In a big hurry this morning but want to share something quickly. Go over and read Randy Alcorn's blog post today on living a life that preempts regret. He states: "You and I have but one life on earth to invest in Heaven." Shook me to my core this morning. How am I spending my time and will I have regrets? My daughter's cross country coach tells them all the time that regret lasts longer than anything.
Check out Randy's post at http://www.epm.org/ and let me know what you think.
All I can think is Christ gave his precious life for us, what will I do with mine?
Love,
Michelle
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Girly Days
I love being a girl!!!! And I am so glad that I am part of a family of girly girls!!!! Anytime our out of town family is in we always make time to have a girl day. We have a new addition to our family - Miss Paisley Noel and we could not wait to have a reason for Paisley to have her first girls day with her Mama, Zsa Zsa, MawMaw, aunties and cousins. So... my girls and I hosted a Sip and See at daughter-in-love's house- who is the ultimate hostess.
We also love any reason to dress cute and eat yummy food! Christine made her special sugar cookies. Baby bottles and mary jane shoes - how adorable and tasty. I ate them for breakfast for the next four days. Love you Christine!
These Petit Fours were incredible. So moist and just the perfect size. I think that is why they are called
petit fours - well that is why I ate four and didn't feel one ounce of guilt!
The Belle of the Ball! Paisley is the sweetest baby and was so good to just let all of us hold and poke and stare at her.
Paisley and her sweet Mama - my niece Mandy. What a beautiful mother she is. So precious to watch her mothering her first born. What a gift to be a mother. Paisley has been born into a family of wonderful, God-loving mothers.She is a blessed little girl and we look forward to so many more fun times with her.
My beautiful girls (minus Christine. She had to be somewhere else for a bit) and me. I pray they will treasure family as I do.
Jodi and Aunt Debsi. The Aunt Debsi who hogged the baby all day! Lucky she is such a good cook and we let her do whatever she wants for fear we won't reap the benefits of her culinary talents. :)
Auntie Di was giddy over the baby. Maybe she wants another one. HA! She will kill me for that.
Jodi, Andria, and Savannah. Beautiful girls. On the inside and out.
Lauren and Aunt Shelley. One of the things I enjoy about my in-love family is that no matter how much time passes without seeing each other, when we do get together it is like we see each other every day.
Seems like yesterday when my baby girl was Paisley's size. And here she is all grown-up looking. I miss her big hair bows. :(
Our other Belle of the Ball - MawMaw. She is our ultimate girly girl and we adore her. She loves all of us so much and is so fun and sweet. She is a wonderful mother, mother in love, grandmother and great grandmother.
My sisters-in-law are a total blast. I love them like crazy. You girls ROCK!!!!
Think these two resemble?
We spent much of our time laughing about how you spend half your life trying to be the opposite of your mother yet end up just like them. Of course by the time you realize you are like your mama you don't mind because you understand she is much wiser than you ever gave her credit for.
We had a lovely day with our newest "girl" Paisley and we look forward to many many more.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
SSMT #14 and Some Catch-up
I cannot believe how long it has been since I posted. I am sure everyone is about to keel over with anticipation! :) We have had a wonderful week with our out of town family being at our house. We did so many fun things and I have tons of pictures and will post throughout the week for all of them to see. But first, I just have to update on my sweet grandpeeps! Indulge me if you will. They are growing up so fast and are more fun than we can stand around here. An absolute blast these two are. A couple of weekends ago my sweet man whisked me away for a few days and we had a wonderful time. He spotted these shirts and said,"We gotta get those!"
In case you cannot see them very well, they read.."I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. I need to speak to my GiGi." How fun is that?!
Graham is such a pretty boy. But he is ALL boy and wild as he can be. I mean that in a good way. He makes the funniest faces and is so loving right now. He just runs up and throws his arms around your legs and I eat up every minute of it.
Connor is a ham. He can wink out of both eyes and does that boy ever have jokes! A slew of knock knock jokes to keep us all in stitches. His delivery is perfect. He will be a great story teller.
Sometimes I can get these two handsome boys to slow down and cheese real pretty for GiGi.
Most of the time though this is what I get.
They love GiGi's pool and keep us entertained for hours. Connor is such a good swimmer.
Graham thinks he can do anything "Nonnor" can do and is right behind him. Precious.
There are always treats of the sugary kind at GiGi's!!!!
I love my boys. They fill our days with so much laughter and joy. What sweet times these are right now with them. They are growing too fast. I hope they understand early on the blessing of family bonds. I have much to say on that later in the week.
