How Sweet

It is so funny how children learn to try one thing after another to get out of going to bed.

Each night, it seems like it is something new:

"I want some juice!" "Cover me uuup pwease!" "I NOT seepy!"

Tonight, I heard all of the above and decided to just ignore her to see if she would fall asleep. She got really quiet and I was so proud of her for giving in to her sleepy eyes and going nite-nite. Oh, I guess it was about 30 minutes after the silence, she burst into a very loud...

"Mommy, I stinky-in!" (as in right now) She knew I'd come running for that one. (lil' stinker, pun intended.) I came in and checked her...nope...nothing...just a big FAT L.I.E.! (smile)

She says, "Mommy, can I pwease hab a hug?" So, I hugged her...not once, not twice, but 3 times after she kept asking for "anowa hug."

So, my precious girl lays down and cuts her eyes up at me and says, "Mommy, you my bes fwiend!"

How can I ask for anything more?

Watermelon & Lemonade

Ain't she cute? This picture was taken last year at the park...girl loves her watermelon!

I have to tell you this story:

The other day, I showed E a picture of my granddaddy and asked her if she knew who it was. He died a couple of years before she was born. Here is how the conversation went:

Mommy: Do you know who that is?

E: Who is dat?

Mommy: That is your great-granddaddy Leonard. Did you see him in heaven?

E: Yes I did.

Mommy: You did? What was he doing?

E: Eatin' fwoot.

Mommy: What kind of fruit was he eating?

E: Watermelon and lemonade.

Mommy: What else was he doing?

E: He wa singin'.

Mommy: Who was he singing to?

E: Jedus (translation: Jesus).

Mommy: What was he singing?

E: How Gate (translation: "How Great is our God")

Now, if you knew my granddaddy, you would know that he couldn't sing a lick! Everyone always told him that he could look forward to being able to sing when he got to heaven. For as long as I can remember, there was an ongoing joke throughout our church about him joining the choir. Other choir members jokingly threatened to get out of Leonard joined.

So, how "ironic" (if you want to call it that) for E to say that he was singing. Then, how perfect it is that she said he was singing this beautiful, worshipful song to Jesus.

Oh...I'm getting "homesick." What a peace we have to know that no matter who we've lost in our lives, if they served the same Christ we do, we have everything to look forward to...

Everything - Eternity to spend eating "fwoot", drinking lemonade and singing praises to our Father!

Watching for your return Lord...Until then.

How Great Is Our God!!

It's in the air

...for today anyway. You know how Georgia weather is - next week we could be sweating our fannies off again.

But, for now - Oh today - It Is In The Air! Our first steps out into the cool air this morning proved a 'wee' bit chilly. Not much though. It was so nice. The wind is blowing, the sky is the perfect shade of blue, with a few puffy bright clouds here and there. The colors will soon be changing...I love this time of year. Can you tell?

I get anxious around this time each year. There is so much planning to be done and so much time to be spent with friends (old and new) & family.

Before we know it, we will be dressing our lil' pumpkin up in a costume for that holiday...you know the one we don't celebrate! Dressing up is still fun though. But, how can we improve on her "natural" cuteness? Hmmm.

We will be making preparations for those Thanksgiving meals. Inviting family over and friends who we've adopted as family. Playing games. Watching football - yes, even me. (just not understanding) Going hunting - no, not me. But, I do have a gun that I love to shoot! Going fishing - just don't ask me to bait the hook. (ewhh) Having bonfires with buddies & hoping it's cool enough for Smores.

There are so many things to enjoy during this season. But, to me this time of year is when most memories are made with friends, reminiscing is done with old friends and family and it's the perfect time of year to snuggle with the one you love.

I'd like to hear what your traditions are for this time of year and what things you are looking forward to over the next couple of months.

Here's to Fall!

Pick It Up.

This morning, I was rushing around trying to get us out the door on time and sat down to eat a quick bite. My Bible was laying on the table next to me and as I glanced at it, I clearly heard, "Pick it up. Pick it up." in my spirit. I checked the time only to see that I was later than planned (always!) and ignored the sweet, soft whisper of the Holy Spirit. The Lord just wanted His time with me and once again, I placed Him on the "if I get a minute today" list.

Well, within a matter of minutes, something terrible happened that strongly discouraged me...and downright depressed me.

Now, I am certainly not saying that the Lord did this to me as punishment. But, I am totally aware that had I just followed the urge of the Spirit to give my first-fruits of the day to the One who even blessed me with today...how much easier would my problem have been to face?

How much more hope would I have had to stare that discouragement and depression in the face with? How much would that Word have encouraged me and given me confidence that no matter what I face this morning, tomorrow or any other day...I am in the Master's hand.

That "Pick it up. Pick it up." was simply going to be the "insurance" I needed to be covered by the holy, unfailing, Word of God.

We can't ignore those soft, but stern utterances from the Holy Spirit. You never know what they are there for...but He does.

Another lesson learned.

Fun in the crib-fort

E played in her very first "fort" yesterday. She was surprised when she woke up from her nap and mommy climbed in her crib, along with camera, snacks and stuffed animals to play with.

Oh - and a big sheet to act as our fort ceiling.

Okay, so I know some kids can really get all into real forts or some "happenin'" fake forts, but she is just 2 people! A sheet over her crib was pretty adventerous to her and oh my how she loved it!

My parents came over after work yesterday to find us in the crib hangin' out and she looked at her granddad and said, "Dadaddy, GET IN!!" Thanks heavens for a sturdy crib...just kiddin'...he didn't!

I had so much fun in there with her and plan to do this as many more times as we can before her big girl bed arrives from Santa. (SHHH don't tell her.)

Here is J.R. wondering what in the world we are up to.

