Weekend Warrior

The weekends around here are always buzzing with activity, and if they not, I find that I create activity. I'm just one of those people who can't sit still . . . whether that is good or bad, I'm still trying to figure it out. . .

- 3 weekends ago I was at a swim meet with my very favorite "Michael Phelps." Alec and I just went ourselves. Ash had a soccer game, so Jon stayed back home with the girls. He and I had a great time together and I enjoyed our time just the 2 of us. This meet was so much better than this meet, as it was not as overwhelming. . . . a little more laid back. I was also very proud of Alec!

-2 weekends ago the only thing we had going on was a soccer game, so I took a break from the "weekend warrior" project I had going on that weekend to so see Ash and her team play our rival. Wanna know what my project was? Scrapbooking. I got 3 new cartridges for my Cricut for Christmas, and I was finally able to use them. Last January of 2008 I had planned on printing my pictures out at the end of every month and scrappin' them . . . never got to it. I printed the first few months out . . . yet never scrapped them. SO this year I've been more determined that ever to do this . . . I got all my pics from January and February scrapped! Here are a few of the pages I finished. The girls also scrapped and played with the Cricut.

-This past weekend I bought this . . .

Yes, a steamer. We've had LOTS of people tell us that if you have pets inside a steamer is a MUST! We were getting pretty tired of the way the house is starting to smell. When Max has had accidents we have been "johnny on the spot" to scrub them with soap and water. It just is NOT taking care of the smell . . . so, we splurged and I'm so glad we did . . . especially after seeing the filth that comes up . . .

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Happy Monday!

Dear Doctor

Dear Doctor, on behalf of all of the women out there, I feel the need to let you know what we, as women, go through in order to come and see you once a year. Although we may not appear to have gone through much when you examine us . . . trust me, doc . . . we put LOTS of effort into coming to see you.



Dear Doctor, I have a confession to make. . . . I don't wash my hair everyday. You see it resembles the coarseness of a horse's tail. . . so in order for it to appear more like a woman's head of hair I only wash it every other day and . . . yes, sometimes every 3rd day. But for you, dear doctor, I wash my hair the morning before I come to see you . . . even if it means my hair looking like Mr. Ed's tail.



Dear Doctor, normally when I get out of the shower I use coconut oil as a moisturizer. Yes, I'm one of those patients who does not like chemicals and things of such . . . so I go the more natural route to moisturize with coconut oil. However, not today, dear doctor. I did not want you to be thinking about Kentucky Fried Chicken while you examined me due to the odor of my moisturizer. So, for you, dear doctor, I pulled out the good stuff . . . my Bath and Body Works lotion.

Dear Doctor, I must confess to you that not every. single. day are all parts of my body completely shaved with a fresh razor. But for you, dear doctor, from my toes to my feet, from my lower legs to my upper legs, under arms and bikini line . . . yes, freshly shaven with a new razor . . . just for you, dear doctor.

Dear Doctor, the last 6 weeks of my life have been in a whirlwind, so there has been no time for a pedicure. I know you must pay close attention to women's feet when they are in the stirrups. But, this morning, for you dear doctor, I pulled out my Ped Egg, gave my feet a good scrubbing, and painted my toenails . . . just for you.

Dear Doctor, although I know the first time you see me, you will not see me clothed . . . however, I still wanted to look very cute and accessorized . . . secretly hoping, of course . . . that the exam could just be done with my clothes on . . . . after all, they're so cute . . . why should they be off my body draped over a chair in the bathroom?

Dear Doctor, please know that many of us women do not eat all day before we come and see you. Yes, some of us have to be fasting for blood work. But, some of us chose not to eat until after we've stepped on this "annual scales." You see, it is very important to many of us women that those weight numbers are less or at least the same as they were the last time we saw you.

Dear Doctor, it makes me terribly nervous when I go to get ready for the exam . . . and all I have is this . . .

and a sheet to drape over my lap. The butterflies, moths, flies, gnats, birds, and anything else that flies starts up in my stomach and I can't make them stop. My heart starts racing like it is preparing for the Winston Cup Race.

Dear Doctor, please know that I chose my accessories very carefully today. I chose the necklace and earrings that were big and bulky. For some strange reason. . . . they made me feel less naked.

Dear Doctor, I must tell you that when you walk into the room and we women seem to be overjoyed to see you . . . please do not be deceived and think that we are happy to see you. For many of us women, coming to see you once a year is the only time we have without our children. We are so elated to be alone that we can't wipe the smiles off our faces. I just do not want you to be misled and think that we love coming to have a breast exam, pelvic exam, and Pap smear. No offense.

Dear Doctor, I must say that this week was one of the better weeks for me to come and see you. Since it is the week before my period I am retaining water and my boobs are perkier this week than normal. That way when you do my breast exam and see my "breast-fed 3 babies, deflated-tire" looking boobs, I am not all paranoid and thinking in my head, "I wonder if he is thinking this poor girl's husband."

Dear Doctor, thank you so very much for not scolding me when you asked what form of birth control we are using . . . and I told you a wing and a prayer. When you asked if we wanted more children and I replied, "Heck no," thank you for NOT saying, "Do you know what causes babies?" I assure you dear doctor, my husband is Quick Draw McGraw . . . and we will be fine. Thank you for being so understanding when I explained to you that a few years ago we talked about Jon having a vasectomy. But, after he had his root canal and passed out, and they had to call the paramedics to the dentist's office, we then decided a vasectomy was out of the question.

Dear Doctor, thank you for employing my very favorite nurse in the whole world and allowing her the rest of the day off so we could have lunch together, go to the bookstore, and go see my grandparents. Thank you for doing such a fine job of delivering 2 of my babies and for taking care of me for the last 16 years. You. . . dear doctor . . . have certainly been very dear to me!