On another note..... it is Scripture memory verse time!!!!
Psalm 25:5
"Guide me in Your truth and teach me,
For you are God my Savior and my hope is in You
all day long."
Blessings on this Lord's day. More pics to come!
Michelle
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Little Blessings
No time to blog much - just sitting in the office working late and so thankful as I sit here watching and listening to my baby girl and her sweet daddy sitting side by side at her keyboard singing duets of praises to the King. Such a sweet gift to me right at this moment. Can't even be jealous of the amount of talent the Lord gifted each of them with. My prayer is that one day Baby girl can truly grasp the depth of love both her earthly Father and Heavenly Father have for her.
Have a great week and count your blessings - especially the ones that seem to escape us in the busyness of our lives - Funny, as I typed that last sentence I accidentally typed "busymess" - How true that is. Our lives can get to be a busy mess if we aren't careful.
Thankful and Blessed,
Michelle
Have a great week and count your blessings - especially the ones that seem to escape us in the busyness of our lives - Funny, as I typed that last sentence I accidentally typed "busymess" - How true that is. Our lives can get to be a busy mess if we aren't careful.
Thankful and Blessed,
Michelle
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Far Behind
Well, I haven't blogged in what seems like forever. I am traveling everyday for our big project we have going on and I don't seem to have much time to do what I want to!!! A little late in posting but here is my June 15 SSMT:
Nehemiah 8:10b
"This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Many times I remind myself of where my true strength comes from. There is much I want to blog about but it will have to wait until I have more time to assemble my thoughts into something coherent. As you can see, I am reading a new book- All Over but the Shoutin'. Rick Bragg is a Southern author and journalist that I have grown fond of reading. This is his personal memoir and tribute to his mother. It is a beautifully written and extremely poignant account of his life growing up in the rural south. One of the reasons I like it is I am always telling my students that to truly grow up and move forward in life you have to look back and examine where you came from. My seniors always think that real life is awaiting them far beyond the confines of what they have known as home. But what they always find out and sometimes even come back and tell me is how important their roots are and how much more home meant to them when they had to leave it. I love epiphanies!
Hope you have a blessed week!
Michelle
Nehemiah 8:10b
"This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Many times I remind myself of where my true strength comes from. There is much I want to blog about but it will have to wait until I have more time to assemble my thoughts into something coherent. As you can see, I am reading a new book- All Over but the Shoutin'. Rick Bragg is a Southern author and journalist that I have grown fond of reading. This is his personal memoir and tribute to his mother. It is a beautifully written and extremely poignant account of his life growing up in the rural south. One of the reasons I like it is I am always telling my students that to truly grow up and move forward in life you have to look back and examine where you came from. My seniors always think that real life is awaiting them far beyond the confines of what they have known as home. But what they always find out and sometimes even come back and tell me is how important their roots are and how much more home meant to them when they had to leave it. I love epiphanies!
Hope you have a blessed week!
Michelle
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
SSMT #11 and A milestone
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Scripture memory verse 11 coincides with another important date for me - mine and my husband's wedding anniversary. I thought it was fitting to choose a scripture that is appropriate for such a day.
Twenty years ago today I walked down the aisle toward a man I loved with all my heart, toward three precious faces that would make me an instant mother, and toward our future. I had not a clue what that would be, I just knew I wanted to see that man and those babies in every day of my future. Twenty years have flown by. We are not those same people we were then. Both of us are a little more gray (one of us colors theirs!), a little more wrinkled (one of us looks more distinguished with them), a little more worn by the road, and hopefully a lot wiser. It is hard for me to remember what all I thought about that day. Probably things like, "I hope he thinks I am beautiful." "I hope we will always be as happy as we are today." "I hope we always look at each other the way we do today." Whatever the thoughts were, I am certain if I had known what all the next twenty years would bring, I am not sure that I might not have grabbed up that dress and run out the church door. See, I was too young to understand what life would bring. Aren't most of us on that day? Marriage is not all lovey dovey, I want to hold your hand while gazing in your eyes and skipping through the garden. No it is more than that. It is so much better than that.
It is enduring those little things that seem to frustrate you but really don't matter at all.
It is holding each other up through the losses of life - loss of family members - Grandmothers, grandfathers, and sadly- siblings. Loss of friendships, loss of faith in things and people you counted on. Learning faith in only one thing matters - the Lord.
It is leaning on one another through hard days at work, job changes, new businesses, busy times and slow times.
It is learning to parent with each other and not against each other with children.
