Travel

Old friends and travel, annual trips for 15 years, through thick and thin, marriages, births, loss, love, heartbreak, endless laughter.  I love each of your dear hearts, thank you for an amazing time and memories galore.

 My dear sister rocking the top knot

On my stopover in New Orleans on the way to my Grandma's funeral in MS I was able to see my dear cousin Daisye who radiated joy as she prepares to welcome her first child in May.  New Orleans is such an amazing, unique town, full of surprises and slap yo' self good cookin'.  The grilled oysters at the Acme House and steamy jambalya were the bees knees.  And I found a new favorite band,
The Royal Street Gum Scrapers, complete with a banjo and washboard player.

Imagine my delight when I popped in their cd upon my return home and discovered a song about Polly Ann.

It's a shame it's such a far ways to this little French, artsy, gem of a town.  Meanwhile, I'll be embracing the "Laissez les bon temps roulez" mantra that the town so keenly embraces.

Are you ready for the summer?

School is out for summer 'round these parts. Are you ready? How are you and yours spending the dog days of summer? We started ours off with our annual tradition of a celebratory, energy burning playdate en masse accompanied by this song and the clean version of "Meatballs".

We are trying to start our days with morning devotionals, having each child record in their journals one old and one new testament reading along with the main thing they learned from the passage. 

We are also trying to spend more time outside, unplugged from wii. After getting my peeps geared up with "razor races"

I tried to sneak in a little reading time, only to be discovered after 3.2 minutes.

It appears my presence is still desired. Oh Happy Day!  I'm going to embrace every minute of my popularity with my kids because I'm witnessing their independence increasing every day.
And, only 8 days until UGANDA.  I cannot wait to share more about this mission trip!
Happy Summer!

Tornadoes and Terrorists

With the tornadoes in our region last week and the death of an evil terrorist my mind has been in a quandary over how to deal with the chaos.  We escaped damage although our neighbors and friends have to replace roofs and windows.  It was a scary night but the kids enjoyed our family camp-out under the stairs.  Tragically our college hometown suffered devastating loss.  The pictures don't begin to reveal the horror experienced by so many in Tuscaloosa as well as to other towns throughout the Deep South.  The disaster level has been assigned the same level as that of Hurricane Katrina.  http://cw.ua.edu/2011/05/01/alabama-tornadoes-receive-same-disaster-ranking-as-katrina-911/  

It was eerie to see bald pieces of land where some of our old stomping grounds once stood.  We've heard so many stories of extreme loss but also of extreme faith unfold.  My in-laws are still without power after almost a week but instead of complaining they are embracing the board games and "pioneering" lifestyle, they come from good stock, a blessing to call them family.

Furthermore,  we have had several people ask how they can help the tornado victims, this is the best way we know of: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2011/04/29/how-to-pray-and-give-for-disaster-relief-in-the-south/ 

As far as Bin Laden's death I admit to initial elation at the news.  Go get 'em Navy Seals!  But that soon turned into a feeling of shame for all the rejoicing.  My husband shared my feeling of "sickness over the whole situation" and led me to a blog post that summed it up pretty well for me:

Some Thoughts on the Death of Bin-Laden

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." 

--Martin Luther King, Jr

Blessings,

Grateful for the days

As I begin my last year in my 30's I am filled with joy and gratitude

 

Gratitude to My heavenly Father

 "Jesus sought me when a stranger

wandering from the fold of God;

he to rescue me from danger,

interposed his precious blood"

 

I pledge to embrace the wrinkles, to count each laugh line as hard earned 

Each stretch mark as a reminder of the blessing of motherhood

To count my blessings of family daily, to cherish, forgive, and love BOLDLY

 

To tell my friends, often, how much their friendship is a gift I treasure

To strive to live more humbly and selflessly and without fear.  

To patiently wait without worry for yet to be answered prayers

 

To count every breath as a blessing

Thank you Lord for this day!

It Is Well

Take a minute to check out the story of Horatio Spafford, author of the beloved hymn, 

"It is Well With My Soul".  It is an inspiring story that our dear preacher shared with us today.  Horatio endured such suffering in his life.  But he chose to "praise the Lord" instead of embrace the darkness that surrounded him.  It seems apropos for all of the various degrees of suffering I have witnessed this week.  God is with us in our times of suffering, in our seasons in the wilderness.  So important to remember since it is not a matter of if but when since we will all face trials in this life.

1. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, 
 when sorrows like sea billows roll; 
 whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, 
 It is well, it is well with my soul. 
 It is well, with my soul
 it is well, it is well with my soul. 

2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, 
 let this blest assurance control, 
 that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, 
 and hath shed his own blood for my soul. 


3. My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! 
 My sin, not in part but the whole, 
 is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, 
 praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! 

4. And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, 
 the clouds be rolled back as a scroll; 
 the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, 
 even so, it is well with my soul. 

I have shared three of my favorite renditions of this song on my playlist,

but nothing beats singing it in church surrounded by your children 

and fellow believers..