Preach it Papa

Today I had the greatest blessing of spending the day at one of my very favorite places in the world and with 2 of my very favorite people. . . . my Grandmama and Papa. Yes, this is the one I have asked for much, much prayer for. I will take another post to do an update . . . but for this post. . . I wanted to blog about some of my favorite things this wonderful man says.

If you are ever around him for more than 5 minutes, you'll fall crazy in love with him. . . you just can't help it . . . he's one of those kind of people. He's got some things that he says that are just buried way down deep in my soul. I have shared his advice, encouragement and wisdom with complete strangers, in heart-to-heart talks with my girlfriends, and even in a room full of people at a real estate closing. So . . . I wanted to share some of them with you all.

• "Shuuuggaaahh (in his best Southern, yet quick and peppy voice) God gave you 2 ears and 1 mouth because you need to do twice as much listenin' as you do talkin' " . . . I'm still wondering he says this one to me just about every time I see him . . . any ideas why?
• "As long as there is breath in the body, there is hope. "(He mainly says this when referring to my Dad's salvation).
• "If you are surrounded by people that love you, then your bed in an old house sleeps just as good as it does in a new one."
• "As long as I'm breathin' I'm goin' to live" (and he ain't kiddin'. . . . even though he is on oxygen and at home most of the time he does more livin' than most people I know . . . it's because his attitude is right).
• "Isn't she as pretty as a picture?" (talking about my Grandmama). I agree with my Papa. He's not too bad lookin' himself though.
• "I could have gone all over the place and have found other women, but none of them would have been as good as your Grandmama."
• "Shhuggahhh, either you're movin' forward with the Lord or movin' backwards, but you cain't be standin' still."
• "Whhheewww, Praise the Lord."
• "Honey, you're going to be tired at the end of the day whether you sat around all day and did nothing or whether you got out and worked hard. I'd rather just work hard and feel like I did somethin'."

As I drank my last cup of coffee with my Aunt Sharon, Grandmama, and Papa today I didn't want to leave. I almost told Jon he was just going to have to pick me up and put me in "Noah's Ark." Oh . . . their house still is such a safehaven for me. I have so many precious memories there, and everytime I walk in that house it is such a place of peace. . . . something I needed very much as a child.

My Grandparents are extremely frugal . . . not because they have to be but because they WANT to be, which I just love!!! They leave their air conditioning on 86 degrees in the summer and wait for it to come on. I always warn my kids when we go to their house in the summer to dress extra cool because it's going to be hot. We just all sweat it out until it gets 86 degrees. When Melissa and I were little we'd be so stinkin' hot that we'd go and lay on the tiled bathroom floors. We'd fight over whose turn it was, and if one of us had been there longer than the other you'd think we were having WWIII. We joke around and say for old times sake one day we're going to go and lay our face on that floor.

My Grandparents have taught me so very many things, but one of the ones that is most important to me is the importance of hard work. Yes, I am one of those hard workin', driven women. I've struggled with this at times in my life. I think maybe because my Dad is a workaholic, and I fear becoming one of those. I also have wondered if I'd be a better mother/wife/sister/daughter/friend if I'd quit my job and just focus on the relationships in my life. But making money has always been very important to my family.

But, I reached a place in my life not too long ago that hard work is so good for you and the Lord sends me reminders of that often. I have found my Papa's advice to be very true. . . you're tired at the end of the day whether you sit around all day and do nothing or whether you put in a good day's work.

Please do not think I don't think women who are stay at home moms don't work hard. I actually think many of them work much HARDER. . . they're homes are much cleaner than mine, their laundry is much more up-to-date than mine, their bathrooms are tidier than mine, and their kitchen sink probably never has a pile as high as mine, and they are probably a lot more patient with their children than I am,and yet they don't get a paycheck. Yes, giving up a paycheck for me would be difficult b/c so much importance has always been placed on that throughout my life. I just struggled for many, many years that it was something I didn't want to do without, but have come to be at peace with it. Jon would expect much, much more out of me in the housecleaning department and the patience department if I didn't work from home. I just never, ever, ever want to hurt anyone's feelings or offend anyone, and I don't want to be misunderstood. I just wanted to write about some personal struggles of mine. A strong emphasis of working hard and making money has always been very important to my Dad's side of the family, so it is just something that is woven into me that I personally have struggled with . . . yet, at the same time my heart is here at home nurturing and raising up my children, and in the past I've thought I'd probably do a better job of it if I would quit my job and give up that paycheck.

I learned something new about my Grandparents today. When they got married almost 60 years ago (coming up May 15, 2009) my Papa started working for the water company and made $37 a week and my Grandmama made $38 a week. Yes, Grandmama was the breadwinner. You know else I just love about my Papa. . . he retired from the water company, the first job he got when he got out of the Navy. Those things are almost unheard of these days. People changes jobs and careers almost as quick as they change their underwear. I think it says so much about a person who is so content doing the same job for their whole lives.

Y'all know because I hate the grocery store because I spend way too much money that I had to ask my Grandmama how much did she spend in groceries a week . . . . wanna know? $8 to $10. I can't even take my family to Krystal for that amount. Papa said a Krystal hamburger cost $0.05. Can you believe that?

Their first date was to the fair. They dated 8 months before they got married. They always took family vacations, 2 a year, 1 to the beach and 1 to the mountains. Everyone but Grandmama always voted on the beach, so they went to the mountains in the Fall.

I love history. . . it is my favorite subject. . . . I got a good history lesson today . . . a history lesson on the lives of 2 people that are so near and dear to my heart!

