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 need a break...

Aren't you glad that next week is Spring break? I sure am! We are at such a busy time in our lives. Here's a breakdown of our typical week. I know you probably don't care but I just want to write it down so years from now, I can remember all that we used to do! Now remember, Emma & Dougie attend a school that is about 30 minutes away and all of their extra curricular activities are either at school or in that general vicinity. Hold your horses.....

Monday- Emma has track until 4:30. The boys & I usually go to the park until she's done. Dougie has baseball practice from 6:15-7:30 and Emma has Social from 7:15-8:15.

Tuesday- Emma- track til 4:30. Emma's been involved in a youth girls Bible study from 6:3-8.
Wednesday- church

Thursday- Emma- track til 4:30. Dougie has baseball practice from 5-6:30

Friday- NOTHING, unless it's rained during the week & they reschedule ball practice. ugghhh! Whew! It doesn't look that bad when you see it written down but when you factor in cooking supper, a 4 yr. old and a (almost) 2yr. old, it can get a little crazy.

This past Thursday, Emma had her 1st track meet and it was an hour and a half away! But it was worth it. She did pretty good. The one event that she does that amazes me is the hurdles! I can't hardly believe my baby girl is jumping those gates. She cleared them all! I'm still without a camera so I didn't get any pictures. Her next meet will be after Spring Break, so hopefully, I'll get some then.

Thankfully, we'll get a much needed break next week.
Love y'all dearly!

Moving, Moving, Moving....

In case you haven't heard, we're moving!
We've known for awhile that we were going to have to move out of the Brady Bunch house and have been trying to find a home to lease.
Looooong story short, it has been a serious roller coaster ride and like I told my sister the other day, I'm ready to get off and head for the carousel!
We are moving about 30 miles north of where we live now. It's closer to Emma & Dougie's school and much closer to the church where Steven is serving as interim.
So if I'm not around the blog in the next few days/week, you'll know why. Not that it's an excuse for my previous absence, actually it is, remember the rOLLer COasTEr?

Thank you for riding. Please gather your belongings and exit to your left.

Gladly!
Love y'all dearly!

Ice Storm 2011

As most of you know, last weekend, it was predicted that the south would have a serious snowstorm. Because we Southerners are ill prepared, just the mention of snow causes the masses to head to the grocery store and schools to prematurely close.
Last weekend was no exception.
Before we left church Sunday morning, it was decided that our evening service would be cancelled. Later that afternoon, I received the call from Emma & Dougie's school that there would be no school on Monday. So I joined the others and headed to the grocery store that afternoon.
When we woke up Monday morning, we didn't have any snow but we were covered in ice!
Emma & Dougie got home pretty early Monday morning, it was predicted to get worse as the day went on so I asked their dad just to go ahead and bring them home. Throughout the morning, the power flickered but kept coming back on. Since we didn't have any snow, we just hung out inside.
Then about 2 o'clock, it happened. The power went out and didn't come back on.
We weren't too worried, we called the power company to report it and they said it should be back on about 6pm. We were good with that because as long as it was on by 8:30 so we could watch the BCS Championship was all that mattered to us.
In the meantime, we played the funniest game of Twister. I've never seen 2 people get so tangled up like Emma and Dougie did! Later, we all bundled up and walked around in the yard. We had to stay out from under the pine trees, seriously. Branches that were weighed down with ice were falling like crazy.
We were thrilled to see the power company truck working just across the street and were positive we'd have power before the game.
Then all of the sudden, we heard a LOUD boom!
A fairly large tree, fell onto part of our driveway and with it took down power & telephone lines. It just missed taking down the power pole. The power guys ran over to check it out and said they would be on it as soon as possible.
As the sun began setting and tummys were growling, we decided to roast some hot dogs and cook a pot of canned chili over the fire. Thank goodness for the fireplace! For dessert, we roasted marshmallows.
The closer it got to 8, it was obvious that we weren't going to get our power back anytime soon. So we got sleeping bags and settled down for the night. We scrounged around until we found enough D batteries to power a radio. And it was just like the olden days, the kids laid around on the floor and we listened to the game on the radio. One by one, the kids fell asleep. Steven was so good to get up throughout the night to keep the fire going. We knew the kids didn't have to go to school the next day, so we weren't worried that we didn't get a good night's sleep.
As I laid there and watched the kids sleep, I couldn't believe how blessed we are.
We were fed, we were warm and we were together.

