New Orleans 2012

With all the focus on Hurricane Isaac heading straight towards New Orleans, it's so different for me, now that I have actually visited New Orleans. I've walked those streets, seen those buildings and most importantly met some of those people. My prayers are with them during this time and the days to come.
As sort of a tribute to this city, I figured I'd finally do a post on our trip.

In June, Steven, Caleb, Asher and I drove to New Yorleans(as Caleb says it!) for the Southern Baptist Convention.
This convention was historic because Southern Baptists elected the first African American President, Fred Luter. He is a native of New Orleans and pastors Franklin Avenue Baptist. Their church was completely destroyed when Katrina hit and my heart is so concerned for them now. But I've heard his wife's testimony of how God raised the church after Katrina and I have no doubt He can do it again!
On the day of the election, the convention hall was absolutely packed, it was standing room only. You could feel the excitement in the air. Since the election was uncontested, the current President didn't want to take away the privilege from the delegates to actually cast their vote. So he asked the delegates in favor of Pastor Fred Luter to please raise their ballots in the air. The crowd not only raised their ballots but everyone stood and began cheering and clapping! It was something I won't soon forget. It still gives me chills as I type this over 2 months later.
As we were on the way out of the convention center that day, an older man took Steven by the arm and said, "let me tell you something young man." This stranger, with tears in his eyes said, "I was at this convention, in this very same city, back in the 60's. And if you would've told me on that day, what would be happening today, I would've told you you were crazy. But this is proof that God changes hearts." It was a priceless moment.

 

The day after the election, my friend Robin & I were walking into the convention bookstore area & we saw Pastor Luter walking out. I pointed him out to my friend & then I said to her, let's just go say hi to him, so we did. He was so gracious & I let him know that he won my vote for President of the SBC because of his wife. He laughed & agreed with me that she is an amazing, godly woman.

It was a convention that I will remember for a long time.

 

I'm going to continue this later!

 

Let's be praying for everyone in the path of this storm.

 

Love ya'll dearly!

 



SQUIRREL!!

Ever since seeing the movie, UP, yelling "SQUIRREL" at random times has become something that we do in our family. Emma seems to have a knack for yelling it at just the right time. Well, the other day, the scene from this movie played out right before my very eyes!

We had been given a small table and some chairs for our 'classroom'. We were unloading them from the back of the truck and I asked Caleb and Asher to take a chair inside. Asher was slowly dragging his across the driveway and I was walking behind him carrying the other chairs. He's almost to the garage when he looks out into the yard and yells, "LOOK, A SQUIRREL!" He immediately drops the chair and runs off to catch the squirrel.

That boy!

Dougie wasn't home when this happened, so when I was retelling him the story, he asked, "do you teach him to be so funny?"

Nope, it's just comes natural, like a dog chasing a squirrel!

We've reached a milestone!

With school starting this year, our kids all hit a milestone. Emma started high school, Dougie started middle school and Caleb started Kindergarten. If you throw Asher in there as a preschooler, even though he's not actually going to a preschool, we have a child in every age department. Holy guacamole!

 We're homeschooling Caleb this year, so here's a picture of him with his new teacher. =)

We've converted our dining room into a classroom. We've never used it as a dining room, so it was the perfect place.

 We are trying to find a small table so we don't have to go back and forth to the kitchen table.

 A friend of mine was getting rid of the wooden entertainment center, so I bought it from her for $20. Score! It's the perfect divider between the classroom and the playroom.

 A closer look at our calendar.

Counting to 100 and learning place value.

 

Caleb's first day of school drawing. Love it!

This verse is my prayer when it comes to homeschooling.

Love y'all dearly!

Heeeeellloooo out there!

I can't believe the last time I posted was March! Let's see, April, May, June and now it's July. That's embarrasing.
So here's a update on what we've been doing~
In April, Asher turned 3!

 Emma and Dougie ran track.

We went to St. George Island for spring break.

And Dougie started baseball.



 In May, we finished Awana. Caleb completed both Cubbie books in one year!

 Emma had her Spring social dance!

In June, Dougie finished his baseball season.

We took our youth to a camp in NC. While there, Steven and I were able to tour the Biltmore House.

Then we learned about "Awesome God! Amaaaazing Power!" through VBS.

And then we took a trip to New Yorleans (as Caleb calls it) for the Southern Baptist Convention.

So that's just a little bit of what we've been up to the last few months. Hopefully, I'll do a whole post on our trip to NOLA because it was amazing!

For now, gotta run. Summer's going so fast......and before long, we'll be at the beach! Yay!

Love y'all dearly!

