Last week, in the post about Grammy's Cake, I told y'all how great our Easter weekend with my dad, brother and his family was...so here are the pictures to prove it! Our trip to Macon started off with playing with some new Dr. Seuss color and flash cards. Thanks Aunt Mimi for these - they were a great hit, and provided at least 2 hours of entertainment! :) Once in Macon, Dad and I took selfies and texted them to sister-in-law, Joey. Your welcome. My mom's Amaryllis...hoping my dad digs up a big chunk of these for me to bring back to Columbia...they are certainly stunning! Can you tell that my mom liked flowers? I remember her ordering Irises from California one year...and I think these were some. Saturday afternoon we had a few egg hunts...Bert's basket wasn't quite big enough for all his eggs! Trying to get a photo of this motley crew was fun... "Too loud!" - Eliza Jane Uncles and nieces <3 Ha! #1 babysitter right here!! Love you, PopPop! ....zzzzzzzz Then some good clean egg-dyeing fun! I just love Emory's smile in this one!!! It's not the end of the day until somebody burns a Grammy cake. Read more about that post here: Grammy's Cake and How She Played a Trick On Me. This picture makes me laugh so hard. I got up at 5 a.m. to feed Emory Easter morning and this is what I saw leaving our bedroom. Kids so exhausted asleep he has no idea that his foot is on her face, and she doesn't even care. When we showed Reynolds this photo later in the day, he belly-laughed out loud! Easter morning at church... The cross at Dad's church was really beautiful, but the sun was incredibly bright! We all needed some shades! Sweet PopPop in his new dapper blazer! {I love Eliza Jane's hand wrapped around is arm} Our precious neighbor from my child-hood home... Two of my Momma's dearest and closest friends <3 A proud PopPop with all his … [Read more...]
Grammy’s Cake – And How She Played a Trick On Me
This weekend we had the most wonderful time in Macon with my precious Daddy, my brother and his sweet family. Friday evening I shot my sister in law a text asking if she was making a Grammy cake, to which she replied that she wasn't. I had every intention of making one Friday night, except that my kids were insanely wild and wouldn't go to sleep, so I had to go to bed with them...and the cake didn't get made. So Saturday evening, after a day of great fun, Easter egg hunts, dyeing eggs and supper with family and friends, it was time to make Grammy's cake. Now let me first start off by saying that I had cooked a bit on Saturday, getting ready for Easter lunch, and had wrestled with my emotions and silently whispering to my mom that I wish so badly that she were here. Here to see her precious grandbabies running around in the backyard, laughing and playing. Her son and son-in-law racing those crazy babies, and having their own great fun throwing balls at each other and pegging PopPop many times too! So much, that in my heart and mind, she is missing out on, and that I so desperately wanted her to be a part of. But I have to trust that she is among us. And remind myself that where she is, is the most glorious of places. Back to the cake. My sister-in-law, Joey sat at the kitchen table as I was pulling things together and re-reading the recipe for this delicious cake my mom made a staple in her kitchen. We were chatting about the recipe, the butter and sugar were beating nicely in the mixer....and I reread the flour information. My mom was one of those ladies that had her sugar, tea and flour on the kitchen counter. Things she used every day because she cooked every day for as long as I can remember. Only my mom didn't just have one canister of flour, she had two. One for All Purpose, and one for Self-Rising. Well, if you are a cake-baker, you know that All Purpose flour is the "cake flour" one might use in a recipe. {I personally use Swan's Down Cake … [Read more...]
Emory’s Dedication Weekend!
Oh my gracious! Y'all! I blinked and another week has flown by and I'm standing here like, how did three weeks just breeze past me?! Anyone else feel the same way?! I've so been meaning to share some sweet pictures with you from the weekend Emory was dedicated. My best friend and roommate from college, Ann, along with her two oldest kiddos came over from GA {a 5 hr drive mind you!} and my sweet daddy was here. That Saturday we spent some time at the zoo...where I managed to snap a few pics. First of Ann with her kiddos checking out the penguins {WHY does it smell SO BAD in there?!} Then we hung out watching the grizzly bears wrestle... Eliza Jane was imitating a giraffe here I think ;) The feeding of the goats never gets old...for kids or adults! So here's a funny story I'm remembering from that Saturday. We thought we'd be so smart and go to Dave and Busters on OPENING weekend - at 5:30. Y'all. They had a THREE HOUR wait for a table. Hello? Nothankyou. We went to our favorite local Mexican restaurant for cheese dip and quesadillas instead. On Sunday I was so delighted that we got to have professional pictures taken by a fellow Sunday School friend - Robin Huber Photography. Our pastor, Dr. Wendell Estep, whom I adore and have thoroughly enjoyed sitting under. My Mom made this blanket for Eliza Jane when she was dedicated. So, so, so thankful for this husband of mine. And my precious Daddy who still hangs the moon. You can't really tell, but my bracelet {on the wrist sort of under Emory ↑} is a tribute to my Momma. Thanks to a good friend who sells KEEP I have several charms that remind me of her. Then there were these from the service...and please look at that precious {hilarious!} look on Emory's face! One of my favorite pictures from the day is this one that Andrew snapped of me and our little man as we waited for the service to begin. His face is just too sweet for words! My prayer for Emory, as well as Reynolds … [Read more...]
