Spoils of the Bank…

My kids LOVE going to the bank!

They know the drive-thru is always good for a sucker…

and it’s even better when we get to go inside (which I avoid at all costs) because they get a cookie too!

Music To My Ears…

Myla has been anxiously awaiting to turn 4 years old so she could be in children’s choir at church.  She has enjoyed going each Sunday night, and they made their debut this past Sunday morning, and they did great!

This was them practicing before the 8:30 service.  They all looked a little apprehensive about singing in front of lots of people!

When Myla came out to sing, she had to wave to her adoring fans!!

This was the actual performance…SO PRECIOUS!!

Myla had lots of people come and watch her sing, and she was so excited to have all of them there!  Here she is with Granddaddy and Sae Sae.

Sis Sis and Myla

Mimi & Bodie, of course, made it too!

I just can’t believe how big these girls are getting.  Grace did great singing too!  There is nothing more precious than seeing those sweet children sing to the Lord!

Fun, Fun, Fun Weekend!

This past weekend was one I have been looking forward to for 9 months!  Last December, my friend, Katie, went to a Deeper Still conference in Birmingham.  While she was there, they promoted the .MOM (dot mom) conference that Lifeway would be putting on in September 2011.  Katie called me and asked me if I wanted to go, and I said SURE!  We recruited a few more friends to go.  There ended up being six of us, and we had such a GREAT time!  I don’t think we stopped talking and laughing (except for when we were in the sessions) the WHOLE time we were gone.  I felt so blessed to be surrounded with other Godly women who the Lord has used to greatly encourage my heart!

Katie and Jill – Jill left her two little ones at home with her husband.  Her husband, Joey, has such a testimony of the Lord’s protection and provision.  Last year he was hunting by himself and suffered an aortic dissection.  I think that’s what it’s called.  Nonetheless, he really shouldn’t have survived, but God miraculously provided a way out of those woods where he went on to have open heart surgery.  He is doing great now!

Katie, Jill, Hilarie and Emily

Jill, Hilarie, Emily and me

We were so blessed to hear wonderful speakers at the conference…Angela Thomas, Angie Smith, Vicky Courtney and Priscilla Shirer.  The worship was let by Melissa Greene and it was incredible!  On Friday night, we were surprised to hear that the Duggars were there!  They had just returned from Israel.  The smallest baby, Josie, got sick while they were there and had to remain behind with her mom, Michelle, and sister, Jill, until she got better.  I know some people think this family is crazy, but I am in awe of them!  I can’t imagine having that many children.  They are so well behaved, and I admire how Jim Bob and Michelle live out a Christ centered life and include their children in Kingdom work all of the time!

I was so excited to have my picture made with Priscilla Shirer!  She is such an incredible woman of God! She brought an amazing message that just encouraged us to keep on being faithful in what we are doing, and God will meet us where we are.

I was also thrilled to hear Angie Smith!  Her husband, Todd, is the lead singer for the Christian band, Selah.  And, I guess it’s obvious by my daughter’s name that I really like that band.  (That is not the only reason we named her that, but the band was the first time I had ever heard the name).  Angie has been given an incredible ministry that was birthed out of the death of her fourth daughter, Audrey.  She has written two books, but the first one, I Will Carry You, is the story about Audrey….her life and death.  It is a great book!

After the conference was over, we went to The Summit and had a nice and healthy YUMMY dinner at The Cheesecake Factory!  The menu there is quite overwhelming, but everything is so good!

As I said earlier, I felt so blessed to be a part of this weekend.  The Lord spoke some amazing things to me, and I am so grateful for that.  I would encourage you to attend some type of conference like this every once in awhile!

Woohoo!!!!!

I can’t believe I am just now putting this on the blog, but last Monday, September 12th, we found out from CHI that we are now are an

OFFICIAL WAITING FAMILY!!!

We were thrilled to find this out after several months on the paperchase!  Our agency does one comprehensive waiting list.  There are not individual lists for boys, girls, older children, sibling groups, etc.  Everyone is on the same list.  We are #77 on that list, but we really don’t know exactly where that puts us for an infant girl.  There could be 30 (for instance) families in front of us that are waiting for little boys, so that would make us higher on the list, but we have no way of knowing.  I know that God’s timing is perfect, and he will bring our sweet girl to us in His time.  We are just excited to be where we are….simply waiting! 

Hence, this image….

Not really, but I know God will provide it!!

We are gearing up for a few more fundraisers.  Our next one will be t-shirts!  I am meeting with a designer next week to hopefully get a design together.  We will be doing pre-sales, and I’m sure we will order a few extras as well.  As soon as we have a design, I will quickly share it on our blog!

