Merry Christmas!

I thought I would share one of my favorite Christmas songs called "I Believe" (by Natalie Grant). For me this is what this special day is all about. We wish your family a very Merry Christmas!



In a land far away
Time stood still
Long ago
There were shepherds in fields
Or at least this is how
The story goes
The story goes
Woman with Child
And a man with no room
Born in a manger
For telling it too
This is how The story goes
But it is more than a fable
And it’s more than a fairytale
And more than my mind can conceive

I believe
The Wiseman saw
The baby born the angels called the son of God Heaven’s child
The great I am
Born to take away my sins through nailed pierced hands
Emmanuel has come

I believe
Two thousand years
Still the story lives on
God’s gift to us Sent to earth Wrapped in flesh
His only son
His only son
And the heartbeat of heaven
Confounded our wisdom
But it’s still the simple truth
That sets me free

I believe
The Wiseman saw
The baby born that the angels called the son of God Heaven’s child
The great I am
Born to take away my sins through nailed pierced hands
Emmanuel has come

And I believe
Precious child
How can it be that God’s great plan
For his story Would send you to The lonely tree
That you would come
For one like me

I believe
In a cross
I believe he came
For one, he came for all Heavens child became a plan
Gave his life for me
In spite of all I am


I believe
I believe
Oh I believe
Christmas lives in me
I believe

Cold weather = no school?

I recently read Mary Beth Chapman's Christmas letter that she posted on her blog. Here is a part that really touched me:

As I anticipate Christmas 2008, I have many thoughts flying through my heart and head. The last several days, my mind has not been able to stop thinking about Mary, the mother of Jesus. Pregnant and scared, knowing that the baby she was carrying eventually would pay the ultimate price of His life. How would I have lived differently if I knew that my time with Maria was going to be this short? Regretfully, I would have lived much differently. I would have purposely hugged and kissed more. I would have tried to memorize and lock away in my heart certain smells and smiles. I would have colored more and worked less. I would have laughed more and fussed less. Bedtime wouldn’t have become a chore to check off the list of things to get done. Instead it would have been more of an opportunity to listen about the day and offer whatever words were needed. The swimming pool wouldn’t have been too cold to swim in. The flowers in the garden would have all been picked, and definitely more ice cream would have been consumed!

Umm - Jesus keep this hurting mother's words close to my heart. Help me remember that each day is a gift with my family. Please continue to keep this precious family on my heart as they continue this journey of healing.

The same day that I read this beautiful letter was also our first bad weather day at school (Dec. 17th). I do not think it was a coincidence that I was reminded of cherishing each moment with my boys. Since it was just cold (high was 25 - cold for us!) and there was no snow to play in (maybe an over cautious Superintendent? But in his defense we did wake up to ice yet it was gone by 10 am.) we enjoyed our day inside. It was a PJ kind of day, where we spent the morning cuddling on the couch watching Christmas movies and in the afternoon made Tiger Butter for teachers and neighbors. We ended the day with a pot of stick to your ribs Texas chili for dinner. Fun, fun day!

I Am Second

I have been absent this week because I have not been able to get all my ducks in a row. But the laundry is done, the Christmas card picture has been taken, my mom's tree is decorated, our yard is very festive, some Christmas gifts have been bought, our tree is up - fluffed - but not decorated, took a meal to a friend, even squeezed in a lunch date with Jeremy and I have been getting to bed at a decent hour every night this week. That is until Thursday night (it is now very early Friday AM)- I was just going to turn the computer off before getting ready for bed - big mistake. I thought that I would quickly check on a few friends' blogs - not read them or leave comments, but just see how far behind I am on my reading. From one friend's blog, I landed on one of her friend's blog which lead me to my friend's friend's blog, where I found something I just had to share NOW.


Check out this new website (it just launched Tuesday)! I just spent the last hour combing over it and it is absolutely amazing!! Please pass this website on to your friends and family. I ask that you join me in praying for this grassroots effort - that it will sweep our nation and the world. What a powerful tool! I would love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Today I have enjoyed cooking my part of the Thanksgiving meal. The grocery trip this morning was another story - how crazy was I to wait until the last minute to buy my ingredients?! I thought I would share the recipes I made (mainly because I am avoiding the huge mess that I have to clean up).

Mac & Cheese (omitted the last 5 ingredients because this dish is for the kids)
Mashed Potatoes (secret: add warm cream to potatoes then reserve some for the day of)
Cranberry Sauce (first time to make homemade - it was so easy)
Green salad w/ Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette (my favorite salad ever!)

