Project 365 - Weeks 4 and 5

OK, I missed last week, so I have two weeks worth of fun for ya today! But, before I get started, I just wanted to thank all of you who have been praying for my friend Joanne. She is doing great - more and more alert each day! As of yesterday, she has moved to a center where she will recieve intensive therapies to regain motion and motor skills. Please continue to pray for this, as well as for her family. Thanks so much!!!

So, now let's get started ...

Monday: My poor Hattie came down with the flu that Sophie had had the week before. Sophie had it for about 36 hours and vomited once. Hattie was a little worse off. She missed the entire week of school and did not keep ANYTHING down from Monday to Thursday.

Tuesday: If we have apples in the house, this is what I find in random locations through the kitchen & family areas. Sophie LOVES apples!

Wednesday: Three houses ago, we had a game room. It was decorated in Americana motif and this pillow sat on a small couch. When we moved from that house it was packed away and I had not seen it since. For some reason, it suddenly showed up about the same time as Joanne's stroke. Since that day I have found myself kneeling and/or face down on the floor in prayer more than I ever have before. And this pillow has become my official prayer pillow. Thankfully, I have also had many reasons to use it for PRAISE too.

He is FAITHFUL!

Thursday: This was the day that the bug hit me. Hubby stayed home from work and helped with the kids and I spent the day in bed. Sophie broke one of my favorite necklaces and, lucky for her, I was to sick to care.

Friday: Hubby had tried to do some cleaning while I was sick and found some scent beads. He thought he was replenishing what was already in this warmer, but A: he put in too many and it over flowed. And, B: he ended up mixing two different kinds of beads.

And, I LOVE him soooo much for trying, but pumpkin spice and pink lemon aide are NOT a good combo...

Saturday - I woke up to this BEAUTIFUL sunrise and just knew that God was up to something big.

A few hours later, as I walked the aisles of Target, looking for a laundry basket, I got the call that Joanne was opening her eyes. And, right there in the home goods section, I fell on my knees in praise and cried.

PRAISE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday: Behold ... the laundry basket! I will never look at laundry the same way!

Monday: This is where Alexis has the most fun when she is here. She can get that ball FLYING too!

Tuesday: This is a TERRIBLE picture, she had just woke up and did NOT want her picture taken. But I had to, because this was the morning of the Epic Battle Of The Bedheads!!! It was between Sophie ...
... and Eli.

And, believe me when I say, NEITHER of these pictures do either bedhead justice.

Wednesday: Hattie lost another tooth!! And, I am sorry, but is this not the CUTEST toothless face you have ever seen? Oh, my heart...

Thursday: More and more was happening with Joanne and I was REALLY missing all of my Siestas. So, I pulled out the water bottle that I bought last April when we all went to Atlanta for So Long Insecurity. Somehow, it made me feel a bit closer to them all.

Friday: Eli took about 5 steps right before I took this picture. I wanted to capture him walking, but he was NOT in the mood to perform.

I HEART this boy!!!

Saturday: We got a few inches of snow overnight - FINALLY enough to make a good snowman ... or, in this case, a snowchick! Is she not adorable?!

Thank you Sara for hosting us!

Have a GREAT week!!

Project 365 - Week 3

I am just gonna come right out and tell ya from the beginning that this has been a VERY hard week. In fact, the only reason I even have pictures to post - or am even bothering to post them at all - is for the sheer distraction. I am sorry to be a debbie downer, but as we go through the week, you will see why...

Monday: Sayin goodbye to the Christmas Dishes. I am a huge fan of these pretty plates and HATE puttin em away every year. But, I do love my every day dishes too ... and I get to look forward to next year, right?

Tuesday: This is where it all began to unravel... My sweet friend Joanne (The Simple Wife) was running her 38 year old, EXTREMELY healthy body on the treadmill on Tuesday morning when a blood clot caused her to have a massive stroke. She is a BEAUTIFUL mama of two sweet girls and the rest of the week was spent at the foot of the cross on her behalf.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pray for my sweet friend, who, even now, fights for her life. This picture was taken as a visual reminder that she sits firmly in the palm of God's hand.