Thanks for all of your prayers up to this point….keep them coming!  We cherish them!

 

 

School Days…

I’m a little late with this post, but better late than never, right??  Wednesday before last, the girls and I started Mother’s Morning Out at our church.  Myla calls it “school”, and she LOVES going!  Selah has done pretty well so far.  As long as she doesn’t see me, she is fine.  It’s like when she sees me, she thinks, “Wait, I’m supposed to be with her!” and she gets upset.  But as soon as I’m out of sight, her teachers say that she calms down.

Myla was fired up and ready to go on the first morning!  I think she wore her backpack around for a good twenty minutes before we left.  I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  I’m not used to having to get up and out of the house that early.  Kudos to all of you working moms! 

Selah wasn’t much in the picture mood, but at least I caught one little smile behind her pacifier.  She is seriously attached to her pacis.  To sleep, she has to have one in her mouth and one in each hand.  I’m not looking forward to the day we have to take those away.  Oh, and that flower in her hand is supposed to be in her hair, but there is NO CHANCE of it staying in…sister’s not having it!

Myla is in a class with 3 & 4 year olds.  She is the oldest on in her class, and some of the other kids seem like babies compared to her, but she still loves going.  The teachers kid me that Myla is just their 4th teacher, not really a student.  Hopefully she is a big helper and doesn’t drive them crazy!

Selah is in the older 1’s class.  I haven’t heard any reports so far of her hitting her friends, so that makes me happy!  When I peek in her room every now and then, so is playing and looks to be having a good time!  She is worn out by the time we leave!!

I am teaching the younger 1’s, and it has been quite a challenge so far, but I know it will be better!  The first day, seven out of our ten screamed bloody murder cried the ENTIRE three hours they were there.  It was insane!  Even after just two times of coming, they are already getting better, thank goodness!!

Jesus Loves the Little Children…

Jesus loves the little children,

ALL the children of the world.

Red and yellow, black and white,

They are precious in His sight.

Jesus loves the little children of the world!

Love these dresses that my mom got the girls.  As soon as I saw the, “Jesus Love the Little Children” popped into my head!  We’ve been waiting for Selah to grow into hers, and they finally got to wear them to church this morning!

September 11…10 Years Later…

I vividly remember that day…September 11, 2001.  I was a senior in college, and I had woken up and gotten ready for class like any other normal day.  I walked across the hall and a couple of doors down in the dorm to get Joanna so we could walk to Mrs. Jones’ Family Life class.  I will never forget opening her door and seeing her standing in front of her chest of drawers, her face about 8 inches from the television screen.  She looked at me and said, “Have you been watching this?”  I told her that I hadn’t…I had no idea what was going on.  We watched the coverage for a few minutes, then headed to class.  I remember walking through campus and life just seemed dimmed and quiet.  People weren’t really talking and laughing and joking around.  When we got to class, someone had already brought a tv into the room and had the news on.  We all sat there watching the terror unfold, and shortly after we sat down, we all watched the second tower fall.  I can remember thinking to myself, “This is really, really bad”, but I had no idea the magnitude of the situation.  After class, we talked to a girl whose fiance was in the World Trade Center during the attack, and they had not yet hear from him.  He did get out fine, but it dramatically changed his life forever.  Next I went to work.  I was working as a secretary/paralegal for an attorney.  One other paralegal worked there, and when I walked in the office, they (Doc and Amy) were both sobbing.  Doc was on his knees in the floor, and Amy was sitting on the couch. This is when I started to realize that our lives…the comfort bubble of living in America would never be the same.  We had been attacked, and I was scared.  I called Michael after work and went straight to his apartment.  I just remember wanting to be with him, hug him, and thank God for him.  It’s interesting how during a scary/tragic time, our perspectives are very quickly narrowed onto what is truly important in life.  We sat and watched the news.  It was like a train wreck…it was horrible to watch, but I couldn’t quit watching it.  And it remained that way for weeks. 

I can’t believe it has already been ten years.  I can still remember so many details about that day.  Exactly what I was wearing, exactly where I was when certain things happened, etc.  I’ve heard my parents and grandparents talk about days like this in their lives.  The day of Pearl Harbor, the day that JFK was assassinated, etc.  Now, I had one of those days to remember.  I can remember flying for the first time after 9/11…I was truly scared.  It’s like our lives had changed and our fears were heightened.  I am so thankful to live in America, and I am so thankful that God brought us through those darks days.  It is my prayer that our nation would turn BACK to God, and the Biblical principles that this country was founded upon.