In the morning we are driving to Oklahoma for a different kind of holiday. We are going to Jeremy's parent's land to celebrate a relaxing Thanksgiving with his parents and his brother's family. The boys are so excited about fishing, exploring, hanging out with their girl cousins and sleeping in my parent's RV tommorrow night. As we were talking this afternoon about the next two days, I started to think about what I am thankful for this year. I am looking forward to spending some time alone tomorrow to sit and reflect on all my blessings.

Wishing you all a special Thanksgiving full of memories with your family and friends!!

Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20

What a wonderful service

Our 8 year old was baptized tonight at very special service at our church called Deeper. It was an hour and a half of baptism, praise and worship, communion, prayer and reflection. It was the first time our church has ever done a service like this and I am really looking forward to the next one.

This is one of our senior pastors, he and his wife are also in our life group, so it was special to have Paul baptize our son.
We are so proud of him! He asked Jesus into his heart on March 21, 2008, but due to his fear of water he waited to be baptized. Once God helped him conquer his fear, he could not wait to be baptized and let everyone know he is following Jesus with his life.
After a time of baptism and worship we were given about half an hour to go around and do some things on our own. What an amazing experience to share the Lord's Supper with our son for his very first time. It was so special to hear him tell us what the bread and juice represent. Jeremy and I took him back to sit with his grandparents so we could spend some time individually at the different areas. Once I came back to my seat our 8 year old asked if he could participate - he knew exactly what he wanted to pray for, what he wanted to write on the praise wall and a sin that he wanted to nail to the cross. It is such a blessing to see God working in his heart. What memories I will cherish of this evening.

The Last Seven Days...

have been full of germ buggies at our house. Everyone but our 8 year old has had some form of a stomach virus and the two youngest are still fighting theirs off! The doctor says it just takes awhile to get out of their systems - but SEVEN days? The little boys are about to start a riot because I have taken away their dairy along with almost everything else they enjoy eating. I would be mad too if my diet consisted of plain noodles, white bread, potatoes, Gatorade and water - yum!

The good news is even though the 4 year old and the baby have had tummy issues they did not run fever like mom and dad did. That is also some bad news - even though he acted fine our 4 year old could not go to preschool this week because he was living in the bathroom. Everyone definitely had cabin fever and it was a shame we were couped up because we had beautiful fall weather. We did manage to sneak out in the backyard a couple of times and it was great medicine for us all (especially mom).

It has been a long hard week and I am sad to say I have not been a very good mommy. My patience has been low at best. I was quick to fuss or yell before I knew the whole story. I nagged about things this week that at other times would have rolled off my back and would have been no big deal. The worst this week was when I over reacted about something - I knew I wanted to take it back as soon as it came out of my mouth but it was out there and I said it to the people I am supposed to love more than anyone. Nothing stops me in my tracks faster than the look in their eyes - the one who is suppose to protect their hearts and build them up is the one that hurt them. What amazes me is how openly they always accept my apology and afterwards everything is right in their world again. I am thankful for their innocence that allows them to give forgiveness so freely. Even if I walk away full of guilt and shame.

Today I was reflecting on the week and trying to figure out how to control my responses so I do not get to a point where I am at my limit. God kept bringing to mind James 1:19 (You should be quick to listen and slow to speak or to get angry) and I began to pray that He would keep that at the forefront of my mind. Prayer - I think that is key. When it is a stressful week I think my prayer time needs to be on overload. Just thinking out loud here, but maybe during these kinds of weeks when I am about to lose it I should step away from it and get on my knees to gain perspective - His perspective.

I am thankful the weekend is here and we can leave this week behind us. We are working in the yard and decorating for Fall. Have a wonderful weekend.

Taken Care Of...

I have to share a little secret desire - I would love to have a garden. Not just one garden but three.

*Flower Garden* How wonderful to sit outside in the morning with a cup of coffee during my QT or entertaining family and friends.
*Veggie and Fruit Garden* To teach my boys that carrots and strawberries do not grow at the grocery store.
*Herb Garden* I'd love to step outside and snip what I need while I am cooking.

