Hope... Even

when you can't see where your headed.
when the world seems uncertain.
when life is moving and you feel you don't have control.

(i shot this photo at Berry Patch Farms)
No matter who our next president is... No matter what is going on with the economy... No matter how stressed you have felt this past week...
Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
He is the one in our drivers seat and he is fully in control.

Post # 110

Hope, from a dear friend

One of my best friends sent an e-mail filled with words of profound hope. I want to share with my blogger world, in hope, that it will encourage you in the way it has blessed me.
Lamentations 3 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." 25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
Psalm 34 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. 18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
2 Corinthians 4 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
You are such a special creation. God has blessed you with so many gifts that you have used for Him and that He will continue to use through you. I know that this season of being a mom is tough. It is a constant shaping of ourselves and a constant opportunity to serve. Be encouraged! He has loved you with an everlasting love!!! In Christ, Kelly

Thank you Kelly.

Fall Parade Photos

A Hope Post

I'm going to post a series of things on hope and encouragement as a Mother.
This one is from Pastor Mark Nysewander (the auther of No More Spectators, Spiritual DNA, and several other titles).

What is something in your personal life you hope will be different a year
from now?
Pastor Mark’s message this week about hope was taken from I Cor. 15: 20-28. In this massage,Paul gives us a picture of hope – a hope for the present as well as a hope for the future. No other religion has this kind of hope. How does hope (or the lack thereof) affect how we live? This passage is not the easiest chapter in the Bible to understand;so read through it, and then discuss these three statements about our hope.

1. We hope in a God of ever-increasing transformation.God is taking what we see now and in waves of transformation is making something new.Some people are hoping in escape–looking at creation and its problems and wanting to get away from it. However, God is not finished with this creation. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is testimony that God wants to bring heaven and earth together.Are you hoping for escape, or are you believing in transformation? How do your beliefs affect your actions, your marriage, your family, etc.? God wants us to believe Him for more.

2. We hope in a God of ever-increasing breakthrough. In v. 22-24,we see a series of resurrections.First is the resurrection of Jesus. Next is the resurrection of believers when Jesus returns.Then, there is the resurrection of the earth at the end of this age. Many Christians want to rely on themselves (through education, technology, etc.) for change in their own lives and in their communities.What do you rely on for change in your life? Are you depending on your education,accomplishments, or other people?

3. We hope in a God of ever-increasing partnership.God still wants people to have authority over creation.Some Christians want to let God do everything because they believe we’re not worthy to be involved (fatalism).But, God wants us to partner with Him. We must partner with God for our families, our church, our community, etc.This partnership gives us incredible hope! Do you see this kind of partnership in other religions? Why does God want to partner with us – why does He even bother? We have a God who deeply loves us – there is none like our God!

If you click the title of this post it will take you to an audio podcast of the sermon.

Happy 14 Month Birthday

Happy 14 Month Birthday

Month 13 Highlights:
-26.3lbs, 33", size 6&1/2 shoe (fully walking now & running!!)
-Lots of reading... The Going to Bed Book, Things That Go, ELMO, Noah's Crew Came Two By Two
-Lots of watching ELMO (we also watch Baby Einstein, Let's Make Music, & Winny the Pooh)
-Shots (yuck!!)
-More words and more communication
Cookie= Cook Cracker=Kak Kak Cow=Cah & Moo Owl=ahwl
and more... "all done", "up", "out"... Juice="Joo"...
(these are just the new words he's added this month to the ones he already had like "this", "that", "dog", "cat", "sock"...etc...)
-Loves learning about animals
-Good eater, kinda on a green food kick, still nursing
-Pumpkin Patch (it was fun to see you walk & point)
-Shakes head for "no" & "yes" (says "no" now too)
-Pretends to talk on Mama's phone
-Knows the points of his face and other body names
(eyes, nose, ears, mouth, tongue, fingers, toes, belly button, hair)
-Dances on cue w/ some new moves, including knee bending
-Stays in the nursery some/more now than than he had in the past & does well
-Very sweet personality... shares, thoughtful, compassionate, still does sign for "please"
-His favorite time of the day is seeing "Daa" at the door coming home from work
-LOVES to brush his teeth and LOVES the toothbrush from Grandma!!
-Loves bath time

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

Bonus Quirks

Bonus Quirks: Not that you wanted MORE... but I couldn't sleep last night so I thought-wrote a blog in my head. (you know you do it too!)

