Chatty Cathy

Our baby boy is now 22 months old and will not stop talking! O how precious - most of the time! The words that he is beginning to say. The few words that he can string together to form a thought - I am truly amazed in the creation of God's handiwork once again. He woke up really early one morning at my Mom's so I told him to lay back down , He responded, "but I want eat". The past few days have been a whirlwind. Everything from celebrating Christmas with our family in Waynesboro to traveling to Mississippi to visit with my Mom and family there. In the turn of events, my Aunt Rosemary drove in from Houston with her family - What a nice reunion. We have a new addition to the family. Well, really two, I have new cousin in law that has married into our family. His name is Soslan, from Russia - and they have a baby, David. He is 7 months old. Now the funny thing is that David weighs 28 pounds and Luke weighs 30 pounds. Hmmmmm..... Lizzy, what are you feeding that baby? I will download pics when I get home. Doug went back without me, because my grandfather was admitted to the hospital again.

Only Mine for a Little While

God is really doing a number on me these last few weeks. I am not sure what He is trying to tell me - but I do think it is pretty significant. I am not going into any detail, (people might think I am koo koo) I know our God is Almighty and Sovereign - He is the image of the invisible God, the firtborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16
I keep going back to that verse because I believe that what God is trying to tell me is that He gives us a lot to work with on this earth. He gives us a spouse, children, a church family, a job, a community, and many other responsibilities. There are so many times that I get overwhelmed with the day in and day out of general life that I forget to stop and smell the roses.... the blessings that God provides. I am thankful that I have the ability to get up and go to work when there are those in my community whose health does not allow them to do so. I am thankful for our children, because there are those in our community who have none, who so desire to share that special love. I am very thankful for my husband and the way that God has created him - not for the way that I want him to be - I know he is unique. :) All this - though, belongs to God - and I have to remember that! The same God that gives us so much can take away. Me as a christian has to be prepared to praise Him in the valley too. I feel that God is preparing me for a valley.

Facebook Anyone?

I have found a new fun way to communicate - Facebook - I'm sure it's old to everyone else on the planet but me. I found a ton of folks from our old church back in Kennesaw, GA. Thanks to my good friend Stephanie, I am officially addicted to FB. You can't really decorate it or have near as much fun updating, write as long posts, but you can communicate quick one liners back and forth with folks.
Anyway, just thought I'd share my new found communication gadget!

Happy Birthday Emma

Today, Emma turns 11 years old. She is an amazing young lady and I would like to share 11 wonderful things about her with you all. (in no particular order)

1. Emma loves Jesus
2. Emma loves cheesecake
3. Emma has a messy closet
4. Emma loves to read
5. Emma loves to play outside - anything!
6. Emma loves HSM
7. Emma has a smile that is contagious
8. Emma knows a ton of scripture and is already hiding it in her heart!
9. Emma is competitive
10. Emma is an A+ student
11. Emma has a sweetness about her that adults comment on ALL the time!

So, all I can do is pray that she will continue to grow into a wonderful young lady that loves the Lord. I hope and pray that God has something really special for her! I know she has worked hard to be where she is now with her grades and her Awana class. I am so proud to be her "otha motha" as she puts it!

Happy Birthday Emma!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time that share our gratitude with those we love and respect. Generally, someone spends the entire morning cooking while others travel to their destination anxiously awaiting to settle down at the dinner table and devour all the turkey and dressing that has been prepared with loving hands. Others that we don't necessarily know may be scrounging for something to eat while we shuffle food into the garbage can after we have finished our plates. This is a time of year that we who have been given so much must remember to be thankful to the gracious God who gave it All to us. He has given us the ability to work, to live in a free country, and to worship Him. All He asks from us, is to be faithful servants, to love one another, and to put Him first. Psalms 118:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; his love endures forever.