The only thing that stands in my way is that all important green thumb! I wonder if that can be a learned skill? I have so many stories of plants coming to their demise on my watch. After several attempts to keep anything alive I finally gave it all up. In May we bought some Geraniums (see picture above) and until vacation they thrived. Even though they were being watered, they were practically dead when we got home from Colorado. Once home from Savannah I tried one last attempt to revive them by deadheading the plants down to the stem. No luck, they were D-E-A-D. I am embarrassed to admit that the very dead plants remained in their pots for several weeks (if you notice in this pic and this one I cropped them out so no one would know I have dead plants in my front yard.). It make me laugh that I was worried about the people reading my blog noticing the dead plants but I wasn't even concerned about my poor neighbors seeing them every day. Just sad! :o)

Something happened on September 9th -the plants that had not been watered in FIVE weeks (except for the very rare rain shower) were getting buds and new leaves!! What was this -a miracle - a little smile from God? The pictures above were taken Wednesday, just 10 days earlier they were dried up brown sticks - still just shocking to me!

Over the last week I have been trying to see what God is trying to teach me through this little unexpected gift. I have realized He is trying to show me that He is in control of this great big world and all we have to do is trust in Him to lead the way. Easy to say I believe this - but do I live it out in my actions?

It is easy for me to pray for others when they have uncertainties in their life and I believe in my heart that God is in control. If Jeremy is stressing about something, I confidently tell him to give it to God because He is the only one who can guide him through whatever is going on. It is not just the easy "Christian thing to say" - I honestly believe it. But this belief does not always translate into my own life when things feel out of control. Instead of praying first, I tend to freak out and let my over active imagination take control. You will see evidence of this in this coming Mondays post. Meredith had a post last Friday that really hit home. When she said "calm isn't really my first response" I laughed out loud because that is so me!

All this to say, I feel like God was trying to say"Even when things feel out of control or that there is no hope in a situation" trust in Him enough to take a deep breath, pray and then let Him take control of whatever it is that I am facing.

"And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen."

Philippians 4:19-20

Where I have been...

If you have a blog reader you may notice that there are eight new posts on my blog today. I spent yesterday playing catch up and since I use this as a scrapbook, I wanted them in order - sorry for any confusion.

The week of September 1st was full and I did not have time to sit down at the computer - a couple of days I never even turned it on. So Thursday, September 4th was going to be my day to post on my blog, read friend's blogs and catch up on emails. I had just dropped off my 4 year old at his class and was heading back to the car when Jeremy called.

He was calling to tell me that Granny had passed away sometime in the night. Granny had been in the hospital before her birthday, but had been feeling stronger and much better for a week or so. Her daughter Carolyn had been staying with her for the week and they had a wonderful visit. On Wednesday, Granny and Carolyn had spent the day shopping and had a very special conversation before bed. How amazing to go to bed and wake up in Heaven! That is exactly the way Granny would have wanted it.

The next two days were filled with contacting family, making funeral arrangements and just being together as a family. Sunday (9/7) evening was the viewing, I could not help but think Granny would have loved visiting with everyone. Her three remaining siblings were there (two from AZ and one from MO) along with other out of town family and friends. It was like a big family reunion that evening - she would have been smiling from ear to ear. As she would say these are "my people" - she loved and was proud of each one of them.

Monday (9/8) was the celebration of her life. Granny's nephew Brad (who brought his mom from Arizona) shared stories from what Granny's siblings, nieces and nephews remembered about their Aunt Delia. Her son-in-law Billy (Carolyn's husband) sang "It is Well With My Soul" and lead us in singing "Blessed Assurance". Jeremy's brother Cameron shared a beautiful tribute that he wrote called "Reflections of a Matriarch". Former pastor (in the copper mining town of Morenci, Arizona where she raised her family and also where Jeremy and Cameron were born) and family friend Hubert Conway shared about the Delia he and his family knew and why she was so special to them. He closed with something Granny would have wanted - he shared the need for Jesus in our lives and how to accept the gift of grace that Jesus gave us all when he died on the cross. At the end of the service Jeremy sang Chris Tomlin's Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone). Granny had expressed to him on a couple of occasions that she would like him to sing at her funeral. It was hard for him (as I know it was for all of those who were involved in the service) but the Lord carried him through and it was great.

The service was full of laughter and tears and I am happy that those who were in attendance learned a little more about the Granny we all loved. All 5 grandsons served as pallbearers - she loved each of them unconditionally and thought each of them were special in their own way. After the service in McKinney the family drove to Oklahoma for the burial. It was an intimate time for just the family. While we were at the burial my thoughts were on Heaven - knowing Granny is there worshipping God and loving on her family members who were there to greet her when she arrived. I am so thankful that I have the assurance that I will see her again someday.