NY part 4, The Finale

Even though Tuesday was an exhausting day, I woke up really early Wed. morning. I knew we only had a short time left and I wanted to enjoy every moment. So I quietly got dressed, left the girls sleeping (Garry and Skye were in a different room) and headed to the lobby. I started to walk down the street to Starbucks but since they were serving it in the hotel restaurant, I just got a cup from there. I sat in the lobby, read my devotional, drank my coffee and soaked up as much of NYC as I could. The lobby was decorated so beautifully for Christmas. I snapped this with my phone.

The girls had said that they wanted to go to the Today show and try to get on tv, so when I got back to the room, Garry called and wanted to know if they still wanted to go. They grunted and groaned and basically said, no. But then I convinced them to get up because we only had this one opportunity and they could sleep on the plane! So we got a little bit of a late start but we headed back to Rockefeller Plaza. There was a pretty good crowd gathered around already. At one point, Garry struck up with a lady standing beside us and she was from Statesboro! Small world! A few minutes later, Skye and I had stepped back from the railing and we were looking through the window into the studio, when Michael Bloomberg, NYC mayor, walked right in front of us headed into the studio. Eventually Emma and Mia were able to get right up to the railing and while Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, was being interviewed, they were on tv!

Walking and texting on the streets of New York!

We had an amazing trip, I only wish we could've stayed longer. Thank you Garry and Skye for making this happen. We love y'all and will always remember this trip!

I miss you.

Dear Grandma,
After dropping Emma and Dougie off at school today, I was headed back home and just listening to the radio. Being in the car by myself (a rarity!), I was lost in my thoughts until I heard the very first note of the song. It was the song that will forever remind me of you. I started to change the station because honestly, I haven't been able to listen to the whole thing since you went home to Jesus. But then I changed my mind, something told me to just push through it. By the time he began singing the words I was already in tears. By mid song my grief was so strong.
I miss you so much.
But then he sang these words,
"And I hear the voice of many angels sing, "Worthy is the Lamb!"

At that moment, mind's perspective was shifted, my grief was taken over by a deeper, stronger, more peaceful emotion as I allowed myself to envision you before Jesus, singing those same words. It was so powerful that I thought I was going to have to pull over. Thank the Lord for back country roads!

As the song repeated, I was even more overcome when it registered in my mind what the song says next,
"And I hear the cry of every longing heart, "Worthy is the Lamb!"

Then I understood what I was feeling, I am longing. Longing to  stand before my Redeemer and sing those precious words, "Worthy is the Lamb!" and I'm longing to see you, Grandma. Someday.

Almost a year ago I wrote this post about you and I want to share is again.

Originally posted May 18, 2011

Last Monday morning, I called my Grandmother to see how her Mother's Day went & to just catch up. I knew that she had planned on going with my mom & dad to my sister's church for my nephew's baby dedication. She shared with me how her legs had really been hurting her for several days and by Saturday night, she'd pretty much decided not to go. She didn't want to be a burden to others because she would be getting around slowly. But when Sunday morning came, she got up, decided to move around a bit and see how she felt. She went into the living room to watch her favorite Sunday morning show, The Gaithers. But when she tuned in, she realized that her show had already gone off and that another show was on and Chris Tomlin was singing. Her words to me were, "I just love Chris Tomlin."

*I love the fact that my 86 year old grandmother loves Chris Tomlin!

So she decided to watch this show. As some point during this show Chris sang, "I Will Rise" which is an amazing song. And as my Grandmother listened to this song, she knew that despite how she felt or the fact that she might be moving slowly, she had to "get up off her rear and go." (Her words!)

There is so much to learn from this example that my Grandmother has set for me. When I first decided to write this post, I was thinking about how she is an example of someone who is willing to embrace change, especially in the area of music. But as I typed this, I realized that there's a deeper lesson to be learned, with me being the first needing to learn it.

My heart and mind are now churning over all that I am sensing the Spirit speaking to me about in my life.

Sometimes I just need to get off my rear and go!
When I grow up I want to be just like my Grandma!

NYC part 3

After resting and getting ready, we headed out to the 5 o'clock show. We decided that we'd get something to snack on at the show and eat dinner after. Our hotel was only a short walk, so we arrived in plenty of time. Garry had arranged for us to be able to get in early and meet a Rockette.