God is so good.

Survival 101

Have you ever had one of those days when you think, "you can't make this stuff up!" I had one of those days last week. It was a typical school morning. Steven leaves around 6:30, so I get the kids ready for school. Usually, I let the little boys stay in their pj's but on this day, my plan was to go to Wally World after dropping Emma & Dougie off, so I had to get them dressed. Caleb was kind of grumpy about putting his shoes on, so I told him to bring them and we'd put them on when we got to the store. I couldn't find Asher's shoes, so I assumed they were in the van because that's where he takes them off.
So we left for school, we weren't running late and it was overall a pretty good morning. We drop off E &D and as we're pulling out of the school parking lot, I mention to Caleb that we're heading to W*l-M*rt, to which he says, "but I don't have my shoes on?" I tell him it's ok, we'll put them on when we get there to which he informs me, "I didn't bring them." Oh great. At this point I debated about going home(remember WM is 30 mins. from my house), but I really needed to go, so I told Caleb, "well at least you have socks on, you can just ride in the back of the buggy."
In the short ride between the school and the store, Caleb was begging me to stop at any & every place we passed that offered any kind of food. I think his exact words were, "puhleeeeze, Mommy, I'm starving to death!" Now realize that he had eaten a bowl of cereal before we left the house, so I knew that he wasn't actually starving.
When we finally got to the store, I went to put Asher's shoes on and you guessed it, they were not in the van. Once again, I debated on just going home but I was kind of stressed about what I needed to get in preparation for Thanksgiving (more on that later) so I opted to take my 2 boys and their socked feet to the store.
And of course, we saw several people we know, including a man from our church, who lives 30 mins. north of this store but was making a delivery. He just laughed and told me how his wife couldn't get their kids to wear their coats that morning.
So our shopping experience went smoothly and about half way home Caleb out of the blue says to me, "Don't worry about it, Mommy." When I ask him what he's talking about, he says, "I'm not hungry anymore." Oh, ok, why not? "Well, I ate some ketchup." WHAT? "Yeah, I found this little packet and I sucked the ketchup out of it."
And you know how I responded?

"You didn't spill any of it, did you?"

Love Y'all!

You won't believe where I took my kids pt. 2

If you haven't read part 1, go here.

So Steven leaves to go to the auto parts store and the kids and I head into the liquor store. The wife invites the kids to watch tv, which is conveniently located behind the cash register/counter area. Nice. They are more than willing to sit there and enjoy an episode of Sp*nge B*b. For the first little bit, everything was ok. I was just standing around, holding Asher, the wife had resumed her work on the computer. Since she was working on an online class assignment, I didn't want to interrupt her by making small talk.

It was so awkward when a costumer would come in and my children would be sitting right there by the register, watching their transactions. But I took the opportunity to pray for each person that came in.

Did I mention that I happened to be wearing my JC 4 JC tshirt? For those of you who don't know our community just hosted a county wide crusade, Jenkins County for Jesus Christ. I made of point of turning around so the costumers would see the back of my BRIGHT orange shirt!

Not long after we got in the store, my sister sent me a text to see how are trip home was going. I briefly stated, "van broke down, we're in Savannah." She called me after getting my text and amazingly, they were only about 20 miles from us. We needed them to come because if we couldn't get the van running, we wouldn't be able to fit all 6 of us in a 4 door car! When she asked where we were, I kept saying, "we're at this store." "You'll see our van in front of this store." As soon as I hung up, I sent her another text that said, "we're in a liquor store. seriously. lol"
She responded, "ROFL!"
Within a few minutes, here comes my sister, brother in law and their son, Chaz. The liquor store is getting crowded!

Back outside, Steven and the gentleman are having trouble getting the right belt. Steven has to go to the store 3 different times. After the last time, the man decides to ride with Steven to help him find the right belt.

