Proverbs 17:6

"Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.

I don't know how prideful our children are of us, or if I like to think of myself by the term 'aged' but I sure do know how much I love my grandpeeps! Seriously, are these cheeks a buffet of yumminess or what? I just giggle out loud every time I look at these. Amazing how much he has grown. He takes up more and more of his bed every time I see him. He is getting 4 month shots today - sad. I think he is trying to cut teeth. He can cram his whole fist in his mouth and would stick the other one in too if he could! Grandpeep No.1 will be here tomorrow and we can't wait. I will try to get as many pictures as I can of him but he doesn't like to be still very long.

We are so excited we get to go to the beach with baby Grahambo (his PawPaw's nickname for him) in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to a vacation. I think we all need one!

This is how we chill at our house

We love lazy Sunday afternoons at our house. They are all the more fun when our kids are here to enjoy it with us. Yesterday my sister and daughter-in-love and I went to the farmer's market and bought lots of goodies. So not wanting to let much time go by without eating it all we had grilled chicken, grilled basil-garlic corn, fresh tomato pie, fried green tomatoes and fresh blackberry cobbler. YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then we fell like bricks into the pool. How absolutely adorable is our youngest grandpeep in the pool? He loves, loves the water. His personality is really beginning to develop and may I just tell you that he is a precious doll baby. What a charmer. He looks at everything with the most wide-eyed wonder. He brings us so much joy. We missed Jodi and Connor today. Connor loves the water too. He jumps about 150 times yelling "Cannonball" each and every time.

Summer is off to a great start. We are expecting more family in tomorrow and are looking forward to a great visit over the next couple of weeks. Nothing like family. We love ours so much. We are so thankful for all the blessings God has given us. He is so good.

Love your family, enjoy your time with each other and slow down to savor in these moments when life is slowed down a little.

Okay we made it back from our road trip last night about 6:30. We had such a great time but were so glad to be back at our house. Nothing like home is there? My husband is so incredibly sweet. He has known for years that I have really wanted to visit the city of Savannah Georgia, so he took me!!!! We had such a blast. Of course most of what we did was eat, eat again and then eat some more! It was great. We made a stop in Atlanta for a couple of days and then headed down to the coast to the beautiful city of Savannah. It is a gorgeous place. So quaint and romantic. We took a carriage ride through the city at night and it is one of the most exciting things we have ever done. I can't put into words how quiet and peaceful and gorgeous the city is with all the trees making tunnels over the streets with the hanging Spanish moss and the gas lanterns burning. I was shocked at how quiet the city was at night. The only sound was the horse's shoes hitting against the tabby streets. Beautiful. Go visit if you get the chance. We stayed at the Mulberry Inn on Bay street. Got to eat at Paula Deen's restaurant and I was worried it might be a bunch of hype. SO NOT!!! We needed to be rolled back to our hotel on a dolly but couldn't find where to rent one of those. It was incredible. My man and I make it a practice when we go on vacation to not eat at "chain" type restaurants. We like to experience the local flavors. We were not disappointed. Oh, Starbucks doesn't count on that list.

It was a great time of renewal for us. It is so important for couples to have one on one time with each other away from your regular routines. He is still my favorite traveling partner. Everything is fun with him. However, our baby of the four got sick and had to leave her FCA leadership camp early. Our oldest son and daughter-in-love kept her and took care of her. So I worked on having a good time in the midst of worry and guilt and all that mom stuff. She is fine now and glad we are home.

Much to do today to get back in the routine. Have a blessed day.

Anniversaries and Road Trips

Tommorow is my anniversary. I start on May 1 telling my man "One more month" and the countdown begins. He always acts like he doesn't remember how many years and then just gets plain silly with me, but silliness is how we roll around our house. We learned a long time not to take ourselves too seriously. Eighteen years. To some that may not seem long at all and to others it may seem like forever. Our time on this earth is so short I am reminded every day how precious our time is together.

I am not the same person I was eighteen years ago and I am so thankful. The biggest change has come in my prayer life. I began praying over my husband and our marriage many years ago and the Lord has been so faithful with us. And patient with us. Ours has not been an easy road in some ways and in others it has been a walk in the park. My husband is truly my very best friend on this earth. I love him with all my heart and more every day.

If I could be so bold as to offer some advice to any young marrieds it would be the following:

1. The greatest gift you can give your husband is to pray for him every day.

2. Resist the temptation to speak negatively of him to anyone - Satan hears every bit and don't think for a minute he will not use it against you.

3. Don't sweat the small stuff.

4. Your husband should be your priority even over your children. There is an order to things and God honors that. By no means do I mean neglect your children. Children have a security in knowing their parents love them but also in knowing their parents love each other.

5. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh. Nobody makes me laugh like my man.

6. Love the Lord with all your heart. Ask Him boldly and often to bless your marriage and He will and it is so worth it.

7. Don't go to bed angry.



I don't offer any advice because I think I am an expert, far from it. I just know what works for us and that is turning our marriage over to God on a daily basis. I love being married. I love doing this life with him. We are about to leave today to take a road trip for our anniversary. Don't know where we are going, just getting in the car and taking off. Excited to go. Funny, that is kinda what you do on your wedding day. Take off on a road trip, not knowing what will happen along the way, what detours will pop up, dead ends, or what interesting sights will be on the side of the road. Just glad your partner is in the seat next to you.