Y'all, I cannot even begin to tell you how beautiful the lobby of this theater was! The chandelier was absolutely breath-taking. I wish I had a decent picture to show you but I don't. So after meeting the Rockette, we got our snacks and headed into the show. Emma and Mia sat on about the 8th row and Garry, Skye and I had seats right behind them. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect but y'all, I am forever a Rockette fan! The precision in which these girls dance it unfathomable. The sets and the singing blew me away. At one point, they even had a real NYC red tour bus up on the stage. The storyline of the show was about a mom who was trying to get that "it" gift for her daughter, boy could I relate! Eventually, it's Santa that gets the mom to see the real meaning of Christmas. And before I realized it, the mom was sitting on the stage with her daughter reading directly from Luke 2. Now we had been told that no pictures could be taken but when they began the nativity scene, I absolutely could not stop myself. And I hope my pictures help you see why~

During the wise men procession, they had live camels on the stage. I didn't get a picture of them.

We were all amazed at how the birth of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was represented. (They used those words!) Truly God was glorified through this presentation and I was in tears by the end of the nativity scene.

Since I'd already broken the 'no picture taking' rule, I snapped one more picture at the finale. I was trying to get the Rockettes doing their world famous kicks.

It was an amazing show! If you every have the chance to see it, I highly recommend it.
After the show, the girls wanted to go ice skating at Rockefeller Center. It is just around the block from Radio City Music Hall. It was a little rainy and pretty cold but it didn't dampen our spirits.

After the girls ice skated, we really wanted them to see Times Square, so we started walking. It's a pretty good walk from where we were to Times Square but so worth it!

We ate dinner at a restaurant in Times Square. I can't remember the name of it but we ate upstairs and we were overlooking the M and M store. The food was good but we were so exhausted at that point it really didn't matter.
On the way back to the hotel, we walked up on an event that they were pre-taping for the Rockin' New Year's Eve show. We just missed seeing Jimmy Fallon perform.
It was a fun-filled, packed day! One that I will remember for a long time.
I can't believe a 2 day trip is taking 4 posts but it is!
To be continued.....

NYC part 2

Sorry Nana that I took so long to get to part 2!So we headed to the airport early Tues morning and we arrived in New York a little before lunch. We headed to the hotel, checked in & then headed out to go sight seeing. By this point, we were all starving, so we did what all tourists do, we got a hot dog from a vendor! After eating what was probably the best hot dog I'd ever eaten, we started walking & headed towards Central Park.

We did the carriage ride through Central Park, and you can tell by how we're dressed that the weather was pretty cold. But we didn't mind because we'd left warm weather in Ga. & we wanted it to feel like Christmas! After the carriage ride, we went across the street into the FAO Schwartz toy store. I think the part of the store we enjoyed the most was the candy store! Just look at these nerds!

Everything in this store was super size & that Reese's cost $24.99

It didn't take these girls long to get acclimated to NYC!

Right after taking this picture by Radio City Music Hall, we walked around the block & unknowingly were right next to the side entrance of the Hall. We stopped to talk about something & right where we were standing, a black suv pulled up & all these people started piling out. It caught our attention because a college age looking guy even climbed out when someone opened the tailgate! Then we heard a familiar voice. My brother & I looked at each other & he confirmed what I was thinking, Nancy Grace has just gotten out of that suv. She was standing almost directly in front of me, so I introduced myself & she chatted with us. She lives in the Atlanta area & was happy when we told that that was where we were from. She took the time to take a quick picture with me. And as you can see in the picture, she was hugging me. She really was a very sweet lady. And just a funny note, the guy in the red striped sweater was the one who was in the very back of the suv! After all that, we headed back to the hotel to get some rest before the show.

To be continued.....but it won't take as long, I promise!

New York!

Two weeks before Christmas, my sister in law called me & said they were thinking about taking their daughter Mia to NY for a Rockette show & they wondered if Emma could go with them. Of course I wanted her to go but I didn't want her to experience NYC for the 1st time without me! Literally, the week before my sister in law called me, Emma had created a bucket list on Pinterest & one of the things she'd pinned was 'experience Christmas in NY', and we'd talked about how maybe we could do it someday! So that's why I wanted to go with them. Fortunately, my brother was able to use his skymiles & get tickets for the 5 of us. The plan was to fly up on the Tues before Christmas, see the show on Tues. night & fly back on Wed.
So on the Sunday before, we told Emma that we had an early Christmas gift for her. I had bought her a new winter coat specifically for this trip.When she opened it, her face revealed that she was less than thrilled with the coat, because, we live in south Ga. You don't really need a winter coat down here! But then Steven said, "we know you didn't really want a new coat but we thought you'd need one in NY." She looked at us in disbelief and asked, "I'm going to NY??" We shook our heads & said, "yes, we're going Tuesday." By this point, she was jumping up and down and yelling and crying, "I'm going to NY!!!!!"
It was such a priceless memory!
A funny side story, the boys were watching as this all took place & they were all excited for Emma. But after a few moments, when Caleb realized he wasn't getting to go, he got mad at Emma, looked at her and said, "that's not fair, you....you....Lottie Moon!" (Can you guess what we'd been talking about at church earlier that day!)
So on the Monday before Christmas, we all packed up & headed to ATL for the week.