Back in the store, the kids are getting restless, especially Asher. I was completely stressed that he or Caleb was going to break some $50 bottle of liquor. I kept thanking the lady for letting us hang out in there and she kept reassuring me that it wasn't a problem. One of the funniest moments was when Phil asked the kids if they wanted a drink. (There was a cooler with cokes and juices.) The look on Dougie's face was one of complete shock and he immediately looked at me with a look that said, "Momma, Uncle Phil's offering me alcohol, what do I do?!" I assured him that Uncle Phil meant one of the cokes and NOT the alcohol. We all got a big kick out of that! After being there for over an hour or so, I decided it was time to get out of this lady's hair. We vacated the liquor store and moved to the Mexican restaurant next door.

After we ate a light meal, Steven and the man had fixed the van. It wasn't until later that night that Steven and I realized how God had worked throughout this circumstance.

*What if we had decided to go downtown? We would have had to call a tow truck and we never would have met this couple.
*Since I didn't have any trouble with the steering before lunch, we figure the belt must have broken right as I parked. What would have happened if I had been on the highway when that happened?
*Although Steven tried to talk with the gentleman while they were working, it wasn't until he rode in the car with him, that he really opened up to Steven. This man wept openly about his life and problems to Steven. Steven was able to share the gospel and the man assured him that he had given his life to Christ years before. But he knew that his life now was in turmoil and he needed to get right with God.
*And because I moved our large group to the Mexican restaurant, Steven was able to go back into the store and, in a customer free store, talk with the lady about her salvation as well.

When we left the restaurant, we all gathered back in the liquor store to thank them again. And before we left, Steven asked the couple if we could have a word of prayer with them.

So there we stood, with our children, in the middle of a liquor store, praying and thanking God for His protection, His provision and for His divine intervention in our lives.

This is a day that I won't soon forget. God is at work, we just have to open our eyes and be willing to see it.

You won't believe where I took my kids......

I know you all are anxiously awaiting the posts about our recent trip to St. Augustine. And those will be coming soon but I wanted to share something that happened on our trip home.

Because Steven had to be in Savannah early Saturday morning to take the Ga. Teacher Certification exam, we took separate cars on vacation. He left St. Augustine for Savannah about 4 am on Saturday. Then the kids and I left later, headed for home.

We were south of Sav., when Emma and Dougie needed to make a pit stop. I pulled off the highway and made our way to a gas station. I let the kids run in and stayed in the car with the little boys because we still abide by that whole never wake a sleeping baby rule, even if they're 1 and 3! When we got back on the road, I noticed that the AC wasn't blowing cool air. In fact, I realized that the faster I drove, the hotter it was getting. So I shut it off and we rolled down the windows.

Now you may or may not know that back in May we had a brand new air compressor put on the van to the tune of $900 and a few weeks before vacation, we were still having trouble. I don't know exactly what but the mechanic fixed it at no charge. So you can understand why I was a little aggravated that it stopped working again but I was thankful that it hadn't happened while we were in FL.

Not long after the kids and I had gotten back on the road, Steven called. He had finished his test and since it was close to lunch, we decided to meet in Savannah for lunch. We talked about meeting downtown but then decided to find something right off the highway. We got off at an exit where there wasn't really a lot but we found a new shopping center that had a hamburger place and a Mexican restaurant, we went for the burgers. As we parked and got out, Steven noticed that their was a weird smell coming from the van. I told him about the AC. We chalked it up to overheating and hoped that it would cool down while we ate.

After lunch, Steven said he would drive the van. So Emma and I got in the car and started to leave. I noticed that after Steven backed out of the parking space, he drove forward but then stopped. I pulled up beside him and asked what was wrong. He said there was no power steering and something was seriously wrong. So we did what everyone who's having car trouble does, we popped the hood and looked at the engine with absolutely no clue what we were doing. I don't mean this as an insult to my husband, he will readily tell you that he is no mechanic.

Within a minute, I'm serious, a man and woman walked up and the man asked what the problem was. Steven told him and when the man looked under the hood, he immediately pointed out the problem as he pulled out a belt which had broken. He told Steven that if we could get another one, he could put it on. When Steven asked him how much he would charge, he said, "nothing." The man told Steven that there was an auto parts store just a few miles down the road and said that the kids and I were welcome to hang out in their store until he got back. While the man was saying this, he pointed towards the store, I looked towards the shopping center to see where the man was pointing and saw the bold letters that spelled out~

L-I-Q-U-O-R S-T-O-R-E

Gulp....