Wednesday: Joanne had told us on Monday that she had tried to do her quiet time & homeschooling by the fireplace ... but she had forgotten to open the flue. We all had a great laugh and she, of course, laughed the hardest of all. So, in her honor, on Wed. morning we all decided to do OUR quiet times - and fall on our knees at the Throne of Grace - in front of a nice fire.

I do not have a fire place, so this was the best that I could do...

Thursday: OK, I didn't take a picture on Thursday, so I decided to give you a picture of Sweet Joanne. (taken by her sweet sister Kristen at KHPhotography)

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE pray for my friend.

Friday: Joanne was supposed to host a luncheon for some fellow bloggers on Friday ... so, again, we had quiet/prayer time in her honor. We were supposed to have tea, but I cheated and had coffee. Her family had asked us to pray Psalm 46 over her. So that is what I have been doing. And I wrote her name in my Bible so I would never forget. Ever.

As if I ever could...

Saturday: Homemade chicken noodle soup ... even homemade noodles. It was good to have my whole family at my side. I spent the day watching my sweet girls play and could not help but think about and pray over Jo's sweet girls. Audrey is 12 and Emma is 9. Please pray for them, as well as her husband Toben, her daddy Chuck and mama Kay, her sister Kristen and their whole family. I cannot imagine.

Sunday - This morning my wonderful man was prayed over and ordained as a Deacon. I have never been so humbled and so proud all at the same time. I do so love my man. (mine is the one on the far right ... the one with no hair)

As we stand now, Joanne is still in a very desperate fight for her life. Her sweet, beautiful brain is still swelling. They have had to do a skullectomy on the right side (the stroke side) already, but as the swelling has continued, there is now pressure on the left side. If it does not cease swelling, more invasive measures will have to be taken.

I cannot even begin to tell you what a brilliant, beautiful woman of God Joanne is. I am BEGGING you to PLEASE pray for the swelling to go down and for her healing. I KNOW that my God is HUGE and miracles are His specialty, so I am BOLDLY asking for the BIG - the whole she-bang- the MIRACLE. I am asking that my friend be made well. And yet, I trust His will and His alone. He is not only huge, He is good. And I believe. I will ever believe.

Thank you Sara for hosting us. Have a great week - hug the ones you love, tell em that you do and count every Blessing. Because you just never know.

Project 365 - Week 2

So, I know that it's "Week 2", but seein as how it's days 2-8 of the year, it just don't seem right! But, here we are...

It is 10 minutes til 10PM, so I am just gonna dive on in. Buckle up!

Sunday: We took the family to see Tangled - LOVED IT! But, of course the pic I took with my cell phone didn't turn out, so... THIS is what we get!

A sweet family from church have given us BAGS of clothes as their daughter, sweet Olivia, out grows them. This day's treats held a bike helmet. Sophie was too excited to get dressed once this little puppy came out.

(This pic is SERIOUSLY cropped cause the hubbs was NOT wantin his baby girl on the world wide web in her undies!)

Monday: Passion Live 2011 ... Rocked.My.World. I watched as much as I could online and was soooooo Blessed. Hubby ended up buying me the pass to download the messages. I cannot wait til they are available!!

In this moment Christy Nockles was singing a song that I bawled through. I REALLY cannot wait til the CD comes out. SO good!!

Tuesday: Eli ... love him. He wants to walk sooooo bad. And he is not even CLOSE to a year yet. Such a sweet thing!

Wednesday: It was just starting to snow - some big 'ol fat daddy flakes. I opened the back door to take a picture and this one slipped past me to get out there. This is her victory celebration dance combined with trying to catch some flakes on her tongue. I just REALLY wish you could see how BIG the flakes were. They were few and far between, but they were ginormous!

Thursday: Bedtime came and I realized I still had no picture for the day. So, THIS is daddy giving the manicures. It is his job, because he is faster - thus a LOT less screaming. Hattie HATES getting her fingers done. Toes are OK, cause there is the promise of a pretty pedicure, but hands are NOT fun!

