celebrating

the six weeks or so between february 14th & april 1st,

we celebrate 4 out of 6 of our birthdays,

valentines, april fools day and our anniversary.

we've also turned birthday celebrations into a 3-4 day gig.

do ya'll do the same?

friday night, caroline wanted everyone, "sissies and trevor too", to head intown and eat at willy's on caroline street. we are a suburban family who basically spends our weekends intown. dan & i would move there in a heart beat!

we were headed out for desert later

& madison would be making an ice cream pie for her actual birthday,

so i just picked up a little mini-cake for her to blow out candles at dinner that evening.

 

 

 

we headed over to decatur to visit yogurt tap.

i practiced my evening photography on (yikes) manual setting

while dan drove forever trying to find a parking spot.

savannah demonstrated "the eighth grader" pose.

emily, the token eighth grader, appreciated big sis's humor.

 

one of the sweetest things is when my girls make birthday cards for each other. precious.

i think more than one of my daughters has a crush on trevor,

who showed up later in the weekend with some tennessee garb for his fellow UT fan.

 

for her birthday dinner she requested edie's spicy tomato soup.

i ordered sourdough breadbowls from publix

drizzled with evoo & sea salt and baked them to make the already fresh bread nice & crusty

 

chopped some fresh basil

add some crumbled blue cheese & voila

 

the weather has been glorious

so we've been enjoying dining al fresco

 

the end.

spring's first day

it was the week that would usher in the first day of spring.

i sat across the desk from him.

he, the young & handsome a doctor.

i sat beside him.

he, the father of the baby i carried inside me

& the daddy to the two babies back at home.

cancer

it was inside him

& would now be our focus

for 9 months.

the handsome doctor told us that if gregg could make it to the 

5 year mark, he'd beat it.

9 months later

i buried the man i sat beside that day.

a good man

a man that i was crazy about & loved dearly.

not one to make things overly spiritual

yet

one who doesn't want to miss the miracle in the small details either...

5 years later

exactly
on the first day of spring

the Lord gave me a gift
wrapped in blond hair, blue eyes & a button nose

a reminder that He is good.

a reminder that although we live in a broken world with sin

and cancer

and tsunamis

and divorce

and child trafficking

and war

that we have a God who is always with us
who always hears our prayers
sees our tears
& He is good.

her life grew inside me for 9 months.
the same amount of time cancer robbed gregg of his.

now 10 years have passed
& she's growing up.
15 years have passed & we still miss him.
i look back on both of those first days of spring.

both reshaped my little world.

one, although it was one of the darkest days of my life

seems like a lifetime ago

yet anytime i drive by that hospital

my breath catches in my throat

& i remember.

10 years later

i look back on the other first day of spring

it was one of the the most amazing days of my life.

i see my baby girl

& my breath catches in my throat.

she is my reminder that He is good.

she is my sign of hope.

happy 10th birthday little one

i love you more than you'll ever know....

& then some

mama

(these are not recent shots but they are from my favorite shoot of her)

a prayer for japan & a don't miss new cd

if you happen to call or text me while i'm driving

anytime in the near future

i won't hear you.

i will however have this cd cranked up

wide open

& be singing along.

actually we won't hear you if you call our seldom used land line either.

every one of my girls also has the cd blasting from their computers & ipods!

passion has put out several worship cd's over the years.

i think each time they release a new cd i am convinced it is my new favorite and it won't be topped.

yet they do it time & time again.

their latest cd, here for you , is incredible!!

& most definitely my favorite cd.

ever.

no lie.

one of my favorite songs is always by kristian stanfill.

in this song, he quotes scripture from psalm 121.

oh how i love that psalm.

with the recent events in japan, i've been praying this scripture

& listening to that song over & over again.

i know He hears our prayers as we cry out for them.

a friend forwarded us the following video.

it's of louie praying sunday night at our church for japan.

the video is about 10 minutes long, but half of it is the worship team singing the song "always".

i'm pretty sure since the song is under copyright that it may not be up there for long.

but for now...

"My foes are many, they rise against me

But I will hold my ground

I will not fear the war, I will not fear the storm

My help is on the way, my help is on the way

Oh, my God, He will not delay

My refuge and strength always

I will not fear, His promise is true

My God will come through always, always

Troubles surround me, chaos abounding

My soul will rest in You

I will not fear the war, I will not fear the storm

My help is on the way, my help is on the way

Oh, my God, He will not delay

My refuge and strength always

I will not fear, His promise is true

My God will come through always, always

I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord"

here's another link of a way to help
go to do something now & click on urgent relief for japan.

& if you're local 

passion meets this sunday at The Tabernacle.

maybe i'll see you there!