Immediately the inner struggle began. Do I really go in this store? Do I begrudge these people the kindness they're showing us just because of the place that they work? I decided to wait to see what Steven would say and he without hesitation said ok. As I was thinking, "really?" God spelled out another word for me~

O-P-P-O-R-T-U-N-I-T-Y

I told Emma and Dougie that we were going to wait in this store and that it was a liquor store. I had to inform Dougie that it was not a place that sold licorice. But that these people were being very kind to us and we should be grateful that we don't have to wait out in the heat. So as the kids and I headed in,

I began praying.

This was no accident.

I'll stop there for now, this is longer than I realized. Part 2 coming soon!

Ju....July?!

Excuse me July, I know that you are an exceptional month filled with birthdays and beaches but couldn't you have let June stay just a wee bit longer?!?

I cannot believe that it is July 1st! Before you know you know it, we'll be heading back to...ok, I can't even say it!

Well, here's an update of what took place during the last few weeks of June.

Dougie played on our 9 and 10 year old All Star team. We had high hopes for our team but unfortunately, they lost the 1st game, won the 2nd and then lost the 3rd game, which knocked us out. Dougie played right field and did well. He caught several balls that were hit to him and he got on base everytime he batted.
Here's a team photo: Dougie is on the front row on the far right.

Asher has started pulling up but once he gets there he doesn't really know what to do. He gets frustrated and starts fussing, so I thought I'd document it because it makes me laugh!

These were taken about a week ago, so now he's figured out how to squat down. He's not cruising yet but it won't be long, well hopefully, but knowing Asher, you never know!

Emma went to church camp last week and had a great time. She seemed to have a clumsy streak and slipped and fell 3 times! She now has the nickname "Splash." She has been such a big help around here this summer. It's so nice being able to run to the store and not have to load everybody up!

Caleb is just being Caleb. He still says the funniest things and cracks us up!

Life is really good and we're enjoying a relaxing and easy going summer. We changed our beach plans from going to the Gulf and now we're going to St. Augustine. I can't wait!!

Hope things are going well for you!

Monday, Monday.....

When we were loading up the van this morning to take Emma and Dougie to school, we had a whole morning of plans. Dougie was the last one out the door but he told me, "I didn't close the door." I went back, closed the door and got in the van. That's when it hit me, the keys were in the house!
I immediately tried to call Steven but to no avail. He was on his bus route and I knew he couldn't answer his phone.
We checked all doors and windows and of course, everything was locked. Our back patio has a flat roof that is just under the boys' upstairs bedroom windows. Dougie was pretty certain that his window was unlocked so we got the ladder. Unfortunately, the ladder wasn't tall enough. We were still trying to get Steven, little did we know that his phone was on vibrate!!!
I then got the bright idea to try and pick the lock. As I was trying various tools that I could find to try to break into our house, SNAP! The tip breaks off in the keyhole! No use calling Steven now. Our key ONLY opens that door! The key for the other doors is IN the house. OMW!
I call a neighbor and ask her if she knows anyone who might come help us. she gives me a name and the sweet man came over within 5 minutes. He first attempted to use a credit card to open the door, I knew that wasn't going to work. Then we told him about the upstairs window, so he went and got his ladder and then he and Dougie climbed up on the roof. The window wouldn't budge! Fortunately, it was unlocked and after a few tries, it opened.
After we got in the house, the sweet man tried to get the tip out of the door lock but it wouldn't budge. He even took the doorknob off but it was a goner.
After all that, Emma and Dougie were only 45 minutes late for school and we were able to get the rest of our errands done, including an unplanned stop at L*wes to but a new door lock!

On the way to school, I told the kids we learned 2 life lessons today!
~Always keep a spare key hidden outside!
~No matter how desperate you get, don't ever try to pick a lock! LOL!!!

Because I want to remember.....

