Ode to Kindergarten... and "Osborne"


I can not believe that today was the last day of school for Abby... this year has flown by and left me spinning! It seems just like yesterday we were taking Abby's first day of school pancakes picture! We were SO very blessed to have Mrs. Osborne... aka "Osborne"... again this year. She has become such a special part of our family... we just love her to pieces! I have a special place in my heart for teachers. They are such a very special group of people. To be so underpaid and have SUCH an impact on our children and their future is just a disgrace and sad picture the priorities of our country... don't get me started! :0) We didn't say goodbye because we are friends and will be seeing "Osborne" often... hopefully. So... we'll see you soon Osborne. side note: "Osborne" is what Abby has called her for two years... (remembering the Mrs. and Mr. is often very hard for her) and as Mrs. Osborne will say, "She's the only one who could get away with it!" xoxoxoxo









Field Day!


Yesterday was field day and Don and I went to cheer our little one on to victory! She was line leader and so she was first for all the games. We were so amazed that she did such an awesome job, especially for being first and not getting to see the other kids do it! We are so blessed and so very thankful for her physical health right now. As we watched her participate in the games, we were just blown away with how much she seemed to be physically on track with her classmates. She was jumping in her jumping bag, squeezing and hopping with her ball... and she had confidence... it was beautiful! She has been seizure free for over four months now and is showing signs of developmental improvement every day! We do not take one moment of it for granted and continue to pray for God's hands of healing and protection to be wrapped around her!!




I love to see her interact with her friends at school. She seems so grown up and they are so cute together. One of her best friends this year was Edith (on her left). This precious little girl came about mid year and spoke no English. Well, Abby, being speech delayed herself, became Edith's long lost pal and started making up her own "Spanish" to speak like Edith! One of her words was "Adrico!". She'd say it ALL the time and trill the "r". Anytime she was happy... "Adrico!"... anytime she was confused... "Adrico!"... everytime she'd see you... "Adrico!". Thank goodness we are past that!!!! It was better than the barking stage though. Abby has had a hard time getting her thoughts out. So when she has a rush of thoughts... she'd bark or say, "Adrico!"! This is the stuff of sitcoms!!!!! :0)



What precious, precious little girls they are!!!!!!!!!



So we are officially starting our summer tomorrow. I can't believe the school year is gone. We have been so blessed to be at Abby's school. They are so dedicated to the children and everyone there has gone above and beyond, time and time again. I am excited we will be there again next year!! I am pretty nervous about the first grade. I am hoping that she will make great gains over the summer again and will start first grade off healthy and ready! Pray, pray, pray!!!


Our little athlete!

Big things from little charms...

I continue to be amazed at what God is doing with my business this year... the year I was going to sell it. My latest endeaver with one of my newest stores has led me to an AMAZING opportunity!

The owner of Boulignini, my newest store to carry Georgia Jewels, has introduced me to one of her Zulugrass reps. I have been making bead clusters and silver charms that "clip" on the zulugrass bead strands she sells and they are a HUGE hit! The rep came in yesterday and LOVED them and asked if I could come in and meet her! I was in the chair at the salon when she called but made it up there just 45 minutes later to meet her and we hit it off! She loves my product and packaging and wants to present them to her company owners, the Leakey's!

This is really a cool thing for MANY reasons. For one, these bead strands and made in Kenya and Tanzania by African women and the Leakey family set up this company to sell them. A portion of the sales of these beads goes back to the women directly and they are building a community and becoming self sufficient! The second cool thing is that my colorful bead clusters are not only selling, they are increasing the sales of the zulugrass beads! The third cool thing is that I am going to give 10% of my sales of my charms to these women too!!!! The fourth cool thing is that I could be going BIG TIME really soon!!!!!

OK, breath. The Leakey family lives in Kenya with these tribe women several months of the year... you have to go to http://www.leakeycollection.com/zulugrass.php to see more about their passion for these women... it's very cool! They are coming back to the states in August. I could be meeting them then.... ok... breath! (giggle...giggle) In the mean time, the rep is forwarding my info and samples to her stores (in seven states) with the highest zulugrass sales so I can make charms for them too! And she wants me to attend a show she is doing in Atlanta in July to reveal the Fall collection!!!!!!!