I have to thank my parents for watching our two youngest boys during the funeral and then all three while Jeremy and I were in Oklahoma. They were in town for the week visiting us (they also accepted a position at a church last week that will allow them to move back to the DFW area. They will be less than an hour away. We are excited!). They loved Granny too, so we appreciate their sacrifice of not being able to attend the service.

Granny adored each of her great grandchildren (they felt the same way about her!!) and she had told us before that she was a little sad knowing she would not be able to see who they would become as adults. She knew that God has great plans for them, but her biggest prayer was that they will serve God with their lives and ask Jesus into their hearts. She would want me to share this picture of a few of them - I can just hear her joyful laughter now as I remember how she would beam with pride and love as she would watch them at family gatherings.

The rest of the week was spent helping Jeremy's mom go through Granny's apartment. I am so glad I could be with Vicki during this time - it was so special to talk about Granny and look through the things she cherished. Granny kept journals - decades and decades of her life recorded - what a treasure! Sloan and I looking forward to reading them someday. She had boxes of pictures, loads of fabric, lots of cookbooks and other special things that we can use to tell our little ones about her as they grow up.

As a "granddaughter by marriage" I will cherish the many stories that she shared with me about her full and wonderful life. She loved all of her "granddaughters" as though we were born into her family. She was an inspiration to me and I was so blessed to call her Granny. I loved her and am so thankful for the 15 years I was able to spend with her. I pray that I will live my life as she did, loving the Lord with my actions, time and money, loving and praying daily for my family and living each day to the fullest. Vicki found an old proverb that Granny had written down in her Bible. She lived her 88 years by these thoughts. These words made an impression on me, so I thought I would share them here.

"This is the beginning of a new day. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving in its place something I have traded for it. I want it to be gain, not loss- good, not evil- success, not failure; in order that I shall not regret the price I paid for today. "

14 Days...

is how long it has been since my last post. Here is what we have been up to...


~We came home on Tuesday the 5th from our dreamy getaway in Savannah. The next few days were filled with laundry, house cleaning and yard work. Fun, Fun. :o)

~Then 08/08/08 arrived and since that point we have been obsessed with the Olympics!! Our Tivo has been on overdrive since that day just taping up a storm. We love Michael Phelps, Shawn Johnson, Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres and our hometown girl Nastia Liukin - just to name a few. We are full of American pride and we have been rooting each night as though we are watching the Super Bowl. We have had a lot of great family time around here - we are kind of sad that swimming and gymnastics are over - now we will focus on basketball, platform diving and whatever else we can soak in before the closing ceremonies on the 24th.

~The 9th was our church's first service on Saturday night. We have switched to Saturdays and love it! At our previous church we went on Friday nights for years and it worked perfectly for our family - so we are thankful for the new Saturday night service.

~11th - 15th was a busy week. Our three year old was in swimming lessons all week and LOVED it! He has always been fearless in the water so we are so thankful that he now has the skills to swim and be safe in the water. My boys have Phelps' fever so our oldest is wanting to begin taking advanced swimming lessons to begin learning swimming strokes. He says he wants to be in the Olympics one day so we are going to enroll him this Fall to get him started toward that dream (remember, this is the son who was terrified of water until earlier this summer - my how far we have come in such a short time). Here is a little video of our three year old at swimming lessons. Day one he was asking to jump off the diving board and on the third day she let him - he was so proud of himself and we were too!



Our oldest spent two days and one night at Blaine and Lesli's swimming and playing with his cousins. He had a great time swimming - he loves bragging that they stayed in the pool one day for 6 hours - he thought that was really cool! I hate that we do not get together with them more often. We only live about an hour away but life just gets in the way.

The 13th was my one year Blogaversary! Wow - a year. I started this blog as a scrapbook for my boys and a way to keep up with friends and family. If you would have told me that I would have formed relationships with people I had never met in person or that I would have arranged to meet one of those people (more on this later) - I would have thought you were crazy! But over this last year I have met several people through blogging and I am thankful for these relationships. People who do not blog do not get it and probably think it is strange to have friends that you have not met in person but I thank God for this year and these new relationships. I hope to meet you all in person someday.

Friday (15th) and Saturday (16th) was our church's Women's retreat. I, along with another lady in our church, are helping get a new ministry off the ground for moms with kids 0-5. At the retreat we shared about this new ministry at two break out sessions so I spent last week doing last minute things for my part of the presentation. I am so excited about this new ministry as I have a heart for moms of toddlers and preschoolers. Moms ministries have played such an important roll in my life so I am happy to be apart of starting this as I know it will be awesome for ladies in our church and in our community.