Emotional Sunday. . .WARNING. . . long post but worth it

I've mentioned that Jon and I both have felt led to start visiting other churches. We did . . . last Sunday. . . everyone loved it. Before we took 5 steps out into the parking lot Ash said, "Can we come back tonight, please?" We knew LOTS of people there. . . so it kind-of felt like home.

When meeting with our pastor after I resigned from teaching my Wed. night children's class, we did tell him that our decision was not FINAL and we are just taking our time and letting God lead us. We told him that we would let him know if/when we knew FOR SURE that we were not coming back. Last week I got my little reminder card that it was my turn to teach Children's Church. . . so back to our old church we were going.

Quite honestly, no one in our family wanted to go. They had already "tasted" what another church was like, and they loved it. Ash even asked Jon if he would drop them off at the church we visited last week.

I've mentioned before that our church has had MANY, MANY, MANY ups and downs. We have been constantly on a roller coaster. . . . and, quite frankly, I'm exhausted. . . . However, one thing I can say about the people of our church is they know how to love on others.

We walked in the door and we were greeted like we had been gone for years. People went way, way out of their way to talk with us and hug us . . . you know those tight, "we've really missed you hugs." I walked in the sanctuary, and when those precious children saw me, I saw their faces light up. It was a moment I don't think I'll ever forget. I hugged them tightly and told them how very much I've missed them.

The worship music started playing, and we all started worshipping, and I started . . . crying . . . yes, crying. . . I told myself, "Michele, get yourself together. What is wrong with you? Dry it up, Dry it up." And . . . I did . . . until fellowship time. I had so many people surrounding me telling me how much they've missed us and saying some of the sweetest things about me that I've ever heard in my life . . . talk about making a girl feel good. I guess you never really know how much you mean to people, and my tears. . . . my tears . . . . kept coming. . . I couldn't stop them no matter how hard I tried.

The funny thing is . . . I still know it's time to go . . . . oh, how I love those dear sweet people . . . people who have helped me nurture and raise my babies . . . . people who've prayed me with at the altar during some very difficult times in my life . . . people who've taught me much about the love of God . . . people who care, really, really care about me and my family. I think that is what is so hard for me.

Who knows? There may be apart of me that's afraid that people like this are just very hard to find. I don't know. There are so many changes going on in our life right now . . .

Change of address (hopefully)
Change of career (for Jon)
Change in the way we homeschool
Change in family members' health
Changes in Alec (puberty)

and now . . .

Change in our church family.

Okay, time to switch gears . . . . yes, you got it . . . more tears are coming. That night my friend Jennifer had invited to me to see Perry Stone. We were both a little hesitant about going, but I'm so glad we did. Oh my . . . he had a Word, and a powerful one at that. I could not take notes fast enough. The worship at this church was just amazing. . . you know Pentecostals . . . they KNOW how to worship . . . Oh I just love it when people are excited, jumping around for Jesus,on fire for Him and praising His name. My Papa is Pentecostal, so this charismatic love for the Lord is nothing new to me. I got home that night and told Jon that the Pentecostals put the Baptists to shame when it comes to worship (If I offend you by saying this, please know that is not my intent. I'm just stating how it is around here and what I've personally experienced.)

I can't even begin to type all that Perry Stone talked about. I wouldn't even do it justice. I am still processing all of it. It was just wonderful though. Jennifer had to leave about halfway through the preaching to pick up her family from their church, so I was sitting by this lady who came alone. Perry Stone started concluding the service by asking us to ask the person to the right or to the left of us, "if Jesus came back tonight, would you know that you are going with Him?" (Tiff don't freak out!) If they said no we were supposed to go to the altar and pray with them.

I was politely waiting for the lady beside me to ask me, that way I could say Yes! I noticed her raising her hands and praising the Lord during the worship time so I just knew she'd say yes. Well. . . after a few, what seemed to be like, minutes passed, she didn't ask me. I felt the Holy Spirit prompt me to ask her.

I touched her on the arm and said, "Mam, if Jesus were to come back tonight, would you know that you are going with Him?" She said something, but I couldn't hear her. I stopped down a bit lower and said, "I'm sorry, mam, I couldn't hear you." With her head pointed down towards the ground, she briefly glanced up at me and said, "No." I'm not quite sure if I said this out loud or if I was just thinking it (everything was a little fuzzy from this point on), but I was like, "Are you sure?" After all, I was almost certain her answer would be yes when I asked her.

I told her it would be a great honor for me to pray with her at the altar. I helped her out of her seat and started walking down to the altar with her and . . . yep . . . starting bawling . . . I mean bawling like a baby with the worst case of colic you've ever seen.

She looked at me and said, "Are you?"

Sniff, Sniff, "Am I what?"

"Would you be going to heaven?"

"Oh YES, YES mam!!!!" With tears streaming down my face and a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

One of the people from the church met us at the altar and I introduced my new friend, Ann, and told the lady that Ann wanted to accept Jesus as her Savior and wanted Him to be LORD over her life. This lady prayed over Ann as I put my arm around her and held her hand.

Ann then prayed with this lady telling God she is a sinner . . . and she knows the only way to heaven is through the blood of Jesus . . . that she knew that He died for her. . . and she wants him to be LORD of her life. . . she asked God to forgive her of her sins and told Him from this point forward she would live her life for Him.

Now, this wasn't some 3-minute "get you saved" prayer, get up, and leave the building. This lady prayed deeply and passionately over Ann. We were down at the altar praying for I know 20 minutes. Throughout the WHOLE time at the altar I bawled. My eyes looked worse than any raccoon I have ever seen in my life.