So how cool is that!? How cool is God? How cool is it that with each one of these charms I am making... I am giving a little to a tribe of women and helping them and their children have a better life!!!!!!!!! I am thrilled to the core of my soul!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you God... once again... YOU ROCK!

Well...

Well, we got a call today from our facilitator. It seems the reason we haven't gotten a call from CA is because they can't get in touch with the mother. It appears she may have gotten cold feet. My first reaction upon hearing this was a sick feeling in my gut... but then I was fine. We have been praying for this little girl and her family... and her mother. We have prayed for God's will to be done and for everyone involved to be protected. So if she wants to keep her child... I praise God and pray that He will give her the ability to do so.

So the room is ready, our paper work is ready, and we are ready...waiting on stand by... we'll see what God does next! Your prayers in this matter are so much appreciated. Thank you for all the love and excitement you shared with us during this experience. Hopefully, we'll be doing it again soon! xoxoxo

PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!!!!!!

Oh my sweet friends and prayer warriors... please start praying for our new possible addition. We received a call yesterday about a three year little girl who needs a home. My heart is racing and about to burst. PLEASE pray for God's hand to be ALL over this situation... as I feel it already is. Please pray for the birth mother to be guided in God's will. My last prayer request is the biggest... please pray, whenever you think of us, for this little girl's heart. Pray GOD HIMSELF will prepare her for the transition that may be happening soon. Pray her little heart is in God's very hands and that HE will give her peace and let her see our love and feel safe. She is going to have a HUGE grieving process... please, please, please cover this child in your prayers and love. God is so very good and mighty and I know He will be here with us... thank you for your love and prayers.

Our God Rocks!

The coolest thing just happened to me at Starbucks this morning. I had been at physical therapy and hadn't had time to make coffee this morning before I took Abby to school. So after getting through therapy half asleep, I went through the drive thru at Starbucks to get a coffee for the way home. As I am in line, waiting to pay, I think to myself..."I'm going to pay for the car behind me." When I pulled up to pay, the cashier said, "The car in front of you paid for your coffee." My mouth fell open and I said, "No way... I was going to pay for the car behind me!" She continued to tell me that the lady had paid for that car too! Apparently someone had done the same for her the day before so she came back and paid it forward. So I said, "FINE... I'll pay for the mini van two cars behind me!" The cashier started cracking up and took my money. As I pulled away, I just smiled. How precious is my God to pay for my coffee when I have decided to pay for someone elses... what a tangible sweet gift He gave me today! My God ROCKS! And my coffee was great! Pay it forward... it's cooler than cool and very addictive!

I met my hawk today!

I was totally unaware until the last five minutes of our time together. But suddenly I saw it and was covered in chills from head to toe... as was she.

The past couple months, I have been struck with how many hawks I see. I love birds and everytime I see a hawk... I am moved by how "alone" and powerful and graceful it is. I always feel priviledged to see certain things in nature and so everytime I would see a hawk, I'd say outload, "I see you God... thank you for showing yourself to me today... you are majestic." Well, after several days in a row of seeing one... I started keeping count and I'd ask God as I walked to my car, "Show yourself to me... show me my hawk today." And when He would, I'd laugh out loud and be THRILLED that He was so... so there... like... "Ok... I'll show you."

So one day I was in the car with Don and it was about my 8th day in a row and I told him about it. He couldn't believe it and started looking for them too... he even showed me one. It was about 11 days straight and it got to the point where Don would call from a trip and ask, "Have you seen your hawk yet?"

Well, it has tapered off but I still see them often. Each time I do, I thank God and just get this warm fuzzy feeling all inside. So on to "meeting my hawk".

I had an adoption meeting this morning. Everything was going wrong. I couldn't find the directions they said they had mailed, I couldn't find an address for them on anything I had from them or online. I was calling like crazy for an hour (as I am blindly driving North on I-85) and there was noone answering. My cell phone was dead, Don had taken my car this morning and had my car charger... it was crazy.

With one cell phone bar left (I charged it 5 minutes before I left the house), my phone "whispered"a ring and it was Gloria. She gave me directions and I was going the right way and amazingly enough, I was there on time. We had our meeting and we really hit it off. I have been fearful of domestic adoption and so I wasn't really knowing what to expect. We had been going with a place out in CA but after our phone interview with them, Don and I both felt badly about the whole thing... it was weird. The next day, our homestudy lady emailed us with Gloria's info. It was a God thing.