Sunday Night…A Reflection On Being Busy
It's 8:09 p.m. Sunday night as I start this post. It's been a month since I last wrote to you all, and it seems like that was yesterday. Or maybe the day before yesterday, but certainly not four-plus weeks ago. As I was sitting in the living room this afternoon talking with a good friend that we refer to as Grammy Carolyn, she said, "Well, you must be busy because you haven't been writing..." I started thinking about that word: Busy. We say it a lot at my workplace and it has sort of lost its meaning for me. The dictionary states that busy as an adjective means: having a great deal to do. I have an overwhelming amount to do most days. I know this won't compare to some people, but I did six loads of laundry last Saturday. That's after having done laundry thru the week. I don't save it up. How did I have enough for SIX loads of laundry? And then believe it or not, by the following Monday I had another load in the wash. And that's just the laundry. Busy. I have three babies. All under the age of four. Some of you are in that boat. Some of you may wish you were in that boat and some of you are glad you are out of that boat! We are busy laughing and playing and learning and enjoying this thing call life. Today Emory was dedicated in our church service. As I was thinking about him and his dedication, my biggest prayer for him, after the prayer of him coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior one day, is that he loves and lives his life to the fullest. I hope that he is full of the joy and happiness that his sweet face radiates each and every day currently. And I hope that he is a joy to those who know him. So as I sit here at 8:21 now, thinking back on all the wildness that this crazy, busy weekend has entailed...I hope to share it all with y'all in the coming days. And that I'm not so busy that I can't sit down, before another four weeks pass, and tell y'all about all the great things going on in our home and in our world. I hope you … [Read more...]
Where, O Death, Is Your Sting?
I have found myself in this weird conundrum of sadness and joy over the last few weeks since Mom died. Even saying that word seems so wrong and confusing and somehow not what I should be saying about her. I was sitting with a sweet group of girls this morning having a little prayer time and one friend was praying for this man who has MS and is on hospice currently. He is a believer and so there is this hope that possibly soon he will be out of his pain, and made new again. In my friend's prayer for this man she said that Jesus has overcome death and I immediately thought of the verse that questions where death's sting is: Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? - 1 Corinthians 15:55 Then I started thinking about my conundrum. My joy comes from the fact that death has no victory over my mom. Over me, over us. She has the victory because she now HAS JESUS. There is no sting. Yes there is this great sadness of things that will be missed with her, of seeing her face, hearing her voice; of the birth of our son Emory in some five weeks' time and the joy that she would have brought with her upon seeing him the first time. So many things that are missed about her. But there is this great, immeasurable joy of knowing she is with our Savior and yes, I will one day see her beautiful, beloved face again. So while it seems weird to me that maybe I'm not as sad as I should be, and even in the saddest of moments, and yes there have been many of those...I have to rejoice because she's where we all want to be one day, beholding the Creator and Savior of the world. Have any of you ever been in this place of grief and yet, joy? … [Read more...]
A Lesson Learned : From Reynolds & His Music
Last year about this time, I posted about the CD we'd gotten from daycare as part of our VBS package and how I really enjoyed some of the songs. This year, y'all, we got another CD as part of VBS and it is WAY better than last year's - we LOVE all the songs. Reynolds says, "Momma, will you play my music from bacation bible school?" Baby, I'll play these songs until my ears bleed. The kids cup their hands around their mouths for the first song: He Is the Light Hands go up and start pumping the air for: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus {this one has a stomp-beat!} Little pointer fingers go up and they start swaying for: This Little Light of Mine And they clap for my favorite one: My Hope Is in the Lord There are a few other ones but these seem to be the four that we hear the most and I'm here to tell you that the best message I've gotten so far is the last one I mentioned: My Hope Is in the Lord. Here's the video on Vimeo: My Hope Is In the Lord: the words are there for you to learn and sing along...but here they are also for you just to ponder because they seem so applicable to everything going on in our world around us: I can't help but feel a little down A little worried when I look around That's why my hope is in My hope is in the Lord I fix my eyes upon the God who gives 'Cause all I need is what I have in Him That's why my hope is in My hope is in the Lord My hope is in the Lord I belong to Him He will never let me go-o-o-o My hope is in the Lord I can count on Him My hope is in the Lord No matter what stage of life we're in - little kids, big kids or big mommas and daddys...our hope cannot be in anything other than the Lord. Else we would continuously be discouraged, depressed and some of us, even angry. If we fix our eyes on Him and focus on His sovereignty and purpose, and His goodness, we have joy. And He tells us that our joy is complete in Him {nothing … [Read more...]
Eliza Jane’s Total Weekend Hijacking
Last Saturday night I caught a glimpse of a really sweet necklace on Instagram and literally just before midnight I placed an order for it, just in time to catch the end of their flash sale!. I got my new pendant necklace Wednesday and planned to wear it on Friday with my black dress. All morning Friday I kept pondering how to share my new necklace on Instagram - what would I say about it? Then as I was plotting it out, it happened. Eliza Jane's teacher called me and said she had a fever. Her temp was 101 and we needed to come get her. My necklace was appropriate. "Tune my heart to sing thy grace". Our weekend plans were crumbling as I drove the short distance from my office to daycare to get my sweet daughter. I opened the door to her classroom and she was lying on the floor, cup in hand, just whining. Her teacher said that's all she had done since they had come inside from playing on the playground. I knew exactly what was wrong with her. You see, earlier in the week I'd heard that a virus had been making its way around the school, and here was my sweet Eliza Jane, it's latest victim. I picked her up and held her, her small body on fire. Her temp was certainly 101. Sad and discouraged about knowing what this meant for our long weekend, the plans we'd made to go back to Georgia to see my parents, that was all coming to an end. Another weekend at home. Another weekend stuck, unable to go out because our kid is sick {last weekend R had croup}. I felt my heart sinking. Tune my heart to sing THY grace, Lord. Knowing the Lord is sovereign, I accepted the fate, that for some reason, He has us here. Our weekend has been officially hijacked. This isn't the first time we've been hijacked by a kid. Reynolds hijacked us all the time, it seemed, when he was younger {this post, this post and this post are proof!}. Eliza Jane has been more gracious to us, except this weekend. As she sleeps soundly in her bed I am praying … [Read more...]