While Ann was filling out some paperwork for the church to contact her, the lady who prayed with us asked me how we were related (I guess she just assumed this b/c of my barrel of tears). I replied, "We're not. We are complete strangers, but now, she is my sister in Christ."

She then prayed over me and my life such a wonderful and powerful prayer and I was so blessed by it.

I helped my new sister in Christ get to her feet, and I walked back to our seat with her. We sat and we talked. She is 74 years old and her husband is not saved. She feels he never will be. She watches pastors on TBN and she has 5 children. All go to church but 2. She said to me several times, "b/c I didn't raise them that way." Apparently there is some movie coming out called, The Cross, and she sent money and their pictures to have their names put on this cross that will be carried in the movie. She has been a praying woman for some time, but not a saved woman . . . until last night. She told me in the past she'd start to try and read her Bible and things would start to go wrong in her life, so she'd stop reading it and things would get better. She has continued this cycle throughout her life. Oh. . . what a crafty, cunning, and deceptive enemy we have. . . and we fall prey to him more times than we'd like to admit.

Oh Holy God, permeate every fiber of our hearts, souls, and minds with YOUR truth. Remind us to always be on our guard so we will not fall prey to the cunning wicked tricks and lies of Satan. I pray that the greatest desire in our lives . . . more than to be a great mom or great wife, great friend or great woman. . . will be to love you and to know you and to do whatever it takes to get there. . . . to strive everyday to love you more and to know you more. I pray we will not be so easily distracted or busy or lazy to put in the effort to know You and to love You. I pray our love for You and our passion for You and our desire for You will be evident to everyone we encounter. I pray these things in the Name of the One and Only, Jesus Christ, my LORD and Savior. Amen.

I warned my new friend about Satan and his deceptive ways and told her things may and probably will get tough, but she must be faithful and press on. I told her that now when she reads her Bible, she is reading it with a whole new set of eyes . . . spiritual eyes . . .that she'd see things and know things and discover things she never had before.

I got her number and gave her mine. Told her to call me if she had any questions or needed ANYTHING at all. I assured her I would be checking on her and I told her I loved her.

I just thanked God for allowing me the honor and the privilege of being beside this sweet woman as her name was written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Praise his Glorious Name!!!

The Boy is a True Blonde

I have to start off by saying that I often joke around and say that Alec is the smartest person in our house. He really is exceptionally gifted. . . and I always tell him that God has blessed him with a great mind, and he must use it for God's glory. But after a conversation I had with him last week, his "blonde" brain came out.

There is this new clothing store coming to town. Last week Alec and I had the following conversation:

A: Mom, is Are You 21 a bar that is opening in _____ (name of our town)?

Me: What are you talking about?

A: You know, that store that is opening up where the Christian book store used to be?

Me: Alec, I have NO idea what you are talking about.

A: Mom, it says Are you 21, and I was just wondering if it was a bar.

Me: (Laughing with the kind of laughter that makes your belly hurt). No baby, that is a clothing store called Rue 21, which means Route 21.

Interview with Mom

I got this meme from my bloggy friend, Nancy. Kids are honest. What do your kids have to say about you? Ask your child(ren) the following questions, and post their answers, even if you don't like them.

Alec's answers are in blue.
Ashley's answers are in red.
Hanna's answers are in pink


1. What is something your mom always says to you?
Go do your Math.
I know as much as you know.
I love you.


2. What makes your mom happy?
When we give her stuff
To see us playing and not arguing.
For us to get along with each other


3. What makes your mom sad?
When we get in trouble.
To see me and Alec fight.
For people to cry.


4. How does your mom make you laugh?
When she gets things wrong.
When she tickles me in my armpit
Being funny.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
I don't know.
She was red-headed, and she couldn't stand it.
I don't know that answer.

6. How old is your mom?
30-something
32
32
(Ashley and Hanna got it)

7. How tall is your mom?
5'8"
5'8"
2 foot 9
(Alec and Ash got it on the nose)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Scrapbook
Get in the bed, snuggle up, and read WITHOUT interuptions
Play with us.


9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Read
Read a book, sleep in, do her work
Do her Bible study, and she doesn't even tell us.


10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Best teacher.
Us.
The President.

11. What is your mom really good at?
Scrapbooking and sewing.
Typing
Typing.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Remebering things or getting to places on time
Holding her temper
Working.


13. What does your mom do for a job?
Transcriptionst and real estate agent
Types
types for doctors.

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
salad
salad
soup.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
she takes us lots of places
that she does a lot of things for us
for her not liking to work.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Cinderella
Cinderella
Jimmy Neutron.
(I say ElastiGirl from The Incredibles . . . b/c she's stretched in so many places.)

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Go to swim practice
We go on a girl's date or sometimes we kiss and hug one another.
Take naps.


18. How are you and your mom the same?
Both are the first born
We look alike, which aggravates me to death
We like to take naps.

19. How are you and your mom different?
I'm a boy. She's a girl.
She likes for us to be alike, but I can't stand for people to say I look like her.
Our hairdo because I have curly hair and mom has straight.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
She takes us places.
She sacrifices for us.
Hugs and Kisses.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
He's funny
He is her one and only husband b/c she can only have one husband.
Daddy kisses on her.

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
the beach
home
out to eat.


If you're reading this...consider yourself tagged!

Note to Self

Last week when I took the kiddibos to eat pizza I had a salad that had some Parmesan cheese on it. It was super-yummy!! While the kids were finishing up I went to pay. The cash register is by this bar area, and I noticed this guy staring at me with this really odd smile on his face.

I thought, "Why is he smiling at me that way?"

I politely smiled back and turned my head back to the cashier. As I turned to walk towards the kids I caught him still staring at me and smiling with the goofiest smile. I thought to myself, "What is this guy's deal?"