1.) Twirling my hair and often touching it to my lips.
2.) I strongly dislike feet. I don't really like my own and I don't want anyone elses' to touch me. I do not like to pick up dirty socks. If one drops from the pile, I'll use something else (a shirt or a towel) to pick it up with and tuck it into the pile. Especially if the dirty socks are moist... it kind of makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit.
3.) I almost always consolidate trash after eating or while cooking. If I'm at Chick-fil-A, I'll end up stuffing all napkins, sauce containers, straw wrappers, and any other trash into the bag that my sandwich came in. In middle school I would use the milk carton to stuff all of my trash into. My aunt remembers everyone waiting on me at Miss Winners because I had to carefully fold the hand wipe back the way it was before I used it and return it to it's pouch before throwing it away. I also do this with gum wrappers. I don't like things that won't fold, like my granola bar wrappers, so I am forced to tie them in a knot. I do this folding and stuffing without thinking about it. Clean up - Clean up.
4.) Cans... I'd like to post about Cans. (you know, food cans) My father writes the price he paid for that can, on the can, with a marker. He will use that price to bargain shop the same item once he uses it. My husband, on the other hand, washes every can before use. He fully believes that rats have run across the tops of all cans in a warehouse somewhere. He made me adopt the washing technique... a.k.a. his OCD quirk. But we have clean can lids!

Please read my original Quirk post below this one and Please leave a comment about which one is the quirkiest quirk.
Please read the folks I tagged who have also posted funny and odd quirks. (If you were not tagged and want to blog this, let me know and I'll link to you too.) Happy blogging!

My 6 Quirks

So I was tagged by KATIE to jump in on this blogasphereic ban wagon. The Quirks:

1.) I'm very odd about germs and I do things in certain ways to avoid germs. The quirk gets even more odd because I'm not consistent... it's more of an issues w/ public germs or other people's germs. I guess I"m Ok w/ my own?!! (See past blog post: Clean and Dirty
Is is just me?)
2.) Going natural. Ever since the day I saw two lines on the pregnancy test, I sought ways to be healthy and natural. I avoided toxins, ate well, and even changed the way I cleaned the house. I had a natural (non-medicated) labor with God's help! Now that I have him -- I try to be all organic with him and choose wisely. The quirk is a quirk even more, because it's only about certain things. I still allow myself to eat at Chick-fil-A!! (See past blog post: Be a Healthy Mom
What to Inspect When You're Expecting)
3.) My house plants have a personalities (yea, I know) and they have to be in certain places and can't be moved around because they like the amount of sun they receive where they are!!
4.) I like to be outside, especially when my son wants to play, but I don't like grass to touch my skin. Itchy!!
5.) I do not like turtlenecks and will not wear them. In fact I have an intense dislike for anything to touch my neck or to feel tight around my neck. I can't breath. But please don't use this information against me!
6.) I love hand-sanitizer, Neosporin, and eating breakfast cereal as often as possible.
Passing it on... Chip was already tagged... I tag
1.)Writefully So POSTED Quirks!!
2.)Zambia Mom
3.)Chronicles of a New Mom (who may not do this right away because she just had #2 - check out newborn photos)
4.)Wyatt Mom of 3 (who may not do this right away because she just had baby #3 - check out newborn photos)
5.)I should be doing laundry POSTED Quirks!!
6.)Mother to Many, Tammy POSTED Quirks!!
Link to me and Be sure to leave a comment when you stop by!

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!

i love you

A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

Happy 13 Month Birthday!

(My SIDEBAR: I think that many people think it's funny to keep counting the MONTHS after the child is already 1... but I guess you just fall into tracking the months because most mom's do.)

Happy 13 Month Birthday little guy!!!

We love you SO much!

Highlights from Month 12:
- Walking well (trying to run)
- Able to stand up w/o pulling up
- Your birthday party (parties)
- More communication
- Wanting to read books all of the time (and points things out)
- Going to see your aunt at UA and going to your 1st College Game
- Interacting with family and being the life the get together's
- Another tooth (3rd top tooth)
- Obsession with our ELMO movie (Elmo; The Great Outdoors)
- Dancing (on cue)

- 26 lbs / size 5-51/2 shoes
- Knows eyes, nose, ears, mouth, tongue, toes
- 1st time to the North GA State Fair

Highlights from Month 11:
- Talking and communication increased
- Learning to Walk
- Walking