At the end of our meeting, I was feeling very good about being there and being with this organization. We were talking about my back yard and I started talking about my bird feeders and how much I love birds and she said, "You know I am a hawk". "Hawk" is her last name. As soon as she said it, I was covered in chills and almost started crying. I looked up on the wall and looked at this bird I had been looking at while I was there and it was a hawk on a tree limb. She said, "Evertime my husand sees something with a hawk on it, he has to buy it."

I told her my story about hawks and she too became covered in chills... she is my hawk. She is my God sighting for today and I know, without a doubt, that God has led us to her to bring us to our second child.

If we had not started our adoption process for Kazakhstan, we'd not met Kelly... our homestudy girl. If we'd not hosted Karina from Russia last December, our relationship with her would have ended (at that time) with the final homestudy meeting and she would have never really known us so well. If she'd not emailed us about Gloria... I wouldn't have met my hawk! God is too cool and I am thrilled to see what He has planned for us next!

Saturday Morning Pancakes and Mother's Day

Our weekend always starts off wonderful with our Saturday morning tradition of Saturday pancakes in bed! Daddy makes pancakes while I steal a few extra zzzz's, Abby watches cartoons and Dusty drops his tennis ball on my head! His pancakes are THE BEST EVER! What is so very cool about them is that not only are they just totally amazing and bursting with flavor and crunch (granola).... they are egg and dairy free! He should totally trademark the recipe!!

So this weekend started with berry covered pancakes and my girl and crazy playful dog in bed with me! I love it! We had planned on trying to go to Stone Mountain but we had rain coming... that we very much needed. So after lunch and late showers... Abby and I headed out for the movie theatre. We saw Nim's Island and it was a great movie. It was very fast paced and I don't think my girl blinked once during the entire thing! We sat there in the theatre with our Twizzlers we snuck in (am not paying $20 for candy), our sodas (I did pay $8 for two SMALL drinks... RIP OFF!!!! next time I'll sneak in juice bottles too... just joking) and our SOAKING WET blue jeans!!!!! It was POURING by the time we got there and we had to run across the parking lot that was flooding and seriously... our jeans were soaked up to our thighs! And we laughed our heads off... it was great.

The sun was shinning on Mother's Day and after church we went to lunch with some friends. Then we were off to the park for about an hour and then we spent the rest of the afternoon on the deck. My two greatest gifts were "leisure time" AND my precious one falling asleep in my lap... as we sat outside and listened to the breeze (it was very windy and made a WONDERFUL sound whipping through our trees). As she layed there, I was overcome with thanksgiving at just how peaceful she was. She had fallen asleep many times in my lap... only to start seizing 10 minutes after falling asleep. I realized that I was not tense... anticipating it... begging God to just let her sleep this once... I was relaxed and enjoying the moment and it was beautiful.... thank you God for that very precious, priceless and intimate gift!

I wanted to send a "shout out" to all my mommy friends and just couldn't get to the computer...actually the storm knocked out our internet on Saturday but anyway... Happy Mother's Day to all my precious friends. I am blessed to have so many friends who are so selfless in the way they mother their children. I am inspired by all of them in a different way and it just enriches my view on one of the most wonderful roles there is in the entire world... MOTHERS ROCK and I love you all!

And I want to send out an very understated "THANK YOU" to my beautiful Mother. As I said in your card, you are the source of strength for me... you give me such love... I am warm just thinking about it. I treasure our relationship so much and am so thankful that you are here with me in this journey of my life... YOU ROCK and I ADORE YOU! Love you crazy.

Coming

Full

Circle

with

6th

store

this

year!

What a cool thing it is to be making jewelry for a jewerly store in my hometown, Boaz, AL! I am stamping necklaces for graduation for two high schools and it just makes me smile! :0)

A very sweet woman from AL has been reading my blog for over a year. She found my blog through a friend from high school who had me linked to her site. She had commented a few times and was always so encouraging. Not too long ago, after ordering a mother's necklace... she casually said, "Oh by the way, I own a jewelry store and have always taken an interest in your jewelry." WHO KNEW!?