We all went outside and piled in Noah's Ark. I pulled my mirror down to put on some lip gloss.

Guess what was on the side of my face? A piece of the Parmesan cheese.

Guess what it looked like? . . .
Parmesan cheese . . . NO!
A piece of lettuce . . . NO!
A small bit of salad dressing. . . NO!
A small piece of a walnut . . . NO!

It looked like . . . A BOOGER!! Of all things, a BOOGER!!! I was mortified. Now I knew why that guy was smiling so goofy at me.

You all know I haven't been myself lately with all that has been going on . . . but if I would have been myself, I would have told all the kids, "Come on. We're going back inside." I would have found that guy and showed him it was NOT a booger, and it was a piece of Parmesan cheese.

Lesson learned . . . ALWAYS, ALWAYS wipe my napkin around my mouth after eating!!!

A Blessed Day

Yesterday was such a blessed day . .. even amongst everything going on. Thank you all for your prayers. I can definitely feel them.

• Ash had an orthodontist appointment and looks absolutely precious in her green and pink bands. Her teeth look amazing, and I thanked her orthodontist from the bottom of my heart. A few weeks ago a complete stranger looked at her and said, "You have a beautiful smile." My little girl lit up like a bright moon on a clear summer's night.


• I took my kiddibos to lunch at our favorite pizza place.


• I went into the office today. Because I don't go in that much everyone always acts so happy to see me. It makes me feel so good!!!


• I went and bought a new blender. I don't know how old ours is. Jon had it before we got married. I was trying to make homemade hummus the day before and our blender was just about dead.


• I spent the afternoon with my MIL and FIL and some of their dear sweet friends came over. It was such a blessed time. My FIL went outside for a little bit. His color is much better and his eyes are much brighter. He is just a precious, precious person. I am so honored to be apart of his family. My FIL would tell me several times how much he loved all of us. My MIL looked beautiful as always. She had her hair and makeup on and I know that made her feel better.
• We headed out to be in the warm sunshine and watch Ash and her precious teammates practice soccer. I enjoyed being with my soccer mom friends. Suzanne always make me laugh like CRAZY!!! She even had Alec giggling.
• After soccer practice the kids and I headed to Wal-Mart to pick up a prescription for my FIL, then took it to them. Our "Truvy", a sweet lady I call my friend, was staying late at her beauty shop and going to wash and cut Jim's hair for him. I love small town life!!!

When I got home and walked in the door I smelled this glorious smell . . . you know what it was? Pot roast, potatoes, carrots, rolls, and this chocolate drizzle cake (that is Jon's favorite).

My sweet, precious, and dear friend Lisa, emailed me the other day and INSISTED on doing something for me. You see, I'm one of these independent types. I don't try to be. . . . honestly. . . it is just who I am (ask my mom or my sisters). Several friends have called, emailed, and facebooked me and told me they were here if I needed them, to just let them know. Lisa knows me very well though. I just don't really ask for help unless I'm absolutely desperate. She was one of my first friends when we moved here 10 years ago. She told me she was bringing me dinner no matter what, and it would really just be best if I told her what day. She was NOT taking "No" for an answer.

She keeps saying it was a small gesture. . . no way. . . it spoke more volumes than she can ever know. To be up since 3:30 yesterday morning and run, run, run all day and to come home at 8:00 at night and wonder what your family is going to eat that is even remotely healthy. . . and to have dinner waiting on us . . . a true blessing!!! So much, in fact, that when we were wrapping up our bedtime prayers, after Jon finished praying, Ash said, "Wait, Wait, and Lord please bless Mr. Tim, Ms. Lisa, Tucker, Cooper, and Sarah Anne, and thank you for letting them bring us dinner."

I would be tempted to say that girl was just glad she got bread and cake with her dinner (I NEVER have bread or dessert with dinner). . . . but not so, I know her sweet heart. She sees her mom when I'm crying, when I'm solemn, when I'm busy, when I'm laughing, when I'm rushing, and when I'm praying. She knows how hard these last few weeks have been and what a blessing it was that I didn't have to cook.

Lisa, your generosity moved me to tears. You freed me up from one less thing to do, and I don't even have words to tell you how much your thoughtfulness means to me. You are so dear to me, and I'm so glad God brought us together as "family," you know the kind you get to chose (as the magnet on your fridge says). Your sweet words I have read over and over again. Thank you again for being so very thoughtful and for blessing my family in ways that have touched all of us deeply. I love you girl!

Daughters of the King of Kings

About 6 months ago my little sister, Kristen, and I signed up to do the first-ever Princess 1/2 marathon at Disney World. We decided we would enter as a sister/sister team and our team name would be Daughters of the King of Kings. I know a lot of moms get really caught up in the whole "princess" thing for their daughters. I do too, but in a different kind of way. I tell my girls we really are princesses because Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and God is our heavenly father; therefore, we who accept him as Lord of our lives, are princesses. Even this past summer when we went to Disney as a family and my girls and I ate at Cinderella's castle I reiterated that to them.



We met Kristen and Jonathan (her hubby) at the princess expo Saturday morning. The first thing we did as we entered was get sprinkled with pixie dust. . . it made me feel like a little girl. .



We got our packets and shopped a little bit. Okay. . . confession time. . . you guys know how I've been fasting from buying clothes while I study the book of Daniel? I haven't bought the first stitch of clothing. However, I did buy a running shirt and hat on top of the one I got for being in the race. . . I cracked under the pressure. . . but I'm still going to get back on the wagon and stick to not buying anything until I'm finished studying the first half of Daniel.