Friday: Hattie ... eating cereal ... and drinkin OJ. NOT Sunny D, but REAL orange juice. And she is NOT complaining. If you know Hattie and her food issues, you know that this is huge. In fact, it was a huge WEEK food wise. She ate meatloaf one night and spaghetti another (she doesn't like either), both without a single complaint.

Praise HIM!!!

Saturday: Snow angels ... made by happy girls. Thank you Olivia for the snow suits and Grandma & Grandpa M. for the boots. They are treasured!!

Sunday: Snowflakes frozen to the window on the way to church. Taken by my NEW cell phone with a much better camera. I still have no internet access (we refuse to play the data fees), but it has a MUCH better camera, video capabilities and I got a SMOKIN deal on it! WooHoo!!

Well, that was our week in a nutshell!!

Thank you Sarah for hosing us. You are wonderful!

(Please, do not judge on the typos ... I am in a hurry ...)

How was YOUR week?

Project 365 - Week 1

OK, I am gonna try this again ... and this time I am bound and determined to make it through the year. It is time for a fresh start and what better time than new year's?!

I have two pics for January 1 ...

Hattie lost her tooth. It was the third tooth to come out, but the first time that she was excited to have the tooth fairy come. Here is her tooth in the bag (gotta love Jewel Kade jewelry, love the necklace and the bag comes in handy too!!) just before it went beneath the pillow!

(in case you're wondering, the tooth fairy filled her bag with quarters! I asked her if she wanted to go to the store or put them in the piggy bank she got for Christmas and she chose the piggy bank and even shared a few of her coins with her sister!!)

My first memory verse of 2011! Two years ago my pBFF Beth Moore led a scripture memorization team on her blog. I started off to big (trying to do Psalm 150 ... ALL of Psalm 150 ... for my first verse) and I got overwhelmed and never finished the year. I HATE that, so I am determined to not let that happen again! This year she is presenting the challenge again - even creating these cute little spiral books for us! So twice a month (the 1st and 15th) we choose a verse and work on embedding it onto our hearts.

You're all I want in heaven!
You're all I want on earth!
When my skin
sags and my bones get brittle,
God is ROCK-FIRM and FAITHFUL
Psalm 73:25-26 (message)

I am excited for this year to begin. I really feel like God is stirring some new and exciting things in my life this year and I cannot wait! It is only Jan. 2 and between my devotional this morning, an AMAZING sermon and POWERFUL worship this morning and a challenging book I'm reading (Radical, by David Platt - I will share more on this later), God is already kickin my tail ... and I am LOVING IT!

Thank you Sarah for hosting this again this year! You are awesome ... I promise to do better this time around. We have no plans to move this year, so I may actually get through it!

Dear Baby Jesus,

Just over two thousand years ago you came. You came to be one of us. To be like us. We were created in your image (though we had soiled and tarnished it beyond recognition) and now, you had taken on ours. And you came for us ... you did it all for us.

You left the throne of Heaven to be placed, on a cold dark night, into a manger. You stepped off of the streets of gold onto the sod of earth. You chose swaddling cloth over lily white, shining robes of splendor. You left the right hand of the Father to be placed into the young, inexperienced arms of a mama. You brought your perfection into our filth and your innocence into our pit of sin. You did it all for us.

On a still silent night (although, with a young girl in labor I seriously doubt it was all THAT silent) you took your first earthly breath and let out your first sweet cry. Joseph's were probably the first arms that held you. Joseph, who had listened to your angel and risked it all to stand beside Mary and claim you as his own. Joseph, who would go to great lengths to protect you. Joseph, who loved you and would let you call him daddy, knowing he was not your real Father. You probably wriggled into his arms and cried as the cold night air blew against the skin that had just been warm inside Mary's womb. And you cried a holy, human cry that flooded the night. And you did it all for us.

Then Joseph probably placed you in the arms of your mama. Mary ... sweet, YOUNG Mary. How old was she? Was she really just a young teenager? How much did she know? Did she know where your road would lead? If she had not studied the Scriptures BEFORE she conceived you, she most certainly did once she knew she was carrying the Messiah. Did she know that the child in her arms, the child she had just delivered, would be the deliverer of all who would believe? Did she know that you had been there since the beginning and had created HER long before she created you? Did she know that you did it all for us?