So she loved the Mother's necklace and has ordered some for graduation to carry in her store! YEAH!!! That is just too cool. THANK YOU DONNA.... is it strange reading about yourself on my blog!?

Much Needed Mommy's Night Out!

I woke up yesterday and by 10 a.m. realized I was in much need of a night out. So several phone calls later... I realized I'd be spending girl's night out alone. Lucky for me...I totally don't mind being alone... I actually love going out alone just as much as with someone!

So after making a business stop at "my" newest store... I went to the bookstore to find a new magazine to take to dinner... will share that new little winner tomorrow... and headed to Moes. I was trying to keep my night under $20 and I love the steak soft taco with black beans, tons of cilantro, and a squeeze of lime! So I enjoyed my magazine and my taco and then headed to Newnan to see "Baby Mama" at the fun new theatre! It was HILLARIOUS! I love to go to movies that make you laugh out loud... several times... and this little hit was better than I had even hoped for. There were several people in it, Steve Martin, Sigourney Weaver and Greg Kinnear that I had not expected that had wonderful roles! Sarah and Tina are HOOT together and made the movie TOTALLY believable... I loved it! Go see it!

After the movie I stopped at Kroger and picked up some ice cream and brought my festivities home. I feel refreshed and ready for another week and another movie. I LOVE going to the movies and my husband really doesn't "feel it". So I end up going alone or with gal pals most of the time. So I don't get the theatre enough anymore.... must try harder... in ALL my spare time!

The highlight of the evening came when the girl ringing me up at Moes saw my necklace (disk necklace) and asked.. "Oh... did you get that at the Avenue?" I very humbly responded, "No, I actually am the designer and made it, Bouglinini is one my newest clients." She said, "My mom just bought one this moring that said "Inspire" and I love it... I'm going to get one!" So I broke and high fived her and told her she totally just made my day! :0) We were both pretty giddy! :0)

Call for Prayers for my family...

Oh... my mom called last night and her sister, Sharon, is in ICU. Last night, the news was that her brain was very swollen and that there was a large mass underneath her brain. Today, the news is that she has five tumors... two on top of her brain, a very large one beneath her brain, one in her lung and another in her stomach. Sugery will be Monday. They are going into the skull to see what exactly they are dealing with... but in simple words... it doesn't look good.

Please pray and I ask for specific prayers... thank you. Please pray for Sharon. Pray she will have ease of pain and be given the peace of God through this dark moment. Please pray she will be surrounded with love and God's light and will be touched with healing. Please pray for her two daughters, Candi and Jamie, as they walk this valley with her. Pray that God gives them strength, energy, faith, hope, courage, wisdom, peace and fills them with His presence. Please pray for her doctors. Pray they are given wisdom and eyes to see what God would have them to see and that God will guide their thoughts and actions.

Please pray for my mother, as she is in Virginia and it is hard for her to be so far away. Pray she can get her business and life in order and be able to be there when needed... pray for safe travels for her this weekend and for God to fill her with strength and courage and peace to be His love to her family during this time. Please pray for her heart as she has lost a sister and her mother just earlier this year, two weeks of each other.

Please pray for all the other family members involved who also have been through so much pain just months earlier... my aunt Cindy, my grandfather, my uncle Clay and his precious wife Jennifer.... pray God gives them all strength and that they seek and focus on HIM during this time.

Thank you... thank you for your faithfulness in praying for my family and for your love and support and encouragement.

Miley Cyrus

I can not believe I am actually posting this, but I just feel I should. I have been planning a "Miley" post because I am just crazy about her song, "See you again" (you can play it in my playlist). It's just a bubble gum, teeney bopper, fun song! Every time I hear it in the car... or on my playlist now... I crank it and dance like...well.. a teeny bopper! Thankfully, I haven't pulled anything out of whack yet! :0)

But I am very saddened by what Miley is going through right now and I think it relates GREATLY to what our young people are going through EVERYDAY and I believe it is a HUGE attack on our youth.

Sexuality permeates our culture and it is ridiculous how much it affects our young people... sad and outraging really. Here is this young girl, trying to have a career in an industry that promotes and distorts sexuality and she is so QUICKLY falls victim to the viscious reality that is so many times hidden... or tried to be hidden. "You are a money maker."