It is trusting each other.
It is forgiving each other for the little things and the big things.
It is putting self last and the other first.
It is growing in faith when a son goes off to fight a war.
It is pride in watching your child get married.
It is unspeakable joy at the birth of your grandchildren.
It is learning to communicate with each other and never speaking a word.
It is going through hard times with raising children and yes even good kids can put their parents through the ringer! :)
It is learning to pray for each other and your children.
It is waiting on test results, surgery recovery, illness that brings out the ugly in us and loving each other anyway.
It is knowing that at the end of a bad day, someone who loves me just like I am, flaws and all is waiting on me at home.
It is the comfort of looking across a room and knowing we are each others.
It is looking at our sweet grand boys and smiling at each other in a way only grandparents do.
It is the pride we feel in our children's accomplishments.
It is the love we feel for each other's parents that grows and grows as time goes by.
It is the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of our hard work and seeing what the Lord has allowed us to accomplish together.
It is not taking ourselves so seriously.
It is knowing our real life has been so much better than the one I imagined that day twenty years ago.
To my sweet man,
The past twenty years have been filled with joy, laughter, contentment, pain, happiness, sorrow, and all the things that are just a result of living in this old sin filled world. I would not trade one second of it. Not even the bad. Our road is what has made us who we are today. You still surprise me regularly and make me laugh harder than anyone can. When life is hard there is no one I would rather have in my corner than you. When life is easy there is no one I would rather soak it all in with than you. You are my rock and my very best friend on this earth. Thank you for making the last twenty years an adventure and I can't wait for what is ahead.
I love you with all my heart.
M
PS- I still want you to think I am beautiful!
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Scripture memory verse 11 coincides with another important date for me - mine and my husband's wedding anniversary. I thought it was fitting to choose a scripture that is appropriate for such a day.
Twenty years ago today I walked down the aisle toward a man I loved with all my heart, toward three precious faces that would make me an instant mother, and toward our future. I had not a clue what that would be, I just knew I wanted to see that man and those babies in every day of my future. Twenty years have flown by. We are not those same people we were then. Both of us are a little more gray (one of us colors theirs!), a little more wrinkled (one of us looks more distinguished with them), a little more worn by the road, and hopefully a lot wiser. It is hard for me to remember what all I thought about that day. Probably things like, "I hope he thinks I am beautiful." "I hope we will always be as happy as we are today." "I hope we always look at each other the way we do today." Whatever the thoughts were, I am certain if I had known what all the next twenty years would bring, I am not sure that I might not have grabbed up that dress and run out the church door. See, I was too young to understand what life would bring. Aren't most of us on that day? Marriage is not all lovey dovey, I want to hold your hand while gazing in your eyes and skipping through the garden. No it is more than that. It is so much better than that.
It is enduring those little things that seem to frustrate you but really don't matter at all.
It is holding each other up through the losses of life - loss of family members - Grandmothers, grandfathers, and sadly- siblings. Loss of friendships, loss of faith in things and people you counted on. Learning faith in only one thing matters - the Lord.
It is leaning on one another through hard days at work, job changes, new businesses, busy times and slow times.
It is learning to parent with each other and not against each other with children.
It is trusting each other.
It is forgiving each other for the little things and the big things.
It is putting self last and the other first.
It is growing in faith when a son goes off to fight a war.
It is pride in watching your child get married.
It is unspeakable joy at the birth of your grandchildren.
It is learning to communicate with each other and never speaking a word.
It is going through hard times with raising children and yes even good kids can put their parents through the ringer! :)
It is learning to pray for each other and your children.
It is waiting on test results, surgery recovery, illness that brings out the ugly in us and loving each other anyway.
It is knowing that at the end of a bad day, someone who loves me just like I am, flaws and all is waiting on me at home.
It is the comfort of looking across a room and knowing we are each others.
It is looking at our sweet grand boys and smiling at each other in a way only grandparents do.
It is the pride we feel in our children's accomplishments.
It is the love we feel for each other's parents that grows and grows as time goes by.
It is the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of our hard work and seeing what the Lord has allowed us to accomplish together.
It is not taking ourselves so seriously.
It is knowing our real life has been so much better than the one I imagined that day twenty years ago.
To my sweet man,
The past twenty years have been filled with joy, laughter, contentment, pain, happiness, sorrow, and all the things that are just a result of living in this old sin filled world. I would not trade one second of it. Not even the bad. Our road is what has made us who we are today. You still surprise me regularly and make me laugh harder than anyone can. When life is hard there is no one I would rather have in my corner than you. When life is easy there is no one I would rather soak it all in with than you. You are my rock and my very best friend on this earth. Thank you for making the last twenty years an adventure and I can't wait for what is ahead.