Next, we headed over the Epcot. Jon and I are Disney pros, and Kris and Jonathan had never been to Epcot. As adults this is our favorite park (as parents we love Magic Kingdom most). We have a fabulous time showing them around our "second home."

Kris and I had already bought matching running outfits after we signed up for the race. I had to coerce her into wearing a silly hat. The boys decided to help us pick one out. . . .

I wanted this funky crown. . . no one else liked it. So I was a good big sister and I let have the baby sister her way . . . just kidding. I really liked the hat she chose also.

Y'all know I had to get a picture with my sweet hubby. . .

Sunday morning we skipped our clocks one hour ahead and were up bright and early at 4:30 new time, 3:30 old time. . . Kris and I were afraid we would not be able to find our way around. Our GPS acts up really funny in DW . . . something that has to do with all of the access roads they have. So, we picked Kris and Jonathan up and headed to Epcot where the starting line was. Kris knows me well and got me a coffee to keep me warm b/c it was quite chilly that morning.

With this next picture, please look closely at my feet. I know have mentioned before that my running shoes are the nemesis of my high heels. My running shoes really deserve a post of their own, which I will probably do soon, but for now just check them out . . . even click on the picture to enlarge it if you have to. . . they are worth looking at. . .

Pretty ugly, huh? Can you believe a prissy, high-heeled girl like myself wears them? Me neither!

I told Kristen when we started the race that I wanted us to finish together. I have seen people cross the finish line at Disney races before holding their hands up in the air. I had envisioned us doing this . . . big sister with little sister. I knew this may be my only chance for us to do a 1/2 marathon together with as busy as life gets . . . so I really wanted to savor it.

I'm not big on running with my ipod. I had it just in case, but I really like to soak everything in. People really come up with some clever outfits and team names and sayings. Here are some of my favorites . . . .

** one team I saw was called Skinnie Minnie Wannabes.

** one precious team I saw called Team Flip Flops was a mother/daughter team. the daughter clearly had a foot disability and was leaning on her mom for support to walk fast (you must keep a 16 minute/mile pace or they will pick you up). It was precious. It really moved my heart and made me shout outloud, "Go Team Flip Flops, Whoo, Hoo"

**another lady apparently had lost a bunch of weight and had ribbons pinned to her back marking each 10 pounds she had lost. I made extra sure to congratulate her.

** one lady had on the back of her shirt a quote that said, "Run like its almost midnight." I LOVED that!!

See? There is so much to take in. I don't want to miss any of it while beebopping to the tunes on my ipod.

Kris loved her ipod though, so we talked a little but not a whole lot. I don't just talk when I'm still. I talk when I'm running too. It makes me go faster in my mind.

At about mile 8 my knee was killing me. I stopped and rubbed Biofreeze on it and went to the bathroom. Kristen kept running. Anybody who runs knows how hard it is to catch someone 20 seconds ahead of you. What if they are out of sight? I immediately thought of my Prince Charming, and I knew I had to run like the wind to make him proud. I couldn't let Kristen beat me.

Jon and Jonathan would get texted on their cell phone by the Disney people when we made it to certain check points. Jonathan got his text first at around mile 9. About a minute and a half later Jon got his. This was the last checkpoint before the finish line. They both knew for whatever reason I was behind and Kris was ahead.

I ran like the wind, and I do mean the wind. . . I got between a 7 and 8 mile a minute pace between miles 9 and 10. Do y'all know how hard it is to run that fast after you've been running 8 to 9 miles? I was on a runner's high. I caught Kristen and actually passed her. She told me I had to slow down, she couldn't keep that pace. I swatted the competitive monster inside of me and slowed down like a good big sister should.

I was loving mile 12-13. It was great. I would start screaming and encouraging other runners. Who I thought I was, I have no idea. . . maybe the Jillian or Bob wannabe in me? Kristen said it sounded like war cries. It really made you forget about your pain and run fast. We were rounding mile 13 heading for the 0.1 and out of nowhere here comes this short girl that is dressed like me. No way, Jose, she was NOT going to beat me. We were going at it neck and neck.

Jon saw us. He was so proud to see me there with her. Everyone else was jogging along and Kristen and I were burning rubber. He told me he got teary-eyed and when I crossed the finish line he just teared up telling himself, "I'm not going to be like Granddaddy. I'm not going to be like Grandaddy." (He was talking about his Dad who is one of the sweetest, most sentimental people I know). I told him I knew now his love language was competition. Since this blog is for me to remember I have to say here that when we got home and downloaded the information on Jon's GPS watch that I was wearing we were running between a 4.5 and 5.5 minute mile.

We did it. . . together. She actually boxed me in, though I know she didn't mean to so her time was literally 1 second better than mine. Kristen was so sweet. She started crying. I was so very proud of her and honored that I was apart of that very special moment for her.

Next time little sister, bring it on, because it is every woman/girl/princess, whatever, for herself!!

So how'd we do?

Out of 60 sister/sister teams we came in 13th.

Out of 6324 people I placed 1019 and Kris was 1018.

Our time was 2:06:48. It could have been better, but I pulled out my big sister authority and made her stop along the running route and take pictures with the princesses. I told her one day she'd be glad I made her. . . . and she is.

I think a big "myth" about these races is that you have to be some kind of athelete to run them. NO! Wrong! You just have to train . . . no matter how big, little, fat, skinny you are. If you want to run then there are NO excuses. After I saw that precious girl with the disability (Team Flip Flops) I knew that ANYBODY can do this, ANYBODY. I'm a skinny girl, but trust me, I'm no athlete, just ask my hubby. I'm just determined and disciplined enough to do it . . . which anybody can be that!!! There were all shapes and sizes of women out there running/walking 13.1 miles - I LOVED THAT!!! People out there that were not afraid to start and train and do what needed to be done in order to accomplish a goal. . . okay enough fit girl talk for now, but I just had to dispell that myth.

