maybe we need to pay more attention to the times we become uncomfortable. Maybe we need to start noticing those pinches, and annoyances and stop brushing them away and pretending like we fit inside the shell we created. Even if it does mean becoming vulnerable for a moment. If our protective layer is hurting us, then maybe we should create a new one that fits us better.

But creating a shell is some serious work! Our shell is everything we’ve spent our life doing. It’s what defines us, and it usually includes a whole lot of things that we really, REALLY love- our career, home, relationships, our protective layer that we’ve built to ensure our safety. Obviously, I’m not suggesting we walk in and quit our jobs, sell the house and move across the country without a game plan just because we’re momentarily uncomfortable. That’s different. What I’m talking about is a deeper need to change our environment to give us the opportunity to grow into what we desire to become. So here we go! My family is shedding its shell and we’d love for you to join us on this journey of creating a new one.

Month: January 2018

Bye Bye Bertha- The End of an Era

Christmas Travels Part I- Rock City

The Lobster’s Shell