- 31 " tall / size 12 month clothes
- Learning GOOD/SWEET and NOT SWEET (and sorta testing it out)
- Love for our ELMO movie (Elmo; The Great Outdoors)
- Watches TV: ELMO, Super Why, Word World, Backyardigans, Mickey Mouse Club House, Sesame Street, and I hate to admit it... but, Telletubbies too
- Learning to dance and loving music even MORE

outrage

My husband and I made the decision to self-insure a few months ago. I have been filling out lots of paper work to get our ducks in a row. When asked if I wanted to include maternity benefits, I said YES. (No, I am not pregnant right now, btw.) Well, my outrage is with this... the description and listing of the maternity coverage:
-
Maternity Benefit Confirmation Notice
You have elected the maternity plan which is offered as a specific disease coverage. This coverage is offered in addition to you health plan.
-
WHAT? This is offered to me, a healthy person, as a specific disease coverage!?! What disease does a pregnant person have? Outrage. Ladies (and Gentlemen), I am so upset by this.

Being pregnant with my son was a life-changing miracle for me. It was a blessing from God. The bible says that Children are a GIFT FROM THE LORD. Being pregnant is not a sickness and far from a "specific disease". Pregnancy is joy. Pregnancy is the formation of life in the womb by the hand of God... a life the He planned (even if you didn't ; )), He foreknew before the beginning of time. Maternity is natural, healthy, and wonderful. Why can't the health insurance companies see it this way instead of seeing maternity as a condition to treat. Outrage. Broken hearted. But what can we do?

How does this inspire you?

Disturb us, Lord, when

We are too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

-

Disturb us, Lord, when

With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision

Of the new Heaven to dim.

-

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas

Where storms will show your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

-

We ask You to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push into the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.

-

-- Attributed to Sir Frances Drake, 1577

-

PLEASE POST A COMMENT

Toddler Games

This is our new game...
Not just opening the kitchen cabinet doors, but putting things inside the cabinets that don't really belong.
I have found:
- my cell phone bill on the veggie cans
- his frig magnet farm on the fruit cans
- the plastic tea pitcher in the food cabinet
- my blue hair brush in the Pyrex bowls
- a small blue ball in the dryer
- pillow case in the waste basket
And there are other fun games, like "Hide the Remote" (we play that one everyday). There have been times when my cell phone has gone missing for so long that the battery died and we could not find it for 2 or 3 days!! FUN FUN!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day Weekend... On a front porch
swing with my Papa!

We had a great weekend visiting my husbands family on their north GA farm. Our little guy loved to see the cows, the 4-wheeler, the dogs, the cat, the donkey, and the tractor! A boys play day for sure! He had a little cough & cold but all in all we enjoyed it. He loved going to eat BBQ and swinging on the porch with Papa!!
My favorite moment came when we had to stop on our way back home. The baby-love was crying and we knew he had not been feeling well. My husband was so compassionate (read my post "A Daddy's Girl in a Boy World" for more back story on this) and pulled off to stop at a corner gas station. We got him out of the car seat... which was now FRONT FACING for the first time! And he nursed and then we just talked and took turns holding him and loving on him. He sat with my husband, in the drivers seat, in the dark, just looking at the cars & trucks passing by. My husband was teaching him the difference in the vehicles and they would wave to them... "Oh look, there's a truck! Wave bye bye". Of course his favorites were the BIG trucks coming in off the highway. It was a sweet time. We just loved on our son together and we were not in a rush. I can't fully explain why... it was just such a blessing.

Beachside Carnival (1st Birthday Party!)

Our Beachside Carnival 1st Birthday Party

Sweet Catherine

My friends from high school, Katie and Donnie have been pregnant with their first baby. Here is her blog: http://letterstocatherine.blogspot.com/ (Read it with a box of tissues!)
They found out that there were problem along the way, but have made the decision to trust God.
Sweet baby Catherine was born on August 19 and she is fighting! 6 lbs 15 oz. I am posting this to ask for PRAYERS that Catherine will be blessed with as long of a life as God will give her.
Katie's sister-in-law has an update on her blog: http://elaineinnewplaces.blogspot.com/

The next few days are critical for this precious baby.
PLEASE PRAY:
Please continue to pray,
that Catherine would become and remain stable and be able to undergo the surgery,
that she would be protected from complications like infection,
that her pulmonary function would continue improve in a miraculous way,
that her brain and other organs would get adequate oxygen and be protected from damage,
that Katie and Donnie would be able to rest well and know the tangible presence of God and that their story would continue to bless everyone who hears it.