More Prayers Please

Please pray for my Papa, who has been like a Daddy to me, especially growing up. I love him dearly. He was diagnosed with bone cancer about a year and a half ago. He is in the hospital. Please pray for him. Thank you all. . . Please pray for me and my family. . . I feel like I am crumbling into pieces. Sometimes I feel so numb and dry and other times I just start caving in with and endless stream of tears.

Jon's Dad went home yesterday - Praise the Lord. We are praying that once this infection is completely cleared out of his body that will resolve other issues that are going on. If not, it is going to be a very long road. Please pray that he and my MIL will get some rest. I haven't called her this morning yet to see if she needs me today because I don't want to wake them.

Right now this is the prayer of my heart . . . A song from Hillsong called "The Desert Song."

This is my prayer in the desert
And all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon forged against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow


Right now I feel I am coming out of a season of harvest. . . I'm being emptied again . . . whether I'm in the desert, the fire, or the battle right now, I'm not sure. . . I feel like I'm in all 3.

Your prayers and encouraging words me the world to me. Thank you all so much.

Praising His Name Always!!!

A Few Things

Life has been much more hectic than normal, and quite honestly, I can't even think straight to get my thoughts in order. Here are a few things that have been going on.

Last Monday night Jon and I finished our last dance lesson. On Tuesdays I would be totally drained, but it was all worth out . . . after all we're creating memories. . . While I don't think we were the best dancers in the class, I do think we were our teacher's favorites. She gave me a hug when we left. I think we made her laugh . . . ALOT. . . and. . . we probably got on her nerves a bit too because of our silliness.

Here's a dip. . . see Jon's tongue hanging out. . . that's not because he thinks I am out of sight and dynamite. . . it is because whenever he has to concentrate really hard that's what he does . . . just about anytime he's playing a sport his tongue is out. I think he's concentrating on not dropping his 125-pound wife flat on her booty.
We learned this new move called the sugar twist. Our teacher said this was a move that was to be exaggerated. I did what I do best . . . exaggerate . . . the sugar twist that is. I shook my hips like there was no tomorrow. See Jon's hand? He was supposed to shake it like "hubba, hubba" You can tell by the look on his face that he's not thinking "hubba, hubba". He's thinking, "stop it, stop it."

This move is called the "Trust Me" and it's one of my faves. After he throws me back up, I do a turn and then we start back dancing. It makes me feel like a real dancer.

More sugar twisting. . .

**Jon's Dad is still in the hospital. Please pray for him and our family. We are hoping maybe, just maybe, he will get to come home tomorrow. It has been a long road. He has this friend, Harvey, who is a shining example of what a friend should be . . . you know the kind the Bible talks about . . . a friend that sticks closer than a brother. . . the kind of friend that lays down his life for his friend. . . I think if any of us in this life on earth has just ONE friend like Harvey, we should consider ourselves very blessed. He works all day, goes to the hospital at night, stays until the middle of the night so Jon's Mom can go home and sleep. He's not doing it either because Jon's Mom doesn't have help. She does. . . us. . . . I think she worries about putting too much on us. One night Jon was there and he told Harvey to go home. Harvey wouldn't do it. Finally after hours, and I mean hours of going round and round with it Harvey told Jon to leave and so Jon did. I really want to do something special for Harvey just to thank him for his kindness. Please give me some ideas. It's hard for me to think right now.

** The contract on our house expired today. We have been assured by the other agent that the seller will honor our terms once the title issues are worked out. Jon has actually taken matters into his own hands and things seem like they will work out. He was supposed to get a call back from an attorney today, but no dice. I told Jon to aggravate the mess out of him until he responds. I told Jon this weekend to do whatever it takes just make sure it is legal, moral, and ethical . . . ha!ha! I was kidding, well . . . kind of. . . when I said it.

**Last Tuesday I resigned from my position as a Wednesday night teacher for Adventure Club. I have worked in the children's department at church for the last 10 years (our church for 8 and another one we attended for 2). It is something I have prayed over and feel at this time God has led me to do. This Wednesday night will be my last one, and I know there will be tears. Jon and I have felt led to visit other churches, including the one we currently go to. We just really need some wisdom and clarity right now. . . . and a break. We met with our pastor today and he was very considerate and understanding. If you think of us, please pray for us. We tend to be people to make decisions slowly. . . sometimes I can get impatient. I'm so thankful for Jon's wisdom and leadership over our family.

**We are having a tough time with these preadolescent years with Alec. None of my really close friends have kids his age (11-1/2) except for one and it is just really hard to compare them b/c her son is exposed to much more than Alec is. Any advice? I sure would love some. His temper is definitely a problem. He told me today he also feels lonely a good bit. The girls have one another and I'm so busy doing this and that. God is really showing me that I need to be more attentive and really listen with both my eyes and my ears. Alec is a long-winded kid, so please pray for me too. We even bounced around the idea of school . . . This time it was Jon and not me saying it . . . I don't know. . . I'm so very, very torn. . . not that I am opposed to school b/c I am not a "homeschooling snob." I always say we take it year-by-year. Mainly b/c I don't think him going to school will solve our problems. I feel like we will just get a new set. I guess my question is, is this what most kids his age are like?

**Just when I think I love Jon the absolute most any woman can love her husband . . . I just fall head over high heels more love with him. We were out of town this weekend and when he called to check on his Dad it was the first time I'd listened to him talk to his Dad on the phone. He had such a gentleness, yet strength in his voice. He talked to his Dad in a somewhat childlike manner, yet still with the upmost admiration and respect. Everytime he talked to him this weekend, I'd just tear up listening to him. . . Prince Charming couldn't have been this good in the fairy tales.