I love you with all my heart.
M
PS- I still want you to think I am beautiful!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Transformations
Well. Summer is here!!!! Our business has been without much work all year long. I joked with my husband and said, "You wait, as soon as it gets close to school being over for me - work will come." And come it has- like a freight train. I was excited at first but then the day after my last day of school I was headed to where our summer work will take us. An hour and forty-five minutes away. That makes for a long day.And it will not be over when I return to school in August. So...... I had a pity party. In the wake of Joplin, MO and Oklahoma sounds quite petty doesn't it? Well it sounds petty because it is. And this morning in my quiet time my Lord and I had a come to Jesus meeting! My study directed me to the Parable of the Sower in Luke 8. I am sure you are familiar but if not here is a condensed version :
A farmer goes out and sows his seed (God's word). As he was scattering the seed:
1. Some fell along the path and the birds ate it -Those along the path are the ones who hear, but then the devil comes and takes away the word so they may not be saved.
2. Some fell on a rock and when it came up the plants withered because they had no moisture - Jesus said those on the rock are the ones who receive the Word with joy but they have no root. They believe for awhile but in the time of testing they fall away.
3. Some seed fell among the thorns which grew up and choked the plant. - These stand for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches, pleasures and they do not mature.
4. Some seed fell on good soil and when it came up it yielded a crop a hundred times more than was sown. - This stands for those with a noble heart who hear the Word, retain it and by PERSEVERING produce a crop.
I want to persevere, not fall away and not be choked with life's issues. I know this sounds trivial to many in the wake of what others are going through, but for me it has been a lesson to be learned. Life won't always go according to my plan. It won't always work according to my time table. But, my God will work His plan and on His time table. He also answers prayer. Thank you Lord.
Since we are talking about soil, some interesting transformations have taken placed I would like to share. Remember on spring break when we plowed our SMALL garden?
We are so proud. Worn out, but proud! We worked yesterday all day long. I am so sore today but it is good for me. Don't want to get idle. After weeding for several hours, Daughter-in-love and picked some bounty! Here are some more transformations of the yummy kind! Our crookneck and patty pan squash:
A farmer goes out and sows his seed (God's word). As he was scattering the seed:
1. Some fell along the path and the birds ate it -Those along the path are the ones who hear, but then the devil comes and takes away the word so they may not be saved.
2. Some fell on a rock and when it came up the plants withered because they had no moisture - Jesus said those on the rock are the ones who receive the Word with joy but they have no root. They believe for awhile but in the time of testing they fall away.
3. Some seed fell among the thorns which grew up and choked the plant. - These stand for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches, pleasures and they do not mature.
4. Some seed fell on good soil and when it came up it yielded a crop a hundred times more than was sown. - This stands for those with a noble heart who hear the Word, retain it and by PERSEVERING produce a crop.
I want to persevere, not fall away and not be choked with life's issues. I know this sounds trivial to many in the wake of what others are going through, but for me it has been a lesson to be learned. Life won't always go according to my plan. It won't always work according to my time table. But, my God will work His plan and on His time table. He also answers prayer. Thank you Lord.
Since we are talking about soil, some interesting transformations have taken placed I would like to share. Remember on spring break when we plowed our SMALL garden?
Here it is now!!!!!!!!!!
We are so proud. Worn out, but proud! We worked yesterday all day long. I am so sore today but it is good for me. Don't want to get idle. After weeding for several hours, Daughter-in-love and picked some bounty! Here are some more transformations of the yummy kind! Our crookneck and patty pan squash:
Fried up so nice!!!!
We planted 79 tomato plants. No, that is not a typo. 79. SEVENTY-NINE. What can I say? We like tomatoes. So we picked some green ones:
And fried them up a' la Paula Deen style!
Yes I am very aware that if I fry everything in the garden a transformation will take place with me as well! So, with all this zucchini:
I sauteed onion, bell pepper (also from the garden), baby bella mushrooms and put some Italian dressing mix, tomato sauce and loads of cheese and baked it in the oven YUMMY!
I am so glad vegetables are healthy and good for you.
So much to be thankful for. The one I am most thankful for is a God who loves me and reminds me when I need it how He will transform me if I will let Him.Lord, help me to persevere and reap the harvest that produces a crop a hundred fold more than was sown.
Blessings,
Michelle
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