These are a few of my favorite things

So I have decided that I am not so great at the blogging.  I love the idea of it.  I love to write.  I have tons of stories.  I think I just lack creative ways to share them.  Or motivation.  Or I don't have time. Or I fear rejection.  Or I fear boring people to death.  Who knows what the real reason it.  I do want to keep trying though.  So my 3 readers out there... please stick with me!!  I thought this would also be a great way for out of town family and friends to keep up with our growing little man, but if I don't blog, how will they keep up?  I can barely keep up with our growing little man.

He's quite active these days.  And the Christmas tree, oh, it is just temptation like no other.  For a while, he really seemed to do well with it, but now, he just wants to shake it and throw ornaments!  He's walking all over the place, climbing everything, and into everything!  Right now, there are about 100 blank cd's all over my living room floor, 2 paper towel cardboard centers, 2 socks, and a mirror that I can't seem to find anywhere.  How is it that a 1 year old can hide something that an adult can't seem to find anywhere?  It blows my mind.  He's had a blast this morning though.  Right now, he is sleeping and the hubby is out for a bit.  So my house is quiet, it's cloudy, cold, and rainy outside... wait... I should be sleeping!!  Why am I blogging?  I am actually working on Christmas cards.  I love Christmas cards!  I love getting them and sending them.  It's so fun, and I can't wait until Parker is old enough to be involved in it.  I am also getting excited about Christmas Treasures tonight at my church.  It's a wonderful time for ladies with great food, great worship, great speakers, great atmosphere and so on and so on.  I love this time of year... isn't it the most wonderful time?

As I said, I love Christmas cards.  I love the excitement of the season.  I love my house decorated for Christmas.  I love having a toddler in the house for Christmas.  I love the reason we celebrate Christmas.  I love being able to tell the story of Jesus to my baby boy even though he doesn't really understand me right now.  I love that my hubby gets some well deserved time off this time of year.  I love the special ways people reach out this time of year.

What is your favorite thing about Christmas?

As I challenge myself to find special ways to touch people this season, I challenge you as well.  Sharing the love of Jesus should be done all year, but couldn't we do just a little extra in honor of His birthday!

Bye Bye October, Hello November

Is it really November?  Who can believe that?  The weather is pretty much perfect right now in Georgia.  The little man and I have been having a good time outdoors.  It's great for the both of us.  I like it when you can go outside and not sweat to death.  Why I live in the South, I don't know because I would love cool weather year round as long as the sun came out.  Anyway... I got distracted there.

We have been busy around here.  Our Fall Festival was last weekend, and you know I have to share a pic of our little Cookie Monster with you.

He had such a great time, and was wiped out by the end of the night...

So sweet!

We have also started playing cards with some friends of ours on Friday nights.  So far, we've played Phase 10 about 4 times.  Does anyone play this?  It's one of the most addictive card games I've played.  I don't know why, but it is.  It's long too.  Most of the time, you can only get through 1 game a night.  Well, unless you're in college and can stay up all night.  I can't do that anymore.  But it's really fun.  Some of us, well maybe all of us, are fairly competitive.  We've been pretty nice to one another so far, but I think the niceness is about to wear off.  It's time for some real competition.  I love to win.  I'll readily admit that.  I am not a bad loser though, but I LOVE winning.  The last time we played, some DQ Ice Cream Cake was involved.  This is serious folks... when you involve ice cream cake, you mean business.

I hate to say, but arrogance just got the best of the feller who purchased this dandy cake, and he, in fact, did not win.  Poor thing!  He needs to up his game a little bit.  And try remembering which phase he's on... that usually helps!  The cake was yummy though!

Well, that's about all we've been up to.  This was random, but I couldn't think of anything better to blog about!  My mind is still trying to wrap itself around my other blog topics.  We've just had busy times lately.

These next 2 months will be busy as well, as I am sure it will for most of you.  We have Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, traveling, gatherings, etc, etc to attend.  It will be fun though.