**I'm sorry I've missed some of my favorite bloggy friends over the week. I can't wait to catch up reading your blogs and see what all I've been missing. There is lots going on over on our end here. . . I would definitely appreciate any and all prayers. God is so good, ALL the time!!!

SNOW MUCH FUN

My kids are always hoping and wishing and hoping and wishing that it would snow on Christmas day. Well, Sunday they got to see snow and we all had snow much fun playing in it!

Here's Jon when it first started snowing . . . check him out in shorts of all things. The man wears shorts when it is 40 degrees outside.

Max was a little unsure about the snow, but was he warmed up to the idea he loved it. . . crazy bulldog.

Once it got to snowing heavy Jon decided to put warmer clothes on. We all headed outside to throw some snowballs at one another.

You can see Hanna was in the snow much longer than I was . . . look at her wet head. . . can you tell we here in GA are not very prepared for snow? I bought my kids gloves back in December when we went to Stone Mountain. Well they must be with our sock monster (you know the monster who lives in the dryer that steals all of our socks) because we couldn't find any gloves. The kids were able to rouse up some socks to put on their hands.

Alec and I loved throwing snowballs at one another. My boy is getting so tall on me.

The kids loved building a snowman. See the socks on their hands?

We actually left during the snowstorm to go and ride by the house we are trying to buy and look at it in the snow, then we went to Wal-Mart to stock up on a few things . . . like toilet paper. . . which we had run out of. When we get snow in the South everything shuts down, so I knew we had to get out and get it because I didn't know what the night would bring.

On our way home we were driving by some friends of ours house, and they were outside playing in the snow. We pulled up in their driveway and did a sneak attack snowball throw at them. By the time we made our way around to them all had gone back inside but their son. He went inside and got his mom and sisters. I started throwing snowballs at them. It was lots of fun!

When the girls came in from outside I ran them a hot bath. When they got out they, of course, wanted some yummy hot chocolate. . .

DURN

I've recently developed some really good friendships with some ladies I've know through soccer and swim. These ladies are very dear to me, and everytime I'm with them I have SO.MUCH.FUN. and I laugh WAY.TOO. HARD. I love a good belly laugh, don't you? That is what these girls bring me, lots of good belly laughs. They've invited me to play Bunco several times and a couple of months ago we went to dinner and a play here in town. As I was flipping through the program I saw some of the up and coming plays, one of them being The Importance of being Ernest. I leaned over and asked my friend Suzanne if she thought this would be a play the kids would enjoy, you know like "Ernest goes to Camp, Ernest goes to Jail, Ernest goes to Africa." She busted out laughing and informed me that was the wrong Ernest. Oh I was mortified. I thought and I think I said, "how redneck of me."

I came home and told my sister this story, and she laughed and laughed. During our conversation I told her, "Oh no. They are going to know all I am is just a dressed up red neck. Melissa said, "Yes, you're a DURN."

This Christmas, as a gag gift, Melissa even bought me all 3 Ernest goes to Jail, Camp, and Africa movies.

Well, of course when we got the dates of the play, we all knew we had to go and see it. After all, I needed to be educated in something other than red neck.

Saturday night these girls and I got together for dinner and to see the play. Then afterwards we headed to this neat coffeehouse.

Y'all I laughed so much, and so hard. After the week I'd had I really needed some good belly laughs. After all Proverbs says, "A cheery heart doeth like good medicine." Yes, being out with these ladies was medicine for my soul.

At the coffee house we all got a little silly and started playing instruments. It's a 2-story coffeehouse and all of the "young ones" were upstairs playing pin pong. I know they thought we were a bunch of silly old ladies. Suzanne appropriately named our group that night, "The Real Housewives of _____ County."

Here are Pam and Terri looking all dignified while they wait for their coffee

Suzanne is one of the funniest people I know. She CRACKS-ME-UP all the time!

Here's Terri playing the guitar

Check out Pam, a Real Housewife of _____ County

Christen and Liz were getting silly with their whip cream from their hot chocolate. Oh my goodness I had a sip of Christen's. It was so good, literally like a liquid candy bar.

Doesn't it look just so yummy?

Here I am meeting up with them at the beginning of night for dinner

Here I am talking to Pam. I had to post this picture because I know I've mentioned on my blog that for some strange reason if my mouth is moving then so are my hands. I just can't talk without them.

We all had an amazing dinner. This is one of the best eating places in our town.

Here is Silly Suzanne looking serious. Don't let her fool ya! She's not all as serious as she is looking in this picture. I think I was laughing at her while she was posing.

Kathy and Suzanne - I love this picture of them. They are so pretty!!!

Our tickets got to us a little late, so we were a tad bit late for the play. We had to book-it and book-it big time. Pam got on this kick where she had us laughing b/c she'd pose like the teenagers do . . . with the peace-out sign and lips poked out.

Christen and Liz hurrying to the van. See me on the side . . . . laughing. . . I'm tellin' ya, I laughed all night long!!

See Pam in the back with her peace-out sign?

Here are Terri and I at the play. There was this guy there that coughed the entire play. At first it was funny, then it got to be a little irritating. Bless his heart though. . . something had to have been wrong with him for him to have coughed like that.

Kathy and Terri

The play itself was GREAT!! I'm so glad I got an education in another Ernest. Thanks for such a fun night ladies. . . cough, cough, cough.

Memorization Monday

This week I am going to get out all of my previous index cards and review all of the verses I've memorized; that way they stay in my head and I don't forget them.