The Newly Wed Game

Tonight was a fun - it was a post marriage retreat get together, dinner, fellowship, and The Newly Wed Game! Most of the couples who attended the marriage retreat a couple weeks ago were able to find child care AGAIN and all join together for a fun night. We met up at the wonderful host home of Sam and Tabatha's - they always seem to host every party! (BTW, your cabinets look great! ) We had great food - everybody brought a different dish. Now to the game - Wes and Robin went on-line and got a bunch of funny and serious questions. We had couples that have been married from 30+ to 3+ years. So needless to say some of the answers were quite amusing! I think the funniest had to relate to the nick names that the wives had for the husbands. The question was posed to the men, so we had to guess what they wrote. Yes, there were your usual honey and sweetie, but there were also a few creative ones such as Big Daddy and Stallion. We had lots of laughs! Thank God once again for wonderful Christian friends. Oh yeah, the pastor and his wife won - must have been rigged!

Whew.... is all I can say. It has been an extremely busy few days around here. It all started last Wednesday pm with my father-in-law telling me that he had been to the doctor that day for "some chest pain ." Well that doesn't sit well with a cardiac nurse, so naturally, I got him an appointment right away with an interventional cardiologist for the next day. Thursday we visited the doctor in his office and by Friday we were on the cath lab table! Glory to God, all his previous bypass grafts were open and working "right". He does have an aneurysm that will need to be followed as well as REALLY HIGH blood pressure.
Saturday was a fun day with the fam - we went to see High School Musical 3. So sad, they graduated.....Emma actually got a little teary eyed in some parts! But the most fun part was that we went shopping for our operation Christmas child boxes. Each of our children had one box to fill for a child. They got to pick out toys, school supplies, toiletries, etc to go into the boxes. The boxes will then be sent to Samaritan Purse, who will distribute the boxes and tell each child about Jesus. The boxes that Samaritan Purse distributes may be all the Christmas that child receives. We also pray for the child receiving the box - even though we don't know them, we pray that they will experience the love of Christ. Not through presents, but through hearing the Gospel. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be set free, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come. Luke 4:18-19
Sunday was a day of church, but for some reason around here, everyone woke up a bit grumpy. Do any of you ever feel that way? Thank you God for christian friends who can lift you up when you need it! The day progressed to a fun afternoon of game of Apples to Apples with the kids and some basketball!
During all this Luke has started to spike fever with his lime green snotty nose and hacky cough. Guess it's not a cold after all - upon taking him to the doctor on Tuesday, he has bilateral ear infections! We are going to the ENT on Wednesday next week to see about tubes :] Everyone says that will end our battle with ear infections. At least I hope cut down on the sheer number that he is experiencing! He is such a trooper, I would not have known without the fever!
Oh yes, BTW, my Mom called, and my grandfather is in the hospital with pneumonia and CHF back home in Hernando, MS. Please pray for his health. He is wonderful man, always happy, very kind hearted, soft spoken, and loves to cook!
That's all for now......could you handle anymore? I'm tired.

Rody

Luke loves Rody!


The week before Halloween the kids and I traveled to Hernando,Mississippi to visit to my mom and two brothers. I have one brother Brian who lives in Gillette, Wyoming with his lovely wife Jessi and their daughter Addison Kate. My oldest brother Frank lives in Memphis with his wonderful wife Heather and their FOUR kids! ALL girls! We planned the trip around Brian and Jessi coming home to celebrate Addison's first birthday. We had a great time visiting. Luke and Addison hung out - got to know each other - she was a bit aggressive, always trying to kiss her cousin - lol - Luke wasn't too thrilled about that! Addison's favorite words were "wooo wooo wooo wooowooo" especially when she got tired! She was precious! Luke was a bit under the weather with fever, so he did not get to make the Zoo Boo that Frank had arranged for us! Frank lives in Memphis with his fam. The zoo was awesome - all the kids dressed up and fun was had by all. There was disco with Dracula, creatures of the night display, a hayride, and of course plenty of candy. Afterwards we headed for Memphis Pizza Cafe for some yummy pizza. They have the best pizza in town! So thanks, Frank for setting up Zoo Boo - we had fun.

