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!

Another store... 50 more disks to stamp... and more...

I am so sorry I have been out of "blog world". I am immersed in stamping land! I got the store I had another appointment with this past Monday and am filling that order for this coming Monday. I've had to hire and extra set of hands... I have my first employee. Whew... it was so cool to have her doing all the jewelry cards while I worked on other things... very cool getting things done in half the time!

I have two other stores I am working on. They both are in Florida. I've made contact with one while I was there and spoke with the owner. She is expecting samples and I must get them out soon... like tomorrow! The other one I am waiting until next week. I am fearful she'll say yes and I'll have another huge order... crazy... catch 22! Anyway, I am hopeful they both will happen. There could be one in Alabama... hint, hint... if she wanted! :0)

In the meantime, there is not much time for me to play on my blog. I've also had a very large amount of etsy sales in the past two weeks. I sold a pair of earrings last night, relisted another pair of them this morning and they were sold again by lunch! BRING IT ON!!! I need a lap top!

Life wise... Abby continues to progress and we are getting very excited about some things we are seeing in her processing ability and just her ability to understand things. She is blooming and I adore her. She is over three months seizure free now and we have an appt. on Tuesday with the neurologist to discuss starting to SLOWLY wean her off one of her anti-seizure meds... we'll see.

Don is in Florida right now as we just learned last night that his younger brother is in the hospital with colon cancer. Please pray for him, his name is Kevin. Our prayer is that he will make wise decisions and take better care of himself. We also pray that he is able to get the chemo he needs and will recover. We also pray that we are guided in how to be God's love to him during this time and that he will become aware of his true need for the Lord in his life. Thank you so very much, as always, for your prayers.

I had my first physical therapy appointment this week and will be going twice a week. It left me feeling worse than I did when I went in... ughhh. But I am hopeful that in some time, I will not be in pain every day. My therapist also told me I could return to Pilates in a few weeks... maybe just two! If I could only figure out how to make jewelry while on the Pilates ball.... hmmmmmm... could be a fun class!

Lastly, we have just been preapproved with an adoption placing agency in California. They work to place adopting families with birth mothers and children here in the states who need adoption. Some of the children they have placed are toddler age. Please pray we are guided by God through this process and we are open to where He may lead us. We are hopeful this may be the way to our Caroline. We will keep you posted!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

I HURT!

WOW! My entire body hurts. There is very much extra pain in my sliver wrapping thumb... both thumbs are numb... fingers ache... back aches... body aches.... But I got another store Friday! And I got my delivery done for the store I got Monday. And I have another appointment and delivery this Monday. And samples to be mailed to the store in progress in Flordia. Plus I made and mailed etsy and personal orders for Mother's Day Necklaces... just three more of those to go. OH, and I have physical therapy on Monday too... yeah for my neck and back!!!!

My treasury on etsy!

I love making these collections on etsy called treasuries. They are collections that etsians make of things they like. If you are LUCKY, your treasury might get picked to go on etsy's front page for a few hours! I think this one is very front page worthy! Basically, not only do I get to spread some love by promoting some fellow designers, I get to MAKE something else! Oh, how I miss doing page layouts! That's why I like to blog so much... it's my minimag! If only I could get this treasury onto a tank or t-shirt... that would be cool. Then I'd have to put in one of my own pictures (a treasury "no no").

Possible Opportunity!

Oh... I have to blog a little bit about this today because it "could" be an important date for me. I have a dear friend on a trip in California to meet and have dinner with someone very cool. I have FedExed her a package to give this very cool person that "could" open a door of opportunity for me. Oooooo, I don't even want to dare think it... anyway... it cost me $35 to send these two special necklaces and it "could" be the best $35 I have ever spent... we'll see... it's in God's hands now... (and the Fed Ex driver!).

I have stumbled upon a beautiful treasure!

I was at the book store the other day. I often go there during Abby's brain balance therapy sessions since it's close to her office and gives me a nice mental break to play in the magazines! (also helps me not subscribe to any anymore). I spent my 45 minutes looking through "Simple", "Cottage Style" and "Cottage Living"... and yes, I must confess, I glanced through "People".