And the shepherds? They surely had no clue what was to come. They were just doing their job when their calm night was interrupted with a Holy light and a commanding presence of Heavenly Hosts. Angels, who were created to follow your every command, had come to announce your coming and bring your good news. They could have interrupted someone of royal blood in a warm castle and sent THEM to you, but they came to shepherds. Dirty shepherds, leading dirty sheep and caring for them ... and they were sent to YOU. The one who is the Good Shepherd. But, they followed the angels direction and brought their filth and noise and their worship to your birthplace. You came to the lowly and meek ... and you did it all for us.

You could have been born in a palace. You could have just come as a king. You could have commanded the world to fall at your feet and follow and believe. You had the power to give us no choice at all, but you had the LOVE to give us the choice anyway. You let us decide if we will follow you, believe in you, LOVE you. You knew that there would be some who chose the other. And yet, still, you did it all for us.

You came as a baby in a manger, fled that place for the safety of a foreign land as Joseph protected you, grew up in a small town, studied at the feet of those who studied the scriptures YOU had written, grew in stature and favor and became a man. A man who would take the good news as far and wide as his human frame would allow. A man who would heal the sick, give sight to the blind, voice to the mute, hearing to the deaf, legs to the lame, life to the dead and HOPE to the hopeless ... and, before you, weren't we ALL hopeless? You walked the dirty soil of our world, among the dirty souls of your people and you did all without sin or blame or guilt. And then ... then ... then you took the sin of which you were completely innocent and placed it on yourself like a worn, soiled garment and took it to the cross ... and you did it all for us.

You took our blame and our sin, the wages of which are death, and you proclaimed yourself guilty so that WE could be innocent. You died on a rugged wooden cross, they placed you in a dark cold tomb, the door to which was sealed and left you there to rot, thinking that it was the end. But, really, wasn't it just the beginning. Because then ... THEN ... then, three days later, when all hope had been lost, you burst through with the glorious light of day, breaking the greatest darkness the world had ever known and brought the greatest hope the world could ever imagine. You left behind the grave and the death it stood for and brought new life. And not just new life for YOU, you brought new life for US. For anyone who would believe, anyone who would place their trust in you, anyone who would lay their sin at your feet to be forgiven, anyone who would bring their broken lives and their certain death to you. And You would take it all ... you DID take it all ... and exchange it all for life. Life in You. Life everlasting. Life ... LIFE ... LIFE! And you did it all for us.

And so today, so many years later, we celebrate Your birthday. Some have made it a big commercial festival of lights and decorations and fat jolly men in ridiculous red suits being led around by a reindeer with an ever more ridiculous red nose - and that is all fun and good. But those that know ... those that know YOU ... know that it is so much more. Tomorrow we will open presents - but the real gift is YOU. We will spend time with the ones that we love - but the real love comes from YOU. We will eat a feast set at a beautiful table - but the bread of life is YOU. We will celebrate life - but our real life is in YOU. Tomorrow, somehow, we will make it all about us - when it should be all about YOU.

Tonight we will go to church, bow our heads, celebrate your birth and sing songs that exalt You. Tonight we will share the great joy that You bring with everyone we meet. Tonight we will feel that warmth in our heart that only comes on Christmas eve when we make it all about You. And we will do it all for You.

But, when I think of all that You have done for us, I wonder why we give you just one night. And I wonder what I can do to change that. How can I love better? How can I love more. How can I bring the hope of YOU to a lost and hurting world, so in need of all you came to give.

How can I do it all for You?

Teach me Lord Jesus, teach me how.

Let that be my birthday gift to you.

Happy Birthday Baby Jesus ... and thank You for the Gift.

Love,

GO! Tell It On The Mountain!

Jesus Christ is born!

And, really, there is no greater news in all the world than that.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

Treasured Up

** A few weeks ago I attended Deeper Still, a conference with Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shirer and Beth Moore. Beth began her lesson by reading the Christmas story in Luke 2. She read it from the Message translation (GO ... READ IT. It is some good stuff!) And then talked about what "treasured up in her heart" really means. To protect, guard, keep safe, defend. I am still processing all I learned that weekend, but as I was pondering the REAL meaning of CHRISTmas this morning, I remembered wondering, last year at this time, what it must have been like for Mary. I wrote this post then, and it still holds true today. I will have MANY questions for Mary when I get to Heaven, but the first ones may be the following ...