Blessings,

Mama told me there'd be days like this, but a whole week?

The week started off innocently enough, then the rain came, a lot of rain, like record amounts, our normally pleasant gentle creek turned into a raging kayak-worthy rapid

We were forced to abandon (gasp) ice cream and other groceries in the back of my car and hitch a ride with our sweeter-than-pie retired fireman neighbor.  His monster tire trucks almost proved to be no match for the strong current, the kids thought it was the coolest ride ever.  Safely across we trudged through the pasture and headed home to warm ourselves and pour out our squishy, waterlogged shoes.  I decided soup was in order and set about making a variety.  Apparently I hadn't used some of the range "eyes" in a while and triggered some sort of gas leak.  Fire alarm/ gas detector went off, high tech alarm system sent for help, 3 firetrucks and 6 firemen later and we were cleared for dinner.  Those guys were so sweet, they were worn out from rescuing people from submerged cars all day but still managed to be great sports as our 3 littles clamored for a look see.  There were jokes exchanged between the Husband and the firemen regarding my cooking and then they were off.  Thank you Lord for firemen.

Fast forward a few hours, bedtime, "ahh yes, this is going to need an x-ray", referring to the freak fall that our stunt man middle guy sustained on the school playground followed by the gut wrenching sound at 3:00 a.m. you know the kind that has you running for towels and cold compresses and mentally canceling the prior planned activities for the coming day, the what my babes call the "trow up" virus.  Like a guest that doesn't know when to leave, it has been sticking around a little too long, making it's way through all but mama bear so far.

Good news is no broken knees and we have 3 new adorable additions to the farm.  One is getting bottle fed, but that's another story.  The week ended on another happy note with two of my guys winning an award for the Boy Scouts "Dad and Lad" cake contest, not a day they'll soon forget.  I 'm embarrassed  to report that this proud Mama let slip a loud woohoo, redneck style, when my darlings' names were called.  I guess I need to re-visit my debutante roots.

The verse I recalled throughout the week was,
"Though He stumbles he shall not fall because the LORD holds him up with his hand", Psalm 37:24.

"Do all things without grumbling or questioning", Philippians 2:14,
now that's the verse I need to repeat more frequently.

Blessings,

I Need You

Would you please go by this lovely woman's blog and leave some loving words of encouragement?  She and her husband adopted an adorable little girl from Africa.  Then her dear husband died suddenly last September. 
Let's be His hands and feet and love and encourage this family. 
Her blog is http://silerhappenings.blogspot.com/. 
You do not have to be a blogger to leave a comment, you can even post anonymously. 
Thank you, thank you for taking the time to bless another.

Anchored

I cannot say enough about how important it is to have an annual girls' getaway trip.  I was just blessed by a trip to Mexico with 3 old, dear friends. 

 We have been through a lot together, some I've known since birth, some sorority sisters, some we just found on the side of the road.  All are special and loved.  All could not come this year, and were missed, but those of us that were able to getaway left feeling renewed and replenished.  Once I got over the guilt of leaving my peeps I was able to embrace the stillness...

and laughter, 

of these girls 

who 

have been 

my

companions 

on many 

roads 

through

life...

college,

heartbreaks, 

weddings, 

deaths,

births...

 Just like the lovely song "Anchor"

and to paraphrase one of my favorite bloggers at Breathless Expectation, I am grateful and blessed to be "anchored back down" by God, my beloved husband, family, and friends.  What anchors you?

Let it Snow...

Wishing you all a wonderful day after Christmas!  I pray that your hearts are full of the hope, peace, love, 

and joy that are reflected in the celebration of Christ's birth.   

I hope y'all are enjoying your holidays and

extra time with your loved ones.  

My parents are in from Mississippi and we are

enjoying their company immensely! 

 

We have had a delightful time, with one of the highlights being the candlelight service at our church on Christmas Eve.  Two of our favorite people, (one who is our eye doctor and the son of two of our fellow missionaries from our Bulgaria trip, the other was on the mission trip with us and is the inspiring father of 3 amazing, adopted children) sang beautiful solos that humbled us with their sheer beauty and 

glorious reflection of God's glory.

We were overjoyed to have our first 

"White Christmas" on the farm.  

My sweet husband and Dad 

gave me the ultimate gift...they took the little ones sledding all day on the farm with a picnic at the cabin while I dug out of the mountain of debris that had accumulated on my desk for the past 3 months. 

My Mom's gift was using her super powers to organize closets and perform wardrobe miracles for our children.   

garden wagon turned bobsled

Picnic at the cabin with one of O's tall tales

entertaining Papa

surfing the creek in their sleds

on another note,

please join us in praying for dear  

Edie and her sweet family.  

They lost their entire home to a fire this past week and our hearts break for them.  The outpouring of support from this community is a true testament to how well thought of and loved this family is by so many.  How can one even imagine the devastation of losing your home, possessions, sense of safe haven?  Furthermore, she is such a loving, godly, inspiring woman and will undoubtedly come through this tragedy even stronger.  

Blessings,