Bittersweet Birthday

Our baby boy turned one this weekend!  One, can you believe it?  I can't.  Time has truly flown by.  Everyone told me it would, but I just didn't realize it until I experienced it firsthand.  I was so excited for him, and happy for a healthy, fun year full of development.  However, I have to admit, I was a little sad to see it come.  Although the toddler years will be full of wonderful memories, his first year just melted my heart.  So, Parker, in honor of you and your birthday celebration, here's 12 wonderful things I love about you and the past 12 amazing months...

I love every single babble of ma-ma and da-da.

I love how you start singing yourself to sleep when I stop singing.

I have loved being able to wake up to your smiling face every morning and stay with you all day.

I love the way you laugh and play peek-a-boo.

I love how social and silly you are.

I love how you cuddle with me in the mornings because you aren't quite ready to do anything.

I love it when you say uh-oh... even if you dropped something on purpose (which I know you do).

I love the adorable faces you make.

I love that you look just like your daddy, and I love the way you and your daddy love each other.

I love you for loving me unconditionally even when I make so many mistakes as mommy.

I loved watching you discover your hands and feet.

I loved seeing you take your first steps.

This has been an incredible year, and I look forward to being able to teach you new things.  You've been so flexible with our activities like road trips, youth camp, church events, and visitors.  I can't wait to start having conversations with you.  You're my little pooh bear, my buddy, my sunshine, and my stinker.  I love you way behind my back.  Thank you Lord for the blessing of children.  Help me raise him to know you, love you, serve you, and worship you.

I am a winner!

It's official folks.  We are the new owners of a blue and fuzzy outfit with eyeballs on the top.  E-bay Cookie Monster came through.  And guess what I got it for.... drumroll please....$15.50!!

I hope I don't get addicted to E-bay now!  :-)

Cookie anyone?

I tend to over think things.  It's just a part of who I am.  I am a thinker and always have been.  I have tried to not do so, but it hasn't seemed to work yet.

Well, in my "over thinking" about my little man's costume this year, I have finally decided on something!  And I don't think it could be more perfect for him.  And the daddy and me agree on it!  You see, he isn't old enough to tell me what he wants to be, so I feel the pressure to choose something just right.  I've been waiting for that costume that just sounds right.  You know what I mean?

Cookie Monster it is!  For those of you who know my little fella, you know this costume could not be more fitting for him either.

So, that leads to the next big thing we are learning as parents.  Costumes are EXPENSIVE!  Hello, when did a costume made out of blue furry fleece with eyeballs get to be $42.99??  I am on a mission to get this costume cheap.  Hand me downs aren't a problem at our house, so I am bidding on some from E-bay.  I hope it works out well.  I'll let you know how things go with my hunt for the cookie monster.

Oh time... why do you fly?

This face pretty much sums up the past month around our house!  We have been so busy with different things.  We had an AWESOME conference at our church called The Real Me.  It was designed for women and teen girls, and it was just what the great Physician ordered in this mommy's heart.  We've had lots to do around the house, and the weather has been so pleasant that we've done lots outside too.  Birthday plans have been in the making as well.  Our sweet little boy will be one year in 2 weeks... I can hardly believe it.  And he is so active that I don't think I even sat down all week... let alone finished a meal.  He's into everything... cabinets, toilets, flower pots, closets, eating toilet paper, eating anything actually that he can fit in his mouth.  He pulled a leaf off of a flower the other day and tried to eat it.  Needless to say, it's been a little crazy around here.  A good crazy though.

As I was saying about the conference, it was great.  In preparation for it and in attending it, God really began to work on my heart.  I have really been trying to change my attitude lately and some bad habits, like way too much television.  My cynical tendencies became a little too friendly, and I have really wanted to be more compassionate and open.  So, I put my words into actions this week, and it has truly made a difference.  I have had the best week.  I have been tempted, but I have not been defeated!  Though there have been trials, my perspective has made all the difference.  Music really is better than tv too.  I don't know if it was just a capping of my week or what, but I felt like I was about to be in heaven this morning at church too.  I have longed for that feeling for a while.  It's amazing how what I put into it leads to what I get out of it.  Why do I not do this all of the time?!  My energy level has about tripled, and that excites me!  I feel like I'm getting to the top of the mountain finally after adjusting to motherhood, staying at home, some big changes in my hubby's life, and learning to let go of things.  So if you find yourself lonely, hurt, confused, exhausted, running in circles, lifeless... keep on keeping on!!  God will deliver you, and you are so precious to Him.  He loves you dearly and will not give up on you.