We have had such a laid back summer with absolutely no schedule and it has been w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l! Since the boys have gone to bed late each night and were able to sleep as late as they wanted most mornings we decided this week should be a trial for the school routine that starts next week. So far so good - there has been no fighting at bedtime.

Friday (22nd) is Meet The Teacher Night - prayers have been lifted up all summer that God will place our 3rd grader with the teacher that is best for him. I have to be honest, third grade scares me ALOT as I have heard it is such a big change from 2nd grade. Ready or not let the 3rd grade adventure begin.

So that is our past 14 days. As Jeremy puts it we have been in a "vacation hangover" and it has been hard getting back into the swing of the routine of life. But I think I am finally back so starting tomorrow I will begin sharing the recap of our vacation. I also plan on reading blogs again. :o)

Vacation Over - Housework Begins

Today was a busy day of cleaning, unpacking, yard work and laundry. I am happy to report that we are completely unpacked and almost all the laundry is done - makes me smile! Thursday is a sad day because Jeremy has to go back to work. I guess all good things must come to an end. :o(

If you are interested in seeing the Chapman's interview that was on GMA this morning you can click here. Thursday the whole family will be on Larry King Live - please pray for them - for strength to get through the interview. Jim House (Steven's manager) says that the family is sharing their story so that people can see WHO is helping them through their grief and helping them find their "new normal". They ask that we pray for those watching and those involved with the interview - that those who do not know Jesus will see that they need Him in their lives. Thanks for praying!

How Fun that He plays for our Team!

Tonight when Jeremy walked in the door he turned on the All Star's Home Run Derby. Normally that would have garnered a sarcastic response of "oh joy" from me. I have never been a big baseball fan - watching it kind of bores me to death. I am more of a football girl - lots more action! If I am going to watch all NINE innings - I must watch it at the ballpark with a hot dog and a bag of peanuts. It has been over five years since I have been to a game - so needless to say I have had very little baseball occupying my life.

We are Texas Rangers fans around here (I include myself despite my previous statements) so it made complete sense that Jeremy would turn it on, as we will have four Rangers in the All Star game. Tonight was Josh Hamilton's turn to represent the Rangers with his other three All Star teammates there for moral support. I could not believe how much I got into the derby - in Josh's first round he hit 28 home runs (the second place person only hit 8) and in all for the evening he hit 35.

Okay for those of you who I am boring with diamond talk - stay with me. The story tonight is not about the home runs (even though we witnessed history) or that with 35 home runs he did not win the derby (Justin Mornea won). The story is that God saved his life and gave him a second chance at his marriage, family and baseball. Josh is not afraid to to tell anyone who will listen how Jesus saved him and the miracle is that the media is giving him an outlet to share it! Jeremy and I were able to have a "teachable moment" with our boys while they were watching with us. We were able to tell them how he went from #1 to the lowest of lows and through God's grace and mercy he is now living for Jesus! Our 8 year old thought that was pretty cool.

After the derby I looked Josh up on the computer. One of our pastors used his story in a sermon a couple of weeks ago but I wanted to read it myself. Wow what an inspiration! One thing I read or saw in a video (not sure where as I was clicking around so much) about how important being in the Word is for him. When God began to work in him, before surrendering his old life, he started reading his Bible. When he skipped his reading for a few days he would begin using drugs again. That is so powerful and drilled home the point of how important my daily time with God is as well!

If you have not heard Josh's story - you MUST read an amazing article here that ran in Sports Illustrated. Want more? You can watch an interview he did on a show on ESPN here. In a time when the media looks to see celebrities and sports figures fall flat on their faces, everyone seems to be pulling for Josh and willing for his life to stay on its current course. That in itself could only be God! Take a second to pray for Josh and his family as they bring the gospel of Jesus into the world. I will close with Josh's favorite verse but before I do - anyone interested in going to a Rangers game with me? I may become a true baseball fan after all.

Humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

Swimming - Conquering Fear

First I want to say thank you to all of you who were praying! The video you are about to watch is such a miracle to us. What you do not understand is that this boy would never put his head under the water in a pool and would never venture out of the shallow end for any reason. As a matter of fact he would not even get in a pool without a noodle. I mentioned before that he was not going to ask Jesus into his heart back in April because he knew the next step was baptism and he was scared of the water.

On the way to his first swimming lesson (first of this summer - he has tried lessons 3 previous times) on Monday I told him that many people were praying for him. He had a hard time grasping why people outside of his family would pray for him. After his first lesson where he made amazing progress I asked what changed inside him. He is such a wise soul at this young age - he said "I decided if I did not make a change now I would be afraid for the rest of my life"then he said "Plus all those people took the time to pray for me."

