An Open Letter to my Baby Sister {on her wedding day}

My youngest sister got married this past weekend.

It was a gorgeous wedding.

She was stunning!

Her husband married WAY out of his league!  ;)

Well........ all of us girls did, but that's beside the point.

No....... maybe that IS my point....... wait, no, it's not.

My point is that the wedding was beautiful, my sister was gorgeous, & I am so happy for her!

There are 11 years between me {the oldest} and Pooh {the youngest}.  She was my baby.  I nearly raised her...... and thanks to the intervention of my parents, she turned out GREAT!

Here is the letter I wrote to her.  The one she read on her wedding morn.

Since you were born, you were my baby girl. I was like a little momma & you were my baby. I remember always wanting to pick you up from church nursery & wanting you to sleep in my bed. Sometimes I even sneaked into your room & climbed into your bunk bed to sleep with you at night. We had a bond unlike any I had with the others!

To watch you grow into a young woman who loves God & to whom I can come to in my dark hours is amazing! I see the hand of God in your life & you living out your love for Him. It is encouraging & a pure delight.

I am immensely proud of the Jesus that I see in you. I am proud to call you my sister, my baby, my friend, & co-laborer for Christ Jesus.

Getting married has been one of the hardest challenges in my time with the Lord when compared to my single years. Your focus will naturally change some & your "free" time will be spent on different things. Don't lose Him or push Him aside. Fight for Him & your time with Him........ He's all we have. He's all we want. He's all we need!

I love you, baby Pooh Pooh!

Mother's Day...... Schmother's Day.

Sunday.  May 12.  Mother's Day.

A horrendous, heart wrenching day for many.

But a joyful occasion for most, as we celebrate with our Children & our Moms & Grandmoms & Great Grandmoms.

Although, I think this day is basically a "Hallmark" holiday, it's still a really sweet & precious way to remember our Moms & the sacrifice & love they freely gave to us as we held them hostage & demanded it from them in our infancy & toddler & teenage years.  There is no doubt that Mommas are WonderWoman disguised in yoga pants, Mom jeans, old t-shirts, & ball caps.  They've had their share {and then some} of stinky diapers & projectile vomit & bubble gum in the hair & temper tantrums & crayons on the wall........ but somehow they managed to love & adore us through it all!

My Mom is my best friend & a true example of what a godly mother should be!  I could write a book about her, but to still be a Momma's girl at age 31 probably sums it up best.  :)

Now, I am a Mommy.  This is my first Mother's Day!  And my guys are treating me royally - despite a disgusting, oozing bacteria spreading across my face {don't ask questions, I'm in hiding until it all clears up.}  They've brought me Starbucks & flowers and are making dinner for me tonight............ it's low key & precious & I am rejoicing!

Rejoicing because my years of pain & heartache & trying to become a Mommy are now over.  God has answered my prayers............ abundantly & exceedingly!  I AM A MOMMY!

However, I cannot think about this day without remembering the year that I refused to go to church on Mother's Day.  It was too hard.  Too painful.  A reminder that the thing I wanted most was totally out of my control & far beyond my reach.

So, while you celebrate being a Mom today........... think & pray for those women who are hurting today because the thing they want most is far beyond their reach.  If you know one of these women, hug her, call her, text her, REACH OUT.......... for heaven's sake don't ignore her because you don't know what to say!  You may feel awkward & she may not text back or call back, but keep that lifeline open for her.

A "Mommy Without a Baby" doesn't necessarily need someone who knows what she's feeling........... what she needs MOST is someone with compassion & tears & strength & love!

Most of us never find that............ so, rise to the occasion {tough as it may be} & be that friend for the "Mommy Without a Baby" in your life.  Reach out to her.  Don't make her reach out to you!

Let her know that on this dark, dark road you will be there for her........ to point her to Christ when all her strength is gone!

Mommy, thank you for making me your baby.

"Mommy, thank you for making me your baby."

These 8 words hit me like a ton of bricks as they were spilling out of the soft, little lips of my six year old baby boy.

The words pounded against my heavy heart with the blunt force of an axe hitting the base of a large, unmovable, old oak tree.

You see these past days....... well, they've been a mothering booger bear, a feat, a gladiator-style throw down worthy of lions & tigers & Russell Crowe. Oh my!

I don't think the term "throw down" is all that gladiatorial....... but surely, you're pickin' up what I'm puttin' down. 

It's been a battle around here. 