As I was walking out, there was a PILE of magazines someone had left on one of the benches and I thought to myself, "How rude... I should put those back." And then something caught my eye. Peeking out of the stack was one half of this cover... of course the style and photography caught my eye. I pulled it out and realized I had just been given a gift! It's a magazine about FAITH and LIFE and HOME... ALL IN ONE!

I mean, there are pages about recipes and there are scriptures printed on the page with the photograph of food! It's a dream come true and I am SO jealous someone beat me to it!

One of my favorite features is the calendar section. There are pages of calendars (since it only comes out quarterly... bummer) in the front of the magazine that you can pull out and each day has three to four scriptures on it... it's like your devotion. There is a section on exercise, books to read, music, recipes, and wonderful features! It would be one of my dreams to work for this magazine!

So check it out and subscribe! Maybe if they get enough subscribers, they publish monthly!!!! When you pull it up online, be sure to read the feature article, "About Face"... it's pretty powerful.

http://www.lifebeautifulmagazine.com

Today's scriptures: Joshua 11: 1-12:24 Luke 17: 11-37 Psalm 84:1-13 Proverbs 13:5-6

Be blessed!!!!!!

What is it about this little piece of heaven on Earth?

Is it the warmth of the sun and sand? The sound and coolness of the ocean? The kiss and whisper of the salty breeze? The laughter and pure joy of children? The aura of relaxation that permeates the air? The lack of a time schedule? The happiness that overcomes you in the moment of waking on your own (minus alarm clock!). The streets of perfectly constructed and painted houses? Riding your rented and rusted bicycle anywhere you want? NO... it is all these things that make our visits to Seaside and Sea Grove Beach linger in our hearts and leave us yearning for just one more day!

As soon as we arrive and I start seeing the colorful houses, my heart just skips a beat and I feel as giddy as a child. "We are here", I announce to everyone in the car, "We are here!" Envy also starts to set in as I start announcing, "I'd take that one, and that one, and that one!" The area looks as if you have stepped into a movie set. Everything is so perfect and colorful and tranquil. Here is the house used in the "Truman Show". Need I say more?

On our past visits, we have always stayed in condos in the same area of the beach. But this year we took along our precious friends, the Pickett Family, and we rented a house for the first time. We rolled into town Sunday evening and made our way to the house. I'll speak of this briefly, as our motto quickly became, "We're so blessed to be here... that's all that matters... we are here and we are not in a roach hotel!"

As soon as we walked in the house, we were greeted with a... shall I say... FUNKY smell. We all felt out the moment and could quickly see the house was pretty dirty. I HATE other people's mung. My friend Shelley was the bravest as she leaned down and took a whiff of the very stained arm of the sofa and almost lost her breath. LUCKILY the sofas were slip covered and so within the first ten minutes of being in the house, we had the sofas stripped and washing in the washer! Just a little more sweeping of sand, vacuuming, bleaching and cleaning of counters, walls, and appliances... we were ready to get settled in! That's all I'll say... I'll skip the moody dishwasher and... no... that's it... we were blessed to be there! Seriously... we were. And they let us take Dusty!

After doing our grocery run on Sunday night and meeting the hilarious and irresistible Roofus (drunk man in funny hat letting Shelley and I know we could have had him instead of chocolate) we were ready to hit the beach on Monday. We started the day slowly with a relaxing breakfast, good conversation, and bicycle hunting. Around noon the sun decided to come out for the day and we made it down to the sand. The water was FREEZING. YIKES. I thought I was going to shrivel up when my toe came into contact with the first wisp of wave debris. The sun couldn't make up his mind either and so it was a bit cooler than we would have preferred but hey... we were there!

After about five hours of sand and sun (clouds), we went back to the house and Shelley made her wonderful fresh salsa and fish tacos! YUMMY! The kids were wiped and went to bed pretty quickly and we, of course, stayed up for hours chatting.

Day two was pretty overcast but it was our bike day and so it worked out fine. The poor guys spent way too much time just trying to locate bikes... everyone was pretty sold out. Luckily Fred Sanford and Sons were in town and we ended up finding some wind up bikes. (giggling uncontrollably!) We needed these cool attachments for the two youngest children to ride and...well... poor Shane was riding sideways for a few blocks before we convinced the guys to go back and try again. The owner of this salvage bike shop was really digging in scraps in the back... giggling again! Finally... they found one (without a chain!) that would sit straight and we were off!