After only 5 lessons here is the answer to all the prayers that were lifted up on his behalf. Thank you Lord for helping him conquer his fear!

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

A New Book

I love it when I do not have time restraints and can just take my time at a store - Thursday I was able to do just that (thanks again Sloan). This is one of the things I bought.
I have been wanting to pick up this series since Amber mentioned it on her blog. I started the first book Friday and I have already read 4 chapters. I will let you know what I think after I finish it - but I am really liking it so far. We are driving to Oklahoma today for a day trip and I wish I could read it on the way - but I get car sick. I may chance it and try to read it anyway !Have a great weekend!

Smile in the Mail

Don't you just love getting snail mail from friends? I do! I used to write letters and send notes all the time before email, but since that day in '97 when I got my first dial up AOL account - I really now only send special occasion cards. So Friday when I checked the mail and saw a hand addressed envelope it instantly brought a smile to my face. Here is what I found.

It was a sweet note from Karen. She and my friend Amy are so good at sending cards in the mail for no other reason than just because. I want to send more mail to family and friends, so I am challenging myself to get better at sending notes. So thank you Karen for the fun surprise.

On another note...
Saturday night Jeremy and I were talking about the Chapman's day. I checked their family blog roll and found Steven's managers blog. Jim shares his encounters with the family since the tragedy. He talks about the visitation and also gives a recap of the memorial service (click links to read his thoughts). You can read all of Jim's other posts starting here relating to Maria. Now that the service is over, the family can use our prayers more than ever as the grieving process begins. Please also remember their precious boy in your prayers that God will carry him through this time of healing in his life.

Enjoy your day with your family tomorrow.

Recap of Stuff

Today started a four day weekend for my 8 year old. Jeremy is out of town for work, so I encouraged everyone to sleep in this morning. I even put them to bed later than usual just to help them out a bit. No such luck - my 3 year old was up a little before 7 with his big brother not far behind him. Maybe they do not understand the meaning of sleeping in? ;o)

My sweet 19 month old listened to his mother's request and slept until almost 10, but it was not because he wanted to please his mommy, it was because he is sick. Yes, he woke up with fever (my 3 year old is better - his broke yesterday afternoon). I am praying that maybe his will not get as high as his brother's (yesterday it reached 104) and that he will not pass it to his 8 year old brother or to his parents.

Since I am using this as a scrapbook of sorts there are things I need to recap that have happened over the last several days. So bare with me and I hope to not bore you too much. Here we go...

Last Friday Jeremy took the day off from work and he asked me to go play golf with him. Okay, maybe play is too strong of a word, more like ride in the golf cart with him. When we were dating I used to go with him and we would enjoy just spending time together free of distractions. So we took our 8 year old to school and dropped the little guys off at the "babysitting place" (as my 3 year old calls it) and headed to the course. It was a cool beautiful morning and we had a great (relaxing) time together. I was able to even do some reading for our trip to San Diego. As you can see from the pictures I even picked up a club or two.


Saturday I started enjoying my mother's day gift - 24 hours alone to rejuvenate. I know I am completely spoiled but I do not take my sweet husband's generosity for granted - I was thankful for every moment. I spent my time watching old movies (The Truman Show ), making cards, catching up on blogs, enjoying room service a little too much (I had two cream brulees - so good but very bad for my diet) and just a whole lot of nothing.

It was w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l!!


Sunday afternoon our church had baptism and we were able to be there to see our nieces' be baptized. It is such a celebration to see someone be baptized but it was extra special to watch these precious girls publicly say they are going to live their lives for Jesus.


My brother Bruce and his fiance Jen watched the little boys so we could just take our oldest and give him our whole attention. Our big guy asked Jesus into his heart March 21 (Good Friday). It was such a sweet time for Jeremy and I with him, but it almost did not happen because of his fear of the water. He knows that baptism has nothing to do with his salvation but that it is usually the next step - so due to his fear - he almost decided to wait until he was older. We promised him that he could wait until he was ready to be baptized and now we are praying that this will be his summer that God helps him conquer his fear.


After the baptism we celebrated birthdays and mother's day. It was a nice ending to a great weekend.