A battle between the two of us. I feel that some evil creature has pitted my baby & me against each other, as we both fight for our own wants & needs.

In the past week, I've washed his sheets 5 times because he soaked through his diaper (which I finally realized was because I bought training dipes instead of nighttime dipes. Darned if I make that idiotic mistake again!)

In the past week, he's also managed to unlearn both short & long vowels. This makes reading quite a hellacious little trek.

In the past week, he's also decided to inform us (via gagging at the table) that he no longer likes the same foods he used to.  So the poor boy is eating a lot of toast with honey. He doesn't complain, but I feel like a terrible mother in not giving him the nourishment he needs.

It's just been so tough! 

I actually found myself wondering why anyone ever has more than one kid, & I was serious! Isn't that just terrible??!! It is! I know it is!

I just wanna eat cake pops & homemade chocolate chip cookies while getting a mani/pedi from a mute Brad Pitt (as seen in Troy.) 

Eeeeehhhhh......... never mind.

Mani/pedi from an sweet, elderly woman. After all, I do wanna feel free to eat my cake pops & choc chip cookies, & I just couldn't do that in front of a Brad Pitt.

Am I awful or what?

It's been such an internal struggle as I wrestle with my baby boys needs & my own fleshly wants & demands.

While I know these feelings are totally normal, it doesn't make them right or godly or any less sinful.

So for my little boy to sweetly say from the backseat of the car, "Mommy, thank you for making me your baby" spoke volumes to my wrestling heart. It spoke life, healing, & joy into my rough heart.

Those 8 little words reminded me of what is actually important.......... and it's not long vowels or soaked sheets or gagging at the dinner table. Those things are just distractions. That little boy's healing & wholeness & showing him how much Jesus loves him....... that's what it's all about!

Be Like Winkie!

We are raising a rambunctious, energetic, 6 year old little boy in this house.

We talk about a lot of things I'd rather not....... (like bodily functions & smells & little boy parts)

We play wrestle, we sing, we dance.

We read, we write, & we are crazy!

In this house, we also talk a lot about disobeying & obeying......... for we are training & teaching a little heart too!

We talk about how disobedience is sin.

We talk about how sin breaks God's heart.  Sin separates us from God.

And how we love our sin more than we love God.

The Bible tells us that, in our flesh/left on our own, we actually hate God.  We rebel against Him by doing our own thing; being our own god.

We talk often about these Biblical truths.  Walker doesn't grasp them all, but that's okay.  He will one day.

So, when Walker & I came across this story during our Bible lesson time, it went along beautifully with what we'd been teaching him.

Enjoy!



Winkie - from Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing by Sally Lloyd-Jones

During World War II, a damaged plane crashed into the sea.  The crew had no way to radio for help, but they had a vital piece of equipment: a pigeon named-Winkie!

Winkie flew all the way home to the base - all 129 miles - alerting rescuers and saving the entire crew.  She was awarded a special medal for her heroism.

However far away they are, birds can find their way home again and again and again.  But not God's children - God's children aren't homesick for Him.

God is our true home.  Away from Him, we are lost.

Are you far away today?  Be like Winkie.  The minute you realize you've gone off course, head home.

Isaiah 44:22 - Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free."

Momma Don't Got No Grace, so GO AWAY!

I think I've officially hit a wall.

A dadgum brick wall!

And I've been hitting this thing repeatedly for about 3 weeks now.

Surely all moms hit it eventually.

I'm hitting mine for the first time about month 11 into this Mommy-life thing.

I'm absolutely exhausted!

My mental response to, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" is....... and in this order: 

1.  LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!
2.  Where's the cake?
3.  I need a new nail polish.
4.  Where's your Daddy?

Thankfully, most of these thoughts, I have been able to keep to myself....... well, except for the cake one.  I do have a radar for homemade goodies & their healing properties. 

I want to blame all this recent craziness on my little one, but when I take a step back & examine it all........ I honestly think I'm the root issue.  Oy!

Sure, he kicks it up a notch or two or twelve at least once a day.  Sure, he has terrible aim when it comes to the toilet.  Sure, he likes to run like mad through the house.  And you can rest assured that he is NEVER going to obey our rule of "Don't chase the kitties."

But he's SIX years old.  What am I expecting?

And when did my tolerance level for his "kid-ness" fly out the window? 

I mean, have you seen the pollen in Georgia???  We don't drive around with our windows down.

So what exactly is happening to me?

I think the answer is in the title of this post, "Momma don't got no grace!"