You are not a person anymore. You are sales. You are ratings. You are advertising bait. I feel Vanity Fair did what any other magazine would do... they got the shot to sell their magazine... and it's disgusting. What's even more disgusting is how our culture feeds on this mess. What is the motivation behind this. I AM GUILTY. I look at People magazine and I am intrigued by celebrities. I am intrigued by their life, their power, how they choose to use it, and what they are doing. WHY? WHY? WHY? That is my question today... to myself... and to you... WHY do we care?

I am hoping that the media (also a viscious money making sick machine... and yes, I once was apart of that and it IS ALL ABOUT THE RATINGS... which is ALL ABOUT THE MONEY... which is why I left it!) will BACK off and not do to her what they have done and continue to do to Britney... can't believe I am posting about her as well... but they destroy people in the quest for money and it really maddens me. I just want to get a hold of those girls (and many more in Hollywood) and shake them! They are so deafened by the lies and surrounded by the wrong people and influences... oh it saddens me.

Miley has an opportunity to USE this lastest episode of exploitation to BE a good role model and admit she fell for it... fell for the trap, was hooked, and caught. She can also protect herself and speak out against it... but that would be speaking against the very thing that propels her career. It's sad... so sad.

So that is my soap box today.

Healing Hands

Don is coming home with his brother, Kevin, today. He had surgery last week to remove a large amount of cancer in his colon and will be here with us for a few weeks to heal and recover.

Our hope and prayer is to be the Light of the Lord to him right now. He needs direction, motivation, guidance, love, and basically a God intervention! So we are going to be God's love to him right now.

Our prayers are for his strength, his physical healing, and a spiritual awakening. God brings us to places along this journey for certain reasons and we are prayerful this "wake up" call will speak to Kevin's heart and soul. I also pray my husband can have some intimate time with his brother to build their relationship with Christ as the foundation.

Please pray that this time in our life will glorify the Lord and that our family will be protected from attacks. Please pray that Abby will know the difference in being "sick" as we have told her and "having cancer" like Kevin. Her heart being protected is also one of my greatest prayers. I do not want fear to enter her heart about being sick so we are really trying to make Kevin's illness very different from her own.

Thank you so very much for your prayers and support. I also ask you to lift up my friends brother in law, Andy, as he has been fighting cancer and is now fighting a very hard and long battle against phenmonia. He is very young but struggling in this fight. I also ask prayers for a family in Winchester, friend's of my parents. The husband is in the hospital and may have not even made it through the night. He was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago but has spiraled down very quickly. He has three children, one in his twenties, one in high school and one in junior high... and a wife... and a mother...crying by his bedside.

There are so many people out there hurting... pleading with God for healing... asking for answers and hanging onto hope. In this time, I can hear people's confusion about God and I know that feeling so very well. It's a desperate and very lonely feeling... very frustrating and exasperated. I just want to encourage those, going through these tragic times in life, that God is good and He remains good and sovereign... even when our circumstances are bad... dark... and tragic.

Bad things happen because this is a temporary life... in a world full of consequences. Consequences for actions against our earth and resources (pollution, chemicals, waste), consequences against our body, (what we eat, how we do or don't take care of it, what we are exposed to) and consequences against our Lord. It happens because it is life... not because God has neglected us or doesn't care.

The hope and truth in all this is that God can still be glorified in all this tragedy. We may not know how immediately... because we do not understand His ways. But we can hold on to the truth and look for the good in all sad situations... it is there. Whether someone comes to accept Christ and receives salvation, whether a child sees his/her family lean on and trust in the Lord and a strong foundation is laid that changes his/her life, whether people are brought into communion with the Lord in prayer... God is there and He can and will be glorified... SOMETHING beautiful is going on in the darkness because Christ has already won the battle and GOOD has already beaten evil! Praise God for that... thank you... thank you.

It is this hope and truth that shines the light into the darkness. It is hard to hang on to during times that cause us fear and pain. But you must remain focused on the Lord and not on the circumstances... that is where the peace that surpasses all understanding comes from.

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to Him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:33-36

"Be anxious in nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phillippians 4: 6, 7

I pray God can be glorified and that the pain in my past and God's sovereignty in it, can encourage others and direct them to the Lord's feet. Be blessed today in knowing your are loved by and in the hands of the God of the universe!