Finally, on Monday my boys enjoyed the signs of summer with our first days of 90+ degree weather. The baby was not to pleased by the surprise of the sprinkler system coming on, which really disappointed his big brothers because they wanted him to play with them. He decided that he would stay on the sidewalk a safe distance away from the water (he kept repeating "cold"). The popsicle was another story - it was his first one and with his first bite he closed his eyes and said "Mmmm". Of course he did not understand when he kept saying "more" over and over again why I would not give him another one. So the great experience of the popsicle ended in tears.

Well, there you go - a recap. I hope that you and your family have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. :o)

Heavy Heart

Today I am incredibly sad - my heart is sick and my stomach is all in knots. Ironically yesterday before hearing of the Chapman's heartbreak I was in the process of typing a post about the hard week I experienced a couple of weeks ago. The sadness from that week had put me in a funk, but I had planned to write at the end of my post about the rejuvenating weekend that had lifted my spirits - today that just does not seem right to talk about - maybe at a later date I will share it.

Some of you were praying for a family in our neighborhood. They have four children and their twins were diagnosed with a rare and deadly disease called Niemann-Pick Disease Type C (NPC) after their first birthday. Their oldest son is one of our 8 year old son's closest friends so it was very hard when one of their twin babies died on May 4th. It is unbearable to think that they will have to go through this all again as the other twin is currently not doing well and is now on steroids and oxygen. If you would like to visit the family's website please email me. I am sure they would appreciate your prayers.

Then later in the week, my brother Blaine called and asked me to pray for a family in his church. A 8 year old boy suddenly collapsed while spending the day with his dad on 4 wheelers. When the ambulance got him to the hospital, they diagnosed him with a brain aneurysm. He was a very healthy boy and had no symptoms, so the doctors believe it was something he was probably born with. The aneurysm was in the middle of his brain and was inoperable. Two days later his parents had to make the decision to take their only child off the machines and now that sweet boy is with Jesus.

I am not sure why this put me in such a deep sadness. I was not myself for days - I was impatient with my kids, even down right mean at times. This sadness just overtook my whole body. Was it that I have a baby the age of the twins and that I have an 8 year old boy? Was it just that I am a mom? Or was that I just did not understand why these awful things were happening? If I am honest, I even cried out to God with a broken heart and anger questioning why! As the days went on I began to feel a little better, especially after last weekend. I can not say that I received any answers - I think with time my heart just began to heal a bit.

Then yesterday happened...

I have been a huge fan of Steven Curtis Chapman since 1988. It is not just that I think he's an incredibly talented song writer and that he has a beautiful voice - it's his relationship with Christ and the amazing example that he is to fellow believers that I admire the most. I have seen him in concert many times and even met him and had a conversation with him while I was in college. When his latest CD was released, This Moment, the members of the Chapman family each started their own blogs. I would check out each of them from time to time but I followed Mary Beth's through bloglines. I think I related to her because she is a mom and she used her blog as most moms do - to brag on her family and keep people updated on how they were doing.

My heart is crushed for them this morning. Just hours before this tragedy they celebrated the engagement of their oldest daughter Emily, and were mere hours away from a graduation party for their son Caleb. 10 short days earlier they had celebrated little Maria's 5th birthday and now they are having to comprehend living without her. Not only am I hurting for them, but for their precious son. Oh my how is he dealing with this - he is just a boy - what must he be feeling - how does he get past this?

I found this passage today, Romans 8:26-39 and have spent the morning praying and meditating over it. How calming to know that God never lets go. I pray for the Chapman family that they feel the prayers that are being lifted for them and that they feel Jesus' arms holding them tightly and know deep in their hearts that He will never let go.

You can go to Steven's website to learn more about what you can do for the family. A blog has been set up by his management where you can leave your thoughts, love and prayers for the family and also a place to meet their Maria.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;

he rescues those who are crushed in spirit."

Psalm 34:18

Please Pray

I was checking blogs before bed and was reading Carlos' blog (Ragamuffin Soul). Click here for his actual link.

From the Associated Press:

The 5-year-old daughter of contemporary Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman was struck and killed Wednesday by a sport utility vehicle driven by her brother, authorities said.

The girl, Maria, was hit in a driveway on the family residence Wednesday afternoon by a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by her teenage brother, said Laura McPherson, a spokesman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

McPherson said no charges are expected. "It looks like a tragic accident," she said. She said several members of the Chapman family witnessed the accident, which happened in Williamson County just south of Nashville. The girl died later at Vanderbilt Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Laurie Holloway said.

I have no words... please join with me in lifting this precious family up in prayer.

