Our Crazy Wonderful Life

Jesus, Orphans & Masi

2012-01-06T11:33:00.000-05:00

I have lagged behind a little in my Sweet Sleep blog post series... mostly because I have had a hard time finding words to do the stories justice. It's frustrating to have something touch your heart so deeply only to not be able to transfer that feeling to others adequately. And so, I sit here this morning and pray that the spirit will take over as I write these words.

Masi.... short for Masiphumelele.

To most, this just looks like an African word that is hard to pronounce and has no known meaning. But to someone who has been to this place, it evokes feelings and images that are overwhelming. By the way, Masiphumelele is a Xhosa word meaning "We will succeed".

Here is a brief history lesson about Masi as borrowed from a non-profit site:

"Apartheid—meaning separateness in Afrikaans - was a system of legal racial segregation enforced by the National Party government in South Africa between 1948 and 1994.

Apartheid legislation classified inhabitants into racial groups (black, white, coloured, and Indian), and residential areas were segregated by means of forced removals. Blacks were stripped of their citizenship; legally becoming citizens of one of ten tribally based self-governing homelands or Bantustans. The government segregated education, medical care, and other public services