Now - to explain Rody..... Rody was a gift from Uncle Brian and Aunt Jessi. He is a blow up horse that can hold up to 250 pounds - so that means we can all ride Rody around the house. Literally bounce Rody around the house. You hold on to his ears and bounce like crazy. Emma and Dougie can bounce real high! When Doug sent me this video of Luke on Rody it was entitled "The Blurrrrr".

Eat more Chicken!

This past weekend Doug and I had a weekend getaway. We traveled to Rome! Ha - some of you are wondering Rome, Italy......no, no; only Rome,GA. Home of the Rome Braves, AAA baseball team for the Atlanta braves, too bad no game - since I absolutely love baseball. I have a thing for standing inside the stadiums! To me they are so grand, the lawns are manicured so perfectly, and to hear someone sing our National Anthem inside a baseball stadium just gives me chills. Anyway, back to our weekend! It was a marriage retreat organized by our church that a total of about 15 couples attended. Let me just tell you about the place where we stayed. It was located off Berry Campus about three miles behind the college. The drive, once on campus was absolutely beautiful. There were so many deer to be seen on the short three mile drive back to Winshape. That's the name in case anyone wants to check into using the facilities. Winshape sits on a hill and it is an old dairy barn that Truett Cathy has turned into this facility that allows kids camps in the summers, weekend getaways for Chick-fil-a employees, or such outings as a church marriage retreat. Each barn has been converted to beautiful sleeping rooms. They had to sell a lot of chicken to pay for the interior decorating as well! This is not your average hotel room - I'm talking hardwood floors, wonderful down comforters, and NO TV! The idea is to get alone with your spouse and enjoy each other without interruptions! The food and hospitality is also top notch (and no, we never ate a chicken sandwich). Well our weekend was full of talks from an area minister focusing on LOVED - living our victories every day. It was a Biblical approach to marriage and all that goes with it. I thought the speakers were wonderful. We enjoyed singing with the music of Mike and Carrie Godfrey and his bang up guitar playing! We enjoyed an afternoon of bike riding to an old school and cemetery. I find it interesting how headstones have gotten so big and obnoxious these days compared to those of the late 1800's and early 1900's. We also rode to a really old mill that was used to make grain. The wheel was enormous! The trees were so beautiful - displaying all of God's watercolors.
There are two things that I find most interesting about Winshape. 1) It houses two or three foster homes that Truett Cathy has set up from years back. Each home usually has anywhere from 7-10 children. He is a firm believer in not splitting siblings if it can be helped. A quick read that gives some insight into his life is It's Better to Build Boys Than Mend Men.
2) That on the day our country was being attacked by terrorists, September 11 2001, Truett Cathy was standing on a dairy farm in Rome, GA trying to figure out how to bring peace and love to a few individuals at a time that would one day visit Winshape.

Well, this is it - my blog - My intentions are to try to keep it updated with photos of the family and any sort of happenings or events that you all need to updated on! For those of you that I don't speak with on a regular occasion, hopefully this will be a great way to communicate! I want to share our family with all my loved ones, connect with some that I have not done so well with keeping in touch, and possibly reconnect with a few! One person especially comes to mind - Her name is Leslie Ann. She was my Sunday school teacher when I was a small child and she watched me grow into a young girl, then into a teenager. After that I lost touch with her besides the annual updates that my Mom would give me when she happened to see Leslie Ann in town or at church. Well just by chance the other day, my Mom and I were talking on the phone ( we live 9 hours away from each other). Well, guess who she had recently seen? Yep - Leslie Ann. I want to share the sweetest thing, Leslie Ann asked my Mom how I was doing and so on. She then proceeded to tell my Mom that she keeps my name in her Bible and prays for me daily! What a blessing to have heard after all these years! So, this is something that I learned at a Women's Retreat last year; yes it is good to pray for our friends, but even better, the leader recommended that we write a little note letting that person know that we prayed for them. What a blessing that would be - if you started getting notes that people have been praying for you. So you can bet that Leslie Ann will get an invite to my blog - I have a wonderful husband and family. i am so excited and cannot wait to share with everyone!
Love to you all