Because time goes by so quickly, I wanted to take the time and write down some of the things that I love about my kids during this stage of their lives. They're all at very different and unique stages and because I want to remember, I better record it now!

Emma~
I love that you are the exact definition of a 'tween'. I love that you will play Twister all by yourself just so Caleb and be the spinner. I love it when you get frustrated because he says right foot yellow, over and over again. I love the way we can look at each other and laugh about something that no one else understands. I love the way you tell a story and you have to make sure we hear every.single.detail. I love the way you still says, "Goodnight, Momma."

Dougie~
I love the way you love to wrestle and 'tussle' with Caleb. I love the fact that you LOVE to read. I love it that you think Jackie Robinson is a hero. I love the way you love all sports and that you enjoyed watching the Olympics as much as I did. I love it that you think you're still small enough to sit in my lap. I love it when you get up! (kidding, but your tail is so boney!!!) I love that you've discovered bird watching out your window and that you want me to enjoy it too! I love that you want to protect our home with an air soft gun when a strange man knocks on the door! I love that you remind me, "I won't always want to snuggle with you Momma, so you better enjoy it."

Caleb~
I love it when you do something great and you want celebrate, you say, "high five, big hug!" I love it when you ask us a question and we tell you we don't know, you respond by saying, "you better ask me." (instead of you better tell me.) I love the fact that you could eat cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner!I love the way you say, "I want a whole big" when you want a lot of something. I love the way you want to wrestle with Dougie and Daddy but when it gets too rough, you run to mommy. I love the way you love to sing Toby Mac, especially "Boomin." I love it when you laugh so hard, your face turns red and you drool! I love that just a few weeks ago the thought of not being 3 caused you to lament ALL day long! (I'm not kidding!) But now I love that now you can't wait to be 4. I love that you believe that when you're 4, you're going to be "Super Boy." I love that you don't ever forget anything!

Asher~
What's not to love!? I love that you light up when you see your sister or brothers. I love that you will "carry on" a conversation. You will babble, we respond and then you babble some more! I love that you love to laugh and play. (Although I do wish you'd start crawling!) I love that you are turning into a really good sleeper! I love the way you love to see Daddy and Mommy!

I'm very blessed with wonderful children. Steven and I pray daily that our children will grow up and love God will all their hearts.
Kiss your babies today!

It has been so long since I've updated everyone with what's going on in our lives. So here it goes:

~Steven has taken an interim pastor position at a church. We are really enjoying getting to know the people and it is such a sweet church.
~I started a sub position for a teacher on maternity leave last week. I'm enjoying it, it's an adjustment though. The first part of the day, I'm in 8th grade and after lunch I assist in two 9th grade classes. One is a Math class and the other is a Gov't class.
~Caleb and Asher started daycare last week. It's the only daycare in our little town and it's pretty small. There is about 6 kids in Caleb's class and Asher is the only baby. So needless to say, he is getting completely spoiled!! Caleb loves going to his "school" and loves all his new friends. I was pretty conflicted about them going to daycare but I know it's only while I'm subbing and it helps that it is literally less than a quarter mile from where I am.
~Asher had tubes put in his ears 2 weeks ago. He is doing great and like Emma says, "I think the tubes made him sweeter." If that's even possible.
~We will be moving out of the parsonage it just over a month and we still haven't found a house to move into. If you think about, please say a prayer about that for us!

Well, I think that's enough for now. I hope you are enjoying this Christmas season with the ones you love!

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

Getting off the Dino Train......

*Update*
If you found this post as a result of a search engine search, please read this post, after you read the one below. Thanks for stopping by.

I usually don't use my blog to express controversial or political views and probably after you read this you'll think, "that's not really controversial, or a big deal." But to me it IS a big deal.

We generally love PBS Kids and the shows they produce but when they began advertising a new show called, Dinosaur Train, I was a little hesitant about letting Caleb watch it. I knew that their perspective on the age of the earth and dinosaurs would not line up with what we believe. Once the show aired, he watched it a couple of times but didn't really seem to care for it. So I didn't really think about it anymore.