Bible Study Girls

Tuesday was our last meeting with my Bible study group until September. Eight of the twelve of us met at Corner Bakery for an end of the semester social. Kim (1st pic - white shirt) and I co -lead together and we had never met before we began serving together. We were both a little reserved at first, but we have become great friends. I am looking forward to leading with her again next year. As a matter of fact most of our group were new to our church (including myself) and had never met before. These girls have become very special to me and I am so happy that our small group will be together for two more semesters (y'all, I almost wrote 'nother - as in "a whole 'nother year". I have been sitting here thinking "I say that - how country am I"? Oh my goodness). In the Fall we will be studying The Patriarchs by Beth Moore. My first study of Beth's was Jesus the One and Only that I did with Karen and some other friends from our previous church (waves to Lisa C). Of all her studies it is still probably my favorite. I love the in depth study that you get with a Beth study - God always teaches me so much.

For the girls end of the year sussy (Jeremy *hates* that word so I just had to use it) we copied this gift that I received from His Girl (she said it was okay). The Scripture books turned out much better than we could have imagined. I did the cards (Jeremy helped) and Kim added the ribbons and ring. The girls really liked them- thanks so much A. for the idea!

Speaking of Corner Bakery...

I decided the night before to pick what I was going to eat so I could stay in my points for the day - I was shocked what I found. I do not want to rain on anyone's parade if you love Corner Bakery but have you ever looked at their nutritional guide? If you want to keep eating there - then definitely DO NOT LOOK. I did not want to ruin it for the girls, so I bit my tongue and enjoyed my Fresh Berry Parfait. ;o)

PS - For helpful nutritional value for your favorite foods or restaurants check out Calorie Counter.

Our Weekend

We have had a busy weekend, but I am excited to report that all of our closets are cleaned out! I am taking a short break before I head back to de-clutter. We have a long night ahead of us, as we have to finish touching up walls and cleaning carpets. Tomorrow's agenda is spring cleaning before the Realtor comes at 5:30 to take pictures and sign the contract. We are worn out but it will be well worth it once there is a sign in our yard! :o)

I am soliciting advice... if you have moved before do you have any suggestions on how to make our house more appealing to buyers? Lisa, I am sure you are an expert in this area! Any tips you can give us would be greatly appreciated.

Friday night our 8 year old was able to take his friend to our Kid's Ministries' "Shine Like Stars" party. Everyone involved with our Kid's ministry made the night so awesome! They put in so much time making the atrium of our church look like a red carpet event - even down to the paparazzi taking their pictures when they walked in on the red carpet. Once the kids walked down the red carpet they were given play money and they entered a carnival like area where they could play games and win prizes. He and his friend had so much fun. He was not feeling 100 percent, but I am glad I let him go. We are supposed to get pictures so I will post them. We are so thankful for all the people who do so much with the kid's at our church - most of them give many hours a week without pay and they are so faithful to teach our children God's word and make it full of energy and so much fun!

Saturday night Jeremy took our 18 month old to a kids urgent care facility because we thought he might have Pink Eye. It turned out that he does not have Pink Eye but a virus in his eyes, an ear infection and Pneumonia. I thought it was just allergies - I felt awful! I am so glad that God prompted Jeremy to take him because the doctor said his lungs sounded terrible! Our poor baby has felt awful today - fever, coughing a lot and not sleeping much. I am praying that he has a restful night. Our oldest is still sick and so I will probably take both of the them to our Pediatrician in the morning.

My break is over - back to cleaning! :o)

New Territory

This week we are doing something we have never done before - putting our house on the market. We met with our Realtor almost a month ago to find out what has to be done to a home that has had three crazy boys running a muck in it for the past five years. This week we will be finalizing the "de-cluttering" and cleaning before the Realtor comes on Monday to put the sign in our yard. We are excited yet apprehensive about the whole process. How long will it take to sell? Will we get a good price? Are there things that we can do to help it sell? Will we find the house we are looking for? Just a few of the questions swirling around in our heads. We have committed to give the selling and buying process to God - we want to be in His will - so we are going to leave things in His hands and (try) to go along for the ride. If you think about it say a prayer for us - we'd appreciate it - thanks. :o)

Once the house sells, I will be looking to a new a blog I found devoted to decorating and organizing - The Pretty Neat Company. Kiersten is a kitchen designer, as well as an organizer and decorator. I just found her blog a week or so ago, but have really enjoyed seeing her ideas. If you are like me and you know what you like when it comes to decorating but you have a hard time putting things together, then a blog like Kiersten's will help you out a lot. She is new to blogging and like all of us when we first started our blog, learning how to navigate through the blog world. When you have a second please stop by and say hello.