Listen here, missy!

caroline & i would like to thank each of you

that sent get well

& happy birthday wishes!!

i can't tell you how much your words mean to me

caroline will head over to see the specialist on monday
so hopefully we'll start to get some answers & help for my cutie

the last several days i was so frustrated with myself

several things had all occured simultaneously

& that just 'bout did me in

i was already all knotted up

worried about a screening test dan was to have this week

screening for one of the several cancers his mom had fought

but i should know better

this frustration & fear thing with medical issues

i have allowed to creep in & take up residence in my soul

robbing me of joy & peace

oh yes

it's my fault indeed

i should know better by now

anyways
everything else just piled up ontop of my already fragile spirit

dan's test was fine
he's aok
but i need to remind myself
that we'd be aok no matter what

there is a scripture that i love
joshua 1.9
"Have I not commanded you?
Be strong & courageous.
Do not be terrified
do not be discouraged
for the Lord your God
will be with you
wherever you go"

that's right
wherever i go...

my hero Beth Moore once said
that the "have i not commanded you"
is like the lord saying
"LISTEN HERE, MISSY!"

i love that

we're commanded not to fear
we're promised He will be with us

why i can't get this nailed down in my fragile spirit
is a constant source of frustration

i have my own screening test coming up soon

for an issue i've been dealing with for a couple of years

think its time

i listened up

{~~~caroline finally felt the best she has in days

so yesterday

we ran out to one of my fave places & snapped up

a couple hundred shots

darn it, if she's not a trooper

than i don't know who is~~~}

now

listen here missies

don't let anything

rob YOU

of your joy & your peace

ps....i've already received a few emails....the ginormous flower is from Anthropologie! :)

the grumpy blogger

i'll be honest

this is how i've felt the last several days

its been a doozey around here

i debated , should i post the list of things that have gone wrong?

i was going to even try to rhyme everything

dr seuss style of course

but since i'm in a funk

& a little grumpy

my creative thoughts weren't really flowing

& besides that

who really wants to hear all about

water pouring through my ceiling inches from my white furniture

or that my freezer flooded my fridge

again

or that my beloved vacuum cleaner died

after cleaning the mess

the sewer guy left on my newly shampooed carpet

who really wants to hear about that?

but the real kicker

is that my little birthday girl has been mighty sick

she was out of it on her birthday

fever 105

delirious

sick

sick

sick

so pitiful

she asked me if i would open her presents for her

sadness

but in all seriousness

i would love for you to remember her in your prayers

she has chronic headaches

we've been through the neurologist

had an MRI

seen the eye doctor

she has experienced migraine like headaches & has since she was 5

some weeks she might go to the clinic at school everyday

but about 2 months ago

she began to complain that her tummy hurt

usually all day

everyday

we saw the doc 2 weeks ago & had a load of tests run

many things ruled out

but one of her labs came back abnormal

we've been referred to a gastroenterologist

thus begins the long wait

waiting to get an appointment

then takes time to schedule tests

i'm just tired of seeing my little one not feeling 100%

i'd rather her be running around flying her new birthday kite

then laying inside not feeling well

~~

on the upside
my older 3 girls all have cheer tryouts
this week & next
so you can imagine all the excitement around here

savannah will be a senior next year
she's done gymnastics & tumbling since the age of 3
she hoping to change things up next year & not go the competition cheer route
so we'll see how that goes...

emily is my rookie cheerleader

she had a fantastic season last fall

& will be trying out for the middle school squad

madison left her 11 years of ballet

& jumped right into cheering

she had a great season cheering for middle school

& this week is running with the big dogs

as she tries out for a spot on one

of the highschool squads

good luck girls!!!

i'm so proud of each of you!!

a little story for caroline elizabeth

once upon a time

there was a mommy

who had three little girls

the mommy fell in love with a very handsome man

the very handsome man

married the mommy

& her three little girls

in a garden

one Easter weekend

the very handsome man

gave the mommy a beautiful ring

& the three little girls each a gold bracelet

he promised to love them

& take care of them

forever

one summer afternoon
the mommy found out she was going to have another baby
but when she went to the doctor
the doctor couldn't hear the little baby's heartbeat

he told her he suspected
she was soon to have her 3rd miscarriage
since marrying the handsome man

the little family was leaving for the beach
the very next day
the mommy was very worried that week

she walked up & down the beach
& asked the Lord to protect
the tiny baby she carried

but that doctor was wrong
there was a tiny heartbeat there
& it was beating strong