Today, when I returned from taking Emma and Dougie to school, Steven, Asher and Caleb were on the couch watching tv(pbskids). I sat down with them and we were just all relaxing. When the show Caleb was watching went off, Dinosaur Train came on. I didn't really think anything about it so we all sat there and watched the show. The cartoon part of the show was cute and nothing was said that made me cringe. But at the end of the show a man comes on and says, "I'm a paleontologist...." And then he asks questions based on the show's topic. Today's topic was bipeds or dinosaurs that walk on 2 legs. The Paleontologist asked the question, "Can you name any animals that are bipeds?" Girl #1 answers, "kangaroos." Girl #2 answers, "humans." To which the paleontologist answers, "that's right!"

***Did you catch that?***

What animals are bipeds?

Humans.

The last time I checked humans didn't fall under the same scientific classification as animals.
Now you may be thinking, big deal, is your 3 year old really going to pick up on that? No, he probably wouldn't but it's subtle teachings like this that slowly begin to form a person's way of thinking (and obviously the evolutionist influence is attempting to start before he's even in school.) If I just let this slide, I won't have to worry about what he may learn in a science classroom because he'll already believe what most textbooks teach as fact anyway.

I want my children to know that:

they are created in the image of God, which is not the same as animals. Genesis 1:27
and
they are more valuable to God than even the animals He created. Matthew 6:26

So we turned the channel and found a different show to watch. It may not make a big difference but I'm going to do all that I can to protect my children. And as they grow up, I don't want to shield them from different perspectives but I want them to be able to learn a biblical worldview so they will "always be prepared to give an answer." 1 Peter 3:16

Something to ponder~

Why are we so quick to question a preacher and the word of God but we willingly accept whatever is printed in textbooks and taught in our children's classrooms?

I'm just sayin'........

Incredible, Edible Egg

Yesterday, Steven had the opportunity to preach at a small church that's a few miles from our house. When I say small, I mean 16 in Sunday school kind of small. The church members were very sweet and welcoming to us.
And last night, they paid us by giving us a dozen fresh from the farm eggs.
I'm kidding sort of....they were very generous in what they paid Steven but we really did receive some fresh eggs! There are some great perks to being in a rural community.

We still don't have any direction as to where we are going but God has blessed Steven with preaching opportunities every weekend since he resigned. He is scheduled to preach the next 2 weekends at 2 separate churches.

Keep us in your prayers. In the meantime, anybody want to come over for an egg salad sandwich?

Love Y'all!

1980-Something

When I was younger, I use to wonder what it would be like to be able to say, "I remember 20 years ago..." I don't know why I focused on the 20 year mark, maybe in my young mind I thought that if you could remember something from 20 years ago then you were old. Well I'm waaaay past being able to remember 20 years ago, in fact I probably can remember things from 30 years ago. Oh who am I kidding, of course I can!

Early this summer, I was able to get together with some of my best friends. Growing up, we didn't attend the same schools but we grew up in church together. Almost every memory I have from my teenage years include these girls.

My mom found this picture, we think it's from 1986 or 87. (Over 20 years ago!) And from the abundance of pastels and sparkling white shoes, I'm postive that it was Easter Sunday.
From L to R:
Kim, me, Danny (Jean's boyfriend, who was also our chauffer since none of us were old enough to drive), Jean, Laura (my sis), Jan (twin sister of Jean) and Sabrina.
Fast forward to 2009


Gone are the days of big hair and little waists. (I wouldn't want the big hair back but wouldn't mind the little waist!) And even though we're not as close as we were back then, I know that if I needed these girls they'd be there for me in a heart beat!


Along the same vein, this past week, we got together with one of Steven's best friends from high school. Chad moved away their Jr. year (84) and they hadn't seen each other since. Thanks to FB, they reconnected and found out he lives about 3 hours from us. So we took a get away to Jekyll Island on Tues. and met Chad and his wife for dinner. It was so much fun seeing them rekindle their friendship.


And next month, I will have my 20 year high school reunion!

Love Y'all Dearly!

When he's 3, he'll join the CIA....