Do Not Forget

Today I posted my tenth siesta memory verse. I stole Beth Moore's because ....well because she said we could and I liked it. I love the old testament. I used to think it was soooooo boring until I started doing in-depth bible study and saw how Jesus is smack dab all through the old testament too!!! You know how you hear and say you believe that the bible is the inerrant word of God, but then when you study the word and He allows you to see the connection and the consistency and the perfection of His plan ..well it is mind boggling to say the least and leaves me speechless and wanting to tell everyone what I just discovered all at the same time. I teach the Bible as Literature at my high school and my seniors just took their final. I asked them on the test what was the thing that they most enjoyed learning. Over and over as I read their papers they would say that the Bible and specifically the Old Testament were not boring like they always thought. Hallelujah and Amen!!!



Here is my verse for the 15th:

“Be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”

Deuteronomy 4:9

I love that. So I started thinking what are the things that I want my children and my grandpeeps to know. I couldn't really do that without thinking back on what I learned from my parents and grandparents. I was blessed to grow up with two sets of parents and four sets of grandparents, so if I didn't catch something I am in trouble. My grandparents taught me the value of hard work. I mean the kind of hard work we don't see much today. The kind where you have to store up money and food for the next year's food and clothing. My mother is one of ten kids and over and over when she talks of her childhood and how poor they were she always says she never knew they were poor until she got older. Because there was so much love in her house they didn't know any different. That is because my grandparents loved Jesus and knew He loved them. Hard work and deep love. You know the kind of love that covers all things. The kind that says you are always welcome in this house no matter how far you have roamed.

From another set of grandparents I learned that I didn't have to be a biological member of their family to be in their family. My grammy loved to introduce me to people as their oldest grandchild but not their first grandchild. Unconditional love and acceptance. They showed me Jesus. Preparing my heart for the family He would bring to me.

From both sets of parents I learned commitment to prayer and faithfulness that God can restore and heal things which are broken. From one set of parents I witnessed first hand their faith and trust in the Lord in the face of tragedy when my younger brother died. I saw them live out Phil 4:13 for they could not have survived that without the strength of Christ.

So just like finding that Jesus is all through the Old Testament, He has also been ever present through every aspect of the lives in my family. So that is what I hope to teach my children and their children. He is in every part of your life. Seek Him with all your heart and soul and mind and ask Him to reveal His specific plan. For it is all part of our inheritance in Him and our legacy for future generations.

I vow to not forget the things my eyes have seen or let them slip from my heart as long as I live.

My reasons for having a Mother's Day

Do you know what I love more than Mother's day? I love being a mother. With all my heart I love it. Growing up, the thought of being a mom was about as far out of my realm of thinking or desiring than being a school teacher was (hehe! what does that tell you?) But, "I know the plans I have for you says the Lord." Thank you Lord your plans prevail and not our own. As a college graduate I met my future husband and his three adorable children. I had never seen a man quite like him interact with his children the way he did. As time passed my love for them grew and grew and I couldn't stand to be away from them for a second. After we were married and were in our house for the first time as a new family, I was awakened very early by a little hand tapping my face. I awoke to the cutest, biggest brown eyes, staring at me saying, "What is for breakfast?" Knowing this was my time to impress (thinking that I had to, I didn't) I whipped out one of new cookbooks and made homemade pancakes. Nothing out of a box for these little tummies. (I got over that) Those big brown eyes looked up at me with syrup dripping out of his little mouth and in between shoveling bites in he said, "You are the bestest cook in the world next to MawMaw." Stick a fork in me. I was done for. I have been cooking like a crazy woman for those kids ever since. Whatever brings them back home, right?

I am touched by God's faithfulness. This path was not one I had envisioned for myself and I needed Him to help me. And He did. I asked Him to allow His love to flow through me to them. And He did. I asked Him to help me love them as my own flesh and blood. And He did, and I so do. I asked Him to bless us with a child to complete our family. And He did. You have never seen a child adore her older siblings the way she loves them. I thank Him for the role-models He gave me in my own mama, granny, and other mama (we don't like the word 'step' around here). I thank Him for His word he gave us to instruct us in raising them

Family is my heartbeat. I love being with them. They make me laugh, think, and challenge me to be better. I love when the house is filled with all of them.

So this mother's day like so many other days, I will thank Him profusely for allowing me and choosing me to be a part of their lives. Even though the time is so short. Two of them are now parents, and I won't even get started on how I love being a grandparent. I have already been given the greatest Mother's day gift. Them. They made me a mother.

Thank you Lord that your plans prevail. They are so much better than our own.

Memory Verse #9

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. 1 Peter 1:8 NIV

I just received an email from a childhood friend who informed me that her father has been diagnosed with cancer and given about two months left. As I looked at my verse for this time I am reminded of a few things:
1. Even when what we can see on this side of heaven is bad news, thank you Jesus it is not the end for those who have placed their faith with you and accepted you as savior.
2. We can have peace in the midst of trials. Oh, for my faith to be one that is refined through my trials and gives God the glory.
3. The older I get the more and more I know in my gut that this world is not the best it is ever going to get.
4. I am also reminded of childhood friends, memories, and how nothing can probably make you more vulnerable than the thought of your earthly parents not being here any more. My heart aches for my friend. I am so unbelievably blessed by the Lord that I have four parents who nurtured and loved me. I can't even fathom my life without them but I know the time will come when we will have to say our earthly good-byes. Thank you Jesus they will all be in heaven.
5. Finally I am reminded that God is in charge of time. After all, He created it.
6. Lastly, our time on this earth is short. Love passionately and forgive easily. Our savior set that example for us. Shouldn't we follow?