To another great week,

Where are God's People?

Have you ever made plans to do something, then had to cancel, but then got to actually do it?  Well, that's what happened to me this weekend.  I have had tickets to see Jeremy Camp, Natalie Grant, and Bebo Norman for a while.  As the long awaited weekend approached, my little man became ill.  He was so congested Saturday night that the hubby and me decided we should cancel our concert plans for Sunday night.  We didn't want to be away from him while he was ill.  We felt like that made us horrible parents... another topic for later.  Anyway, we tried to sell and just plain give away our tickets, and that didn't work.  I still really can't believe that!  Well, by Sunday afternoon, the little man actually starts acting more like himself, no fever, still a little congestion, but much better.  So, we decide to make use of the tickets and go. Now I was still a little unsure of whether I actually wanted to do this.  Somewhere between snotty noses, clingy hands, fussy cries, and very little sleep Sat night, I lost all interest in a concert.  Who has the energy for that??  But man was I glad I went.  It was awesome!!!  Not just the concert, but the time with just me and my hubby as well.  Our little man was safe and sound with his cousin playing up a storm.  The worship in that building was just incredible.  I have to say, Jeremy was one of the most humbling artists I have seen on stage in a while.  He seems like the real deal, and I love that about people who are in the spotlight like that(or just people in general).  God was truly praised that night.  Not the lights, the looks, the attention, etc.  He was there to show people the love of God, and that was very evident.

One of things that stood out the most to me was a story that Bebo told when talking about Compassion International.  I can't remember the guys name, but he has been a big part of Compassion, traveled a lot, spoke on the tragedies of Rwanda, hurricanes, etc.  He said everywhere he goes, people are asking "where is God" in all of this madness, death, starvation.  Some of us are so quick to question God's love for us when things go wrong, but God has a plan.  This guys response to that was it's not about where is God, it's "where are God's people?"  Did that stab you like it stabbed me?  Where are we?  Are we sitting in the comforts of our living room like I am right now?  God is still here with us, and He loves us dearly.  Bad events don't equal an unloving God.  Are we there to help pick up the pieces?  Are we one of those with so much hatred built up in our hearts that we participate in evil doings?  There is so much work to be done, there is so much help to be lending, there is so much love to be given.  It's a huge part of why we are here.  "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

I walked away with that little golden nugget that will forever ring in my ears.   My prayer is that it will convict me daily, and I will do a little more the next day than I did the day before for the glory of God.  And boy, do I have a long way to go!  This momma can get too cozy in her living room!

Go Pirates!

As I was thinking about how to start blogging, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about my college years. This pic was taken about 8 years ago, and that's my baby sister beside me and my now hubby behind us making the funny face... he was flirting I think. We were rooting for our ECU Pirates... Arrgghhhh!! You see, my college years were some of the best years in my life. Meeting my husband there only added to the enjoyment. I really learned who I was and who I wasn't; what I believed and what I knew were lies; how I wanted to live my life and how I wanted not to; and why certain things mattered to me and others seemed to not matter so much anymore. It took asking lots of questions and sometimes I pretended to be something I wasn't, but it was a journey that led me to where I am now.

When I think about generations rising, I think about college folks. They're at a pivotal point in their lives, and it's so important to reach out to them. For you who are among my generation and now starting families, it's partly our responsibility to show the rising generations how to be a follower of Christ. That's where my heart is right now.

And speaking of generations rising...

I now have the pure enjoyment of chasing this little fella around. He's our baby boy, and he's almost 1! As amazing as it is, I am also acutely aware of the tremendous responsibility we have as parents with this brand new generation. Oh, how we pray for the Lord to guide us!

So, all my Pirates out there, be a generation that rises above conformity no matter your age.

We hope you'll enjoy our blog. You never know what sort of random topics you'll find here, but you'll know you're not the only crazy one out there!!

Ahoy Mate!