7 months later
on march 20th
the mommy gave birth to a beautiful baby girl

march 20th is the first day of spring
& also a very tender day for the mommy




you see
on march 20th
the first day of spring
5 years earlier
the mommy sat beside her first husband
while the doctor told him
he had cancer

that doctor told them
he might live for 5 years
he lived for 9 months

5 years later
on the first day of spring
the exact same day
that had once brought fear, anxiety, & loss

march 20th
the Lord gave the mommy a sign of new life
a reminder that He loved her
& He loved her three little girls

he gave the mommy
a sign of hope
all wrapped up
in a 7 pound blue eyed blonde haired baby girl

the mommy
& the very handsome man
now had four little girls
their hearts overflowed

that's what you are to us
sweet child
a very special gift
to our family
a reminder of God's gentle love
& how we can always hope in Him

god gave me exceedingly more
than i ever asked for
&
much more than
i had dared
to allow
my heart to dream

He gave me
not only your daddy
but
then
He added you

i pray you know how much we love you
but even more
how much
He loves you

Happy Birthday sweet baby
you
completed
us

Jeremiah 29.11
For I know the plans I have for you

declares the Lord

plans to prosper you

and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope

and a future.

randomness

i have many random things to catch up with so i'm gonna knock 'em all out of the park with one giant swing!

~1. so thrilled that i was able to zoom over for Kathryn Stockett's book signing.
i would have loved to have shown my southern born & bred solidarity by showing up in a lilly pulitzer frock or atleast a talbots cardigan and pearls but it was one of those days. so i blew in sporting my uniform ( aka yoga pants & black fleece). i did however refrain from going all gaga about my infatuation with "The Help", how i really didn't want that wonderful book to end, loved the characters, could honestly hear them in my head, that we had a Minnie in our family, that i'm pumped about the whole MOVIE gig , and thank her for such a fabulous choice she made in the hardback colors.
if she only knew all that, she might have smiled as ginormous as me.
& good grief, do i have the roundest face in the world or what?

~2. Saving CeeCee is another excellent read!

~3. dan & i went to brunch saturday. when we arrived home, my sweet madison had made a chocolate cake, FROM SCRATCH and left the kitchen spotless. talking my love language sweet girl!

~4. i have quite the crush on these little ballet flats, just not their sassy price tag.

~5. and these too, even though i think i'd look ridiculous in them

~6. thinking these are more my speed ( forgive the pun) ....pink & yellow, of course!

~7. would love to give a shout out to CSN stores. CSN sent over this gorgeous Calphalon 3 quart casserole dish & i LOVE it. CSN has excellent customer service. Excellent! their shipping was timely & i am very very pleased with the product. it was an all around pleasure working iwth this company! Thank you CSN!!

~8. saw Alice in Wonderland in 3~D

loved Alice in Wonderland in 3~D.

could have lived without the whole dragon slaying scene , but otherwise great little movie.

there is a scene at the beginning where alice arrives at an english manor.....the colors are amazing...muted yet saturated. i think i did an outloud gasp....

~9. if you are looking to save a few pennies, suave has a rosemary & mint line that is comparable to Aveeda...& smells divine!

~10. woke this morning to a card from my honey saying "happy 4,000 days of marriage"!

seriously?

turns out he did the math months ago & made a note in his planner to send me a special note today.

no i don't deserve him

& yes, i've asked if he'll host a speaking engagement on how to effectively make your wife feel incredibly loved.

currently he has declined





~11. are you still with me?

i tried to copy & paste that darn widget thingy from random.org but for crying out loud, it only copied the text portion. was scared if i ran it again it would read 2 findings vs 1-so i quit while i was ahead...what a dork i am. i really wanted to appear all professional & legit

anyway

BIG congrats to tracey of french larkspur on winning the gorgeous fly free lisa leonard necklace ( i'm working through my jealousy -wink)

tracey has hosted several generous giveaways on her own blog, so i was tickled when i realized she was the winner. so glad she has a turn to receive!

hope you enjoy!!