Clearly, the grammar is horrendous, but the point comes across loud & clear.

I don't!  I've run out of grace.  There aren't even any fumes left.

A friend of mine & I have been working through a Bible study on grace.  And it's been amazing!  I feel like we're just scratching the surface on God's rich grace poured out on us.

It's mind blowing to think of the depths of God's grace being poured out on little, ole crabby me! 

I want to take a bath in that grace!  Roll around in it.  Read it, sing it, live it!

I want to be a Mommy who then turns around & pours out that grace on her baby........ in hopes that he, too, can live in that grace & give it to others.

I pray that God's grace toward me is not in vain!

There's grace for you too, friend!

It's nearer than you think........... receive it!

My Dazzling & Never Ending Talents



I have copious talents. 

They are dazzling & never ending. 

99% of my talents aren't worth mentioning OR aren't appreciated by the masses or by my family or by my husband or by, well ........ anyone.

For example, most people don't consider sarcasm a talent............ it is quite underappreciated.  It is the bald eagle of "talents"...... elusive, endangered, & doesn't taste like chicken.

But yesterday, one of my lesser known talents came to a bright, shining light! 

A beacon...... if you will.

As we were getting ready for church, I was rushing around shaving my gams, curling my blonde locks, & making sure my child's pearly whites were shining.  And in all the hustle & bustle and frazzle & dazzle, I totally ran out of time to paint my fingernails.

{insert "gasp" here}

For the normal person, this is hardly a concern, but with the unhealthy level of love I've developed for nail polish, this was a huge concern for me.  For you see, I had a NEW polish to wear.  OPI's Strawberry Margarita.  And nothing was going to stand between me & my painted digits.  Not even a drive to church.  And this is where I discovered my unsung talent........ I am stinkin' good at painting fingernails while riding in a car......... base coat, 2 coats of color, & a top coat.  Holla!  And I didn't even paint "outside the lines" or make a smudge!

Life.is.good!

So by now you've probably guessed correctly that one of my talents is NOT being meek & humble.  Unfortunately!

I do, however, have the wonderful opportunity to know & love & go to church with some people who are meek & humble & giving & gracious.  Yesterday during our Bible study time, a need was brought to the attention of the class members.  A lady in our community had suffered an unfortunate series of events including, most recently, the loss of her job, her income, her source of provision.  She was only days away from having her electricity cut off......... a basket was passed around for donation to any who could help her meet this need.  By the time that basket passed into my little strawberry pink fingers, it was already filled with several bills of different denominations........ a quick glance into that round, brown basket, & my heart leapt!  There was a lot of green in that basket of kindness.

All in all, I think only a hand full of $10s would've closed the gap entirely.

What a blessing, what an honor, what a joy it is to see the Lord working in the hearts of those around me.  To see them living out what they say they believe......... and to see them doing it quietly, lovingly, & without hesitation for the benefit of a woman they didn't even know.

Echoing through my head & my heart are these words I heard from a sermon recently.

"What good will you do for God today?"








ps - The bald eagle is technically no longer on the endangered species list.  This happens when millions (likely billions) of dollars were spent in conservation efforts. #firstworldeagles

Super Walker! The PARTY Revealed!

I have a Super Hero complex.

I always want to be the one to save-the-day.

I want to be the hero.

I want to be a rescuer.

I want to make a difference.

Little did I know, that I ...... I was the one who needed rescuing.

{insert Super Hero Walker}

In His gracious goodness, the Lord orchestrated great beauty out of the "ugly" sin had rendered in both of our lives.  He tenderly brought together a Mommy who needed a baby with a baby who needed a Mommy............. and we live happily ever after.

My little Super Hero rescuing his Mommy.  Bringing beauty to her life every day.  Pointing her to Christ & His infinte goodness with every laugh, smile, & kiss.

We celebrated FAR more than "just" Walker's 6th birthday!

It was a grand & glorious day!

Without further gushing........ here are the photos of a party thrown for my little Super Hero!

{oversharing alert}

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Every child left the party with their own Super Hero cup!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vendor Credits:

SuperHero Banner & Centerpiece Flags - Stampin' Fanatic

Cake:  Melanie McClelland

Cupcake Toppers:  Edible Details

Cookies:  Nicole Silva

Bonnie Blue Cake Pedestals:  Waiting on Martha

Super-Walker cups/favors:  I Have a Favor

Super-Walker plate:  Rosie Posie Designs

Captain America shirt & Banner for gift table:  Feathered Nest Boutique