Emma wanted him to get in with us.

Community crib...

Holy Experience

(see previous post) This link deserves a post of its' own.

Please check out this blog: Holy Experience

Oh my! The author of this site has been blessed with such an amazing gift in writing. It is unbelivable and is ministering to me incredibly. I will definitely be checking out her daily posts. The Lord is using her and we need to support people like this that are spreading His Good News to the world!

Several posts I recommend on her site: Lighthearted, Repent. Rethink. Grow a Third Ear, Flight Exit.

Fun Stuff

Okay so I just wanted to fill you all in on a few sites that I view on a regular basis...

#1) Bloggy Giveaways - Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer hosts awesome giveaways almost on a daily basis. This is very worth your checking it out everyday or you could miss out on some great stuff. You do not have to have a blog in order to enter the giveaways.

#2) Real Simple - This is a wonderful magazine that I recently subscribed to. I am not one to receive a lot of magazines in the mail, but to me, this is a must-have. You can find a lot of good tips & recipes on this site.

#3) Creative Juice - This is on the DIY network...they have some cool gift/craft ideas on there.

#4) Shutterfly - Great, great personalized gift ideas...especially those of you with youngen's! For those of us with no time to scrapbook...this is PERFECT!

For those of you who love to scrapbook...you should really enjoy this site:

#5) Real Women Scrap - I especially recommend viewing her scrapbook t.v. shows!

I plan to make this is a regular part of my blog here. I will try and post "linkage" each week for your surfing pleasure.

Until then...

WFMW - Works For Me Wednesday

This is my first WFMW post! It is a Brand-Loyal Edition.

Loads of people are posting today about brand name products that they cannot live without. Feel free to post a comment on here with your favorites if you would like to participate.

White Cloud Diapers - Oh my goodness. They are one of the least expensive brands and the best I've used! They work much better for me than the expensive one's and they certainly save you money! You can only get them at Wal-Mart so that is a bummer, but worth the trip!

Clorox Wipes - Oh that clean smell! These wipes are wonderful and great for keeping those counters clean. They don't leave streaks on your counters either.

Coffeemate coffee creamer - everyone knows how much I love coffee & generic creamers just don't cut it for me! This creamer (powder & liquid) is great and so smooth! They have some great flavors to choose from too if you get bored with the original.

Glad Force-Flex trash bags - Gotta have good trash bags right? These hold so much. You can just keep pushing things in 'em. I do slip and get other brands from time to time and always regret it.

WFMW is graciously hosted by Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer. Check it out to see what brands other people are loyal to.

Puzzle Pieces

Tonight, I was putting puzzles together with E. She loves to do puzzles - for hours if we'd let her.

As I watched her trying to fit the pieces together, I realized something.

She will push so hard on a piece and grunt while pushing on them. If they don't go in, she will keep turning them until she gets a bit closer. Then, when it is almost in just right - literally one end is in and she only needs to push a little bit more...what happens?

She gives up and says, "Mommy can you fix it?"

WOW! Think about this. How often do things in our lives get out of place? The pieces get spilled and we pick them up and try to put things back together. We try & push and try & grunt and we get it "almost there", but we just don't realize how close we are. Then, we drop the pieces and want someone else to pick them up!

In the same way as I say to E, our Heavenly Father is saying, "That's it. You've almost got it! Push a little harder." He is cheering for what we've accomplished so far and He sees how close we are to making it. Then, we just give up. We let go.

We may start trying to put the wrong piece in the wrong spot. We fill our "spots" with things that don't belong there.

Then, we get the right piece, but it just needs some adjusting. We have to keep working with it and being persistent.

Finally, it's there - where it belongs and we are turned in the right direction. The piece might slip (as we all do), so we work with it again and get in back in place. After all that work, we can choose to give it those extra pushes that it needs or we can give up and hope that someone will fix our problems for us. Which ain't gonna happen.

Next time, you get tired of pushing and you feel like giving up, hear that still, small voice of the Father in your corner cheering you on. You may not realize how close you are to your blessings, your answers, but He does. He is already at the completion of the puzzle waiting for you.

Keep on working.

Anowa Kiss Please

Anowa? (a.k.a. Another) Miss E suddenly thinks it's hilarious to wipe our kisses off! Wonder where she got this from? Mamaw! (my grandmother)

Oh y'all! I could go on and on about the stuff she is teaching her. Don't get me started! Some are cute and some concern me. Seriously.

I just put Emma to bed and she keeps calling me in there for "anowa kiss please mommy." How can I turn that plea down? It's usually her saying - NO, demanding, "Mommy, cover me up!!!' Demands don't move me at all! "Cover yourself up E!"

But, oh how my heart melted to hear her begging for another kiss! I couldn't get in there fast enough to kiss that precious heart of mine just one more time...or anowa...or anowa. I lean over into her crib and kiss her, only to get the response of, "Uckkk!" as she wipes her cheeks and laughs.

Oh how I savor the moment! At least she still asks for my sugars!

Goodnight...LURKERS!

Are you really there?

I just have to say that I have so many of you telling me each week that you read my blog, but I'm beginning to wonder...

You guys never comment! You know what that makes you right? They call "people like you" --- dadadadum..."LURKERS."

Hey, I'm working on my creativity when it comes to my posts. I know they tend to not be all that exciting. But, I'll get there...I hope.

I have loads of things to blog about when it comes to my girl, but I don't want to blog about "mommyhood" all of the time. It's just so much fun you know?!!

So, is there anything in particular that you would like for me to blog about? Challenge me here.

Are there any questions that you would like to get an answer to or hear other folk's opinions on?
Is there a certain subject that we could maybe stir up some good conversation on?

Let's make it interestin' (but clean)!!