Yesterday, we had a major tragedy in our home.......the remote went missing! It was the weirdest thing. I was lying on the couch praying napping while Caleb was watching Handy Manny. The last time I saw the remote it was on the end table next to the couch.
Whenever Steven comes home for lunch, our routine is to eat at the breakfast bar and watch Fox News. He always gets the remote, because, well I don't know why he gets it because we don't change the channel but he likes to have it near by. Anywoo, when he came home yesterday, he couldn't find it. We looked in the obvious places but couldn't find it. We manually changed the channel and proceeded with lunch. After Steven left, I looked EVERYWHERE for the remote. Knowing Caleb's history of putting things in the trash, I even dug through the almost full trash bag to no avail.
When Emma and Dougie came home from school, they looked for it. We even spent about 20 minutes after supper last night trying to find the stupid remote. It was gone.

Today, Steven came home for lunch. I walked into the kitchen and there on the breakfast bar was the remote! "Where did you find it?" I asked. He looked at me and said, "I thought you found it." "I didn't find it, how did it get here?" I asked. He said, "I just walked over to the end table next to the couch and saw it sitting there!"
Caleb was sitting on the couch watching Barney.

A little peak......

I know I've needed to update my blog but I haven't had anything to write about. No cute kid stories, no spiritual insights, no embarassing moments.....nothing. So this morning while I was walking on the treadmill at the gym, I had an idea. Let me give you a little peak into my life.

THE GYM
When you hear those words you probably think of Bally's or Gold's. Well, our little gym is nothing like those! There are no personal trainers, no aerobics instructors or classes. Our gym has 2 treadmills, 2 elliptical machines, 2 bikes and several weightlifting machines. We also have 2 tanning beds, lest you forget that we are in South Georgia!
This morning, as well as most mornings, I was the only person working out.
Our gym is owned by a sweet retired couple, Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Caleb loves going to see Mrs. Jones because while Mommy is exercising she will watch tv with him and play with him. And if mommy goes to the gym at the right time in the morning, we get to see the train come through town. It won't do for Mrs. Jones to let Caleb just see the train through the window. No ma'am, she will take him across the streeet to sit on the bench and watch it go by!
Now I miss aerobic classes and such but nothing beats the personal care we get at our little gym!

So what about you? What simple thing about your life do you love?

Faith

This past Sunday, in our Sunday school class, Steven was teaching a lesson on faith. When he teaches a small group, he likes to ask questions to get you thinking. His first question was, what does it take to please God? After some discussion within our group, he shared Hebrews 11:6, which says, "without faith it is impossible to please God."
The next question was, how much faith to you need? To which I responded, as much as you can get! But as soon as it came out of my mouth, I remembered, a mustard seed. At the same time, Steven began sharing about Matthew 17:20, which tells us that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can do great things.
For the next few moments, I began thinking about that verse, a verse that I've heard my whole life and to be honest, I didn't hear the rest of the lesson. But I'd like to share what the Holy Spirit taught me during in those moments. mustard seeds

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matt. 17:20

As I kept thinking about the verse, I was thinking what I've always thought, that our faith can be small and God can do great things through it. But then I began thinking, "what is the purpose of a seed?" Well, obviously, the purpose of a seed is to grow and bear fruit. So yes, our faith can start out small but God never intends it to stay that way. If God wanted our faith to remain small, couldn't He have said, "if you have faith as small as a pebble"? Sure he could, but a pebble won't change or grow but a mustard seed will grow and bloom and eventually produce more seeds that will continue to spread. I came to realize in those few moments that I've always looked at that verse with the wrong focus, it's not about having a small faith, it's about having faith that will grow and flourish and spread! mustard plant

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James 1:2-3

In case you were wondering.....

My friends Lisa and Amy have both tagged me with the same meme and since I've done this one previously, you can go here to learn more about me.

As most of you know, we live in a small town in a rural part of Georgia. And if you were wondering, do people still pay the preacher with things like vegetables? The answer is YES!

This bag of squash and cucumbers was left on Steven's desk Sunday morning:



And when we got home from taking Emma and Dougie to their dad's, we found these goodies had been left in our carport. Yes I said carport, we don't have garages here in S. Ga., we have carports!



Yes we get 'paid' by our church but getting these home grown vegetables is one of the top benefits of living in the country!!

Have a great day and remember: Eat your veggies!!