Abby thought it was the coolest thing and just laughed as she peddled... it was really cute. I am hoping we can find one of these one wheel bikes online so we can ride trails here at home with them. Anyway, we rode like crazy for miles! It was so much fun. There is just so much to see and biking itself is relaxing. The place we wanted for lunch hadn't opened for the season yet... sad... and so we back tracked and ended up having a great lunch at a little place called "Sugar Pies". Our menu items included Veggie Panini, freshly oven baked pizza, and a chicken salad wrap... all very tasty!

After our biking adventure, we went home briefly to make a picnic dinner to take to the lawn in Seaside. There is a stage there and they hold events almost every night, including plays, concerts, and movie viewings. The lawn is a huge area and is covered with families. Children are running every where. Daddies are dancing with their daughters, playing football with their sons, and mommies are keeping them all in eye shot! It's awesome. I think this is one of the things we love most about this beach... how family oriented it is. Abby and Shelley were getting their groove on! "Shake your booty Mommy!" says my little one.

Day three is really our last day as day four will be packing and leaving. Sadness starts to set in as soon as we awake... :0( How fast these little vacations go by when you are having fun! We head down to the beach again and soak up a little more sun than on day one. The water, funny as it sounds, was actually a tiny bit warmer too! Sand castles were made, shells were collected, and snacks eaten. All too soon it was time to head back to the house and it was my turn to make dinner... sun dried tomato, artichoke hearts, and sauteed chicken pasta with salad. YUMMY again!

As always, it was very nice to be down at the beach. It's funny how just being there makes me feel so differently than I do anywhere else. I miss living in a beach community and I always forget until I am back. We always leave trying to figure out how we can make another trip down in September. But the craziness of life takes us over when we return and we never make it back. But I do feel very blessed that we have been able to go four years in a row now. We never took vacations when I was growing up. I think it is wonderful that we are able to share such fun times and make sweet memories with Abby. I can't believe how much she has grown since our first trip. We planned this trip before Abby got sick again this year. While we were in the hospital, I was wondering if we'd even get to go. And we did... we went and had a blessed time. Abby got to ride a bike with us. She was able to play in the sand and water with her friends. Praise God for His hand of healing upon her!

"I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing." Ezekiel 34:26~

Thank you Lord... we so love and adore you.

I LOVE DOGWOOD BLOOMS

We have these amazing dogwood trees in our front yard and they are just bursting with blooms right now. I think they are some of the most beautiful blooms. They also remind me of my mother. When I was very young, I knew she loved them. So my little feet went tromping into the woods one day and I pulled several limbs from a dogwood tree. I took them home and dug a small hole in the yard... just big enough for the stem to go down into. I then "planted" the "tree" for my mother and went in to get some water to help it grow.

There is a picture, somewhere, of me squatting down watering the "tree" with a tea pitcher. But the thought just makes me smile. How much I loved her then... I love her even so much more today.

So here is a picture of my precious dogwood blooms that make me smile every time I look outside and see them peeking through the windows. I hope they make you smile too. God is such a wonderful artist!

Be The Church!

"For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Galatians 5:13

Last weekend, our church (Heritage Christain Church), did not hold church services! Instead, the congregation was involved in community service projects through out the community! It was the end of the "Taking it to the Streets" series we'd be going through and was really very cool.

Don, Abby and I went into downtown Atlanta and, along with members of another church, cleaned up a city street in a neighborhood. It was very moving. It was Sunday and our spirits were so filled with worship and thanksgiving. As we picked up trash, lawn debris, and raked sidewalks that had not been touched in years... I was so overwhelmed with the knowledge of knowing not only was I trying to bless people who lived on this street... but I was doing it in the name of the Lord. It is such a wonderful and peaceful feeling to allow your hands to do God's work.

It was also wonderful to share it with Abby. She was very much into it and knew we were doing it for God. It was very sweet and she touched many people there with her spirit and story.

So try and remember that we are the church... not the building. We, children of God, are to "BE" the church to those around us every day. Whether you let someone in front of you in a line, extend grace in traffic, smile at strangers, volunteer some time, or send a note to someone... YOU are the hands of God in this world. You have no idea what a simple smile can do to someone. You may never know but I do believe you will know once you are in heaven. If you touch one person for the Lord... that is something BIG and wonderful!