How many of us started our Christmas Letter in wonder at how quickly time passes by?

We look back on a year gone by and wonder how it went so FAST?

Children were born, cut teeth, turned three, started school, made the honor roll, got the lead in the school play and, eventually, graduated, got married and started families of their own.

And we were left to look back and wonder how it all happened so fast.


I wonder if is was like that for Mary.
That night, as she held her newborn son in a barn, did she - like so many of us - look forward to each passing milestone and promise to cherish each and every moment?

Like so many of us, did the normal every day start to creep in? Did the sleepless nights of life with a brand new baby turn into the craziness of toddler proofing the home? Did she one day look at her son and realize that he just was not a baby anymore?


I wonder what it was like watching her son grow up, knowing that He was also the Son of God.

I mean, she KNEW who he was - the angel had made that clear - so she HAD to know what was in store.


Were the passing moments stored and cherished or did she turn around one day and find a man where her boy had once stood?


I cannot imagine how it felt to see him getting older, stronger, wiser ... all the while knowing that each breath he took brought him closer to the road He was destined to walk...


... and the cross He was determined to bear.

She knew when He was born that His death was imminent.

That it was predetermined.

That it HAD to be.



So, when she held her son that night...

As she watched him learn to walk ...

While she taught him how to talk ...

As she raised HER son ...

Did she cherish each moment knowing that she was holding, watching, teaching and raising God?

Or, did time fly for Mary too?

iheartfaces - Scenic B&W

This week over at iheartfaces the theme is "Scenic B&W". When I read that this photo shoot immediately came to my mind. It was one of my first official shoots, but it has stood out in my mind as one of my very favorites ever since.

There were three shots in this particular session that I thought of for this theme, but this one has been my favorite all along. The representation, in the railroad tracks running off into the distance ahead of them, of the world - and a happy marriage - before them is perfect for a couple starting a new life together ... the (future) bride and groom loved it too!!!



Head on over to iheartfaces to see more ... or enter one yourself! It's FUN!!

I Blame The Twitter ...

So, lots has been happening lately and I wanna share ... really, I do. But, because of the business, sitting and writing a serious, informational and stimulatingly interesting post seems a daunting task. Which, explains why the ol blog has been ignored as of late.

Also, there is the fact that Facebook and Twitter and texting - which consist of limited space capacity, therefor requiring short, concise and to the point bullet point type statements - is just faster and easier. So, being less daunting than, ya know, paragraphs and junk, it gets more of my attention.

SO, in an effort to revive the bloggy bug, I have decided to declare today "Blog Like You're Tweetin Day"! So, the following is a day in the life of me, in Facebook/Twitter/text-like style.

(AKA: a list of the random)

Enjoy!!!!!!

**Nuthin beats waking up, stepping outta bed and landing in cat puke. NUTHIN!

**Dear Cali-Cat ... I'ma need you to CHEW your food. Work on that, will ya?

**COFFEE!!!!!!!!!!! Where is the coffee? Seriously? There must be some in this house somewhere!!!

**It's 32 degrees outside and Hattie picks today to dress like a girl. SO thankful for tights!

**Sophie is watching Monsters, Inc - mainly cause H is not here to scream and hide under the coffee table. Wee bit of a scaredy cat, that one is.

**Meanwhile, there is a road crew at work outside my front window causing my La-Z-Boy to randomly shake. It's like a roller coaster without the thrills!

**Barbie is dancing around my living room with some kinda squirrel like creature ... Note to self: GET THE KID BOY DOLLS!

**CORRECTION - it was NOT a squirrel, it was the Chick-Fil-A cow ... Note to self: GET GLASSES CHECKED!

**Will the person that created Peppermint Mocha coffee creamer please stand up? Let's all give him/her a hand, shall we?

**If I could bottle and hand out the sound of Sophie's laughter, I am fairly certain the world would be a happier place and there would be peace throughout the land.