True Random Number Generator

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Result:
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walking in the truth

3rd john 4 says i have no greater joy than to hear my children walk in the truth.

the other day dan & savannah were talking about her future, college choices, etc. savannah told him that she was excited about her future, all the challenges ahead of her next year as a highschool senior and then as a college freshman.
but she then went on to say something that spoke volumes to me.
she said probably the hardest thing to do when she graduates, would be leaving our church.

our church has a simple yet profound goal of reaching the next generation.
actively whole heartedly going after & connecting with our kids and leading them into a powerful relationship with the lord that is alive & real

the youth group at Grace is enormous
on wednesday nights alone about 800 middle schoolers come together for small group , worship & teaching.
& that doesn't even count the highschoolers & adults that help out!
its the most amazing night of my week. my girls love it. savannah & i work with a group of 6th grade girls. it has been a priceless opportunity for me to watch as she leads & teaches theses younger girls. i wouldn't trade anything for those 2 hours each week.

we are also incredibly fortunate
a couple of years ago some of my alltime most fave worship leaders moved to atlanta. one from nashville ( christy nockels ), one from england ( matt redman) and one from texas ( chris tomlin) to join forces with louie giglio to plant a church. a church whose heart beats to reach the city of atlanta in a powerful way. ( sermons can be watched here)

these guys have humbly come together
& blown the doors open on worship
louie is so gifted in passionately teaching about the love of God

Passion city church meets on sunday nights
so after sunday mornings at "our church" we head out to spend sunday nights with them.
A>M>A>Z>I>N>G
is all i can say

the first sunday night we went
caroline took notes the entire sermon...darn it if that wasn't the most precious thing
that sweet child
sitting with her little leather bible & pencil
writing as fast as she could
just soaking it all up

during worship she stood up
lifted her little face
and raised her hands to worhip her lord

she was only 7



this past week they released their latest cd
i am probably only one song shy of blowing my speakers
i have never heard a more powerful group of songs
if i had a whole bunch of money i would give each one of you this cd
but i don't
so i'll do the next best thing
strongly encourage you to listen
i think this link will still allow you to do just that

song #5---leaves me with tears every time


surely caroline & i are chris tomlin's biggest fans
if you're not famliar with chris....you might just love him too
he's won GMA male vocalist a few times
knocked down a couple artist of the year awards
a couple grammy nods
& is the most sung christian artist in america

if you are hurting or feeling fragile today

vulnerable or broken

feeling your praises are truly in sacrifice

i would love to encourage you

i would love to share this powerful song

pause my playlist

sit back

& listen

let these words touch your heart today

& above all

know that you are loved

by Him

may you too walk in that truth

artful blogging, lisa leonard & a giveaway!!!

sometimes an email can be just a sweet & special

as a hand written note

such was the case several months ago

upon receiving a note from Kellene Giloff

Kellene is the president of Stampington & Company

& the publisher of Somerset Studio

the note from Kellene was so warm & thoughtful

it was as if we already knew each other

i felt like i was sitting across from her sipping coffee

one of the things Kellene shared with me was that she would be submitting

my blog to the editors at Artful Blogging

i am so tickled & completely humbled to tell you

that i am in the current spring issue!!

here is a little blip from my article~~

Some days I feel very introspective. I find myself eagerly awaiting the moment when I can sit quietly at the computer, when my simple thoughts take form, take on life, & roll seamlessly onto the keyboard. I enjoy the stretching & growing involved as I discover this “me” that is often buried behind a ponytail wearing, carpool driving, menu planning, laundry keeper. The “me” that never knew I enjoyed writing. The “me” that has finds peace in putting my heart out there. The “me” that chooses to be held accountable as I express my commitment to invest in my children. It’s in those rare moments where this girl who is seldom eloquent, finds an actual comfort and security in her own written words.

one of the things i was so tickled to see was that lisa leonard was also in the same issue

i love lisa's huge, full of unconditional love, mommy heart

lisa has a tender & transparent spirit

& she radiates true joy

& i respect the fact that she found a way to create from her heart , develop her own company thus be able to stay home and raise her precious boys

this week lisa has a introduced her new "whoo do you love" necklace

total cuteness

ya'll are thinking

were's the giveaway?
your title said giveaway

mmmkay

i am so tickled that i am just beside myself

lisa & i chatted this week
& rockstar sweet lisa offered to allow me to choose my favorite piece & offer it to one of you
lucky you
i might just sneak my name in there too---i'm just teasin

this beauty is called fly free

it speaks to my heart on such a spiritual level

i think many of us can relate to this thought...

just leave me a little comment

i'd love to hear if this sentiment speaks to you too

you don't have to leave anything personal ....no pressure, but if so, i'd love to hear

i will choose a winner via random generator early next week

you have until midnight sunday night March 14th to enter

until then

God bless

& may we all fly free....