To be continued.....

A rose....

"God gives us memories so we can have roses in December." My Grandma had this quote written in the front of her Bible and it has rung so true for my family. My Uncle Richard shared this story at the memorial service & I wanted to share it here. It's such a powerful story that I want my children to know about it for years to come.
At the age of 8, my Grandma lost her mother. Her life after that was not easy, as she & her siblings were sent to live with various family members. Eventually, my Grandma met my Grandaddy and they married. (Another post for another day!) They left Colorado and moved back to my Granddaddy's hometown of Atlanta, Ga.
After moving to Atlanta, my Grandma began having this reoccurring dream. She would dream about her mother. She & her mother were outside and her mother would be on one side of a fence and my Grandma was on the other. Her mother was singing a beautiful song and reaching out to her. My Grandma would try to get to her mother but would always wake up before she reached her. My Grandma didn't know the song that her Mom was singing but in the dream, she always sang the same song.
At some point, we're not sure when, my Grandma found out that the song was the old hymn Whispering Hope.
Sometime in the 60's, my Grandma took a trip back out west to visit some of her family. While there, she shared with her Uncle Victor, her mom's brother, about the reoccurring dream. It was then that he shared with my Grandma that he had played Whispering Hope on the violin at her mom's funeral.

Now we have complete understanding of why this song meant so much to my Grandma.
When she was in the hospital, my dad sang the song to her, and when it came to the chorus, she sang along with him. And at her memorial service, my sister Laura & a family friend sang Whispering Hope.

"This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil. Hebrews 16:19

My hope now is that my Grandma has been reunited with her precious Mother & together they are in the presence of Jesus.
Love y'all dearly!

My Sweet Grandma

Lydia Olguin Fitzgerald

March 25, 1925 - December 2, 2011

Fall Festival & Halloween

Last Wednesday, our church had a Fall Festival & Trunk or Treat in conjunction with Awana. At some point during the evening, my camera went missing & is still lost. So all my pictures are what I took with my phone.

Throw a pie at the pastor was a big hit!

I forgot to take a picture of my trunk but instead of decorating it with the typical Halloween/Fall decor, I decided to go with a UGA theme. I took everything UGA we had in the house & even downloaded some UGA music to have playing while the kids came by! I don't know what everybody else thought about it, but I loved it! I may or may not have continued to listen to the UGA music throughout the week.

On Halloween, we were looking forward to trick or treating in our neighborhood. Emma dressed up in an 80's outfit & volunteered to hand out candy. Dougie didn't dress up but wanted to walk with the little boys & help Asher carry his basket, which was his UGA helmet. (Dougie's idea!)

I tried to get a video of Asher going up to a door & saying "tick-a-teat!" but it was really dark & you couldn't really hear him. =(

When we got back to the house, Emma told us how she had run out of candy & had to resort to handing out gummy snacks. Good thing I'd just bought a bunch of them!

We had a really good time & made some great memories! Love y'all!

Jr. Pro Football 2011

Our school offers a football team for 3rd thru 5th grade called Jr. Pro. Dougie played when he was 3rd grade but didn't play in 4th grade because he chose to be on a travel baseball team. But I think he really missed playing football & couldn't wait to play this fall. He mostly plays on offense in the running back/wingback position.
I want to be able to remember what this season was like for Dougie, so I've tried to remember what he did in each game.
Game 1- vs. Briarwood 28-6 W Dougie scored 2, 2 pt. conversions & a touchdown.
Game 2- vs. Brentwood 14-0 W Dougie scored a 2 pt. conversion
Game 3- vs. Bulloch 12-6 L
Game 4- vs. Bulloch 6-0 L
Game 5- vs. Briarwood 34-0 W Dougie scored a touchdown & a 2 pt. conversion
Game 6- vs. Thomas Jefferson 26-6 W Dougie scored a touchdown
Game 7- vs. Thomas Jefferson 36-0 W Dougie scored a 2 pt. conversion & he made a touchdown saving tackle on defense. (Yes, I realize that every tackle could qualify as touch down saving but this really was! Ok, so I'm a proud momma!)
Here are some pictures that my friend Kristy took at game 6. It was our last home game.

Here are all the 5th graders. I can't believe this is their last year of Jr. Pro & next year they'll be middle schoolers!

It was a great season & Dougie, we so enjoyed watching you play. Thanks for the memories!