**If I could bottle and hand out the sound of Sophie's tantrums ... well, let's just say it would not be near as pretty.

**Trying to teach a 3yr old with X.A.D. (X-treme Attitude Disorder) to live with the consequences of her own choices is heartachingly painful.

**Would not trade said 3yr old for all the coffee in the world - even if it DID come with Peppermint Mocha creamer.

**SEVENTEEN DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (that is for my twitter friends, who I will see in SEVENTEEN DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

**Dear Kitchen Fairy - I need you to step up your game. Cause when Barbie goes swimmin in the greasy water filled crockpot basin that you have yet to clean, it aint pretty. Thank You.

**I am in desperate need of the following: GRACE!!! A pedicure. MERCY!!! An eyebrow wax. FORGIVENESS!!! Guess 3 outta 5 aint too shabby. And, ya know, HE is all I really need!!!!

**But, I really do need an eyebrow wax ... (Erica Jean Kirk) ...

**Sophie went up stairs for a few minutes and came back down nekked. This happens with stunning frequency, which begs the question ... WHAT exactly goes on up there?

**Lead Me To The Cross, where Your love poured out. Bring me to my knees, Lord I lay me down. Rid me of myself, I belong to You. Oh lead me ... Lead Me To The Cross.

**Planning out the placement of outdoor Christmas decorations ... and yes, I'm drawing pictures and a map. Cause I am just that nuts.

**I've said it before and I'll say it again. Chocolate is good. All Glory to Him.

**Has anyone seen the attachments to my vacuum cleaner? The corners are startin to look a little funk-a-delic around here.

**Is it just me, or is Dora just a really loud little kid? I mean, should her mama y papa be concerned? How do you say "get that girl a hearing test already" in spanish? Anyone?

**Sophie walked away from Nick Jr and came back with the Mamma Mia DVD ... that's my girl!!!

**This peaceful moment brought to you by nap time ... Aaaahhhhh...

**Laundry ... I blame Eve.

**Celery & peanut butter for lunch. Is it wrong that I pretend it's CHOCOLATE and peanut butter? Cause, if pretending that is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

**Turnin the (faux)pod on and jumpin into Genesis. Beth Moore is ROCKIN my world with the Patriarchs right now. What the world intended for evil, God has redeemed. OH! He is so faithful!

**Watchin last week's Biggest Loser, this show makes me cry. So does laundry, but not for the same reason.

**One of my fave times of the day is watching Sophie stare out the window looking for Hattie's bus to come down the road. She can hardly stand the wait.

**Looking through the Black Friday ads ... and thanking God that I live with a forgiving man. He's gonna be gettin up EARLY that day!

**Sophie has a friend (sweet Evy) over for a playdate ... she is NOT a very gracious hostess ... gonna need to work on that one. (hanging head in shame)

**Little girls in princess dresses, spinning through my living room, singing out of tune and giggling till they fall down. This is my life and it is good.

**I am NOT a fan of the bus being late on rainy days ... my mind goes all kinds of places. More Spirit please!

**Hattie came home in clean clothes (unHEARD of this school year) and immediately spilled juice down her front. Love it.

**I asked Hattie what she did at school today ... and she answered me. She read stories. I asked if it was fun ... and she answered. She said yes. That right there, THAT is a conversation. Praise HIM!

**One girl is sleeping (baby A), two girls are watching Toy Story 2 and one girl is hiding under the coffee table. Three guesses as to which is which.

**There is a large hole in the street outside my front window. The sun has gone down. This could get ugly. I may turn out the lights, make popcorn and watch.

**Phone calls from far away friends at just the right time are just about the sweetest thing there is. So thankful for the AMAZING people He has brought to me. BLESSED!

**Hattie is now GLUED to the TV watching Toy Story 2. Go figure.

**OK, the laundry is caught up ... but then I walked in the kitchen. A VICIOUS circle is what this housework thing is.

**Do you ever go to fix dinner and, after staring blankly into every cabinet and the fridge, wonder to yourself WHY chocolate is not a food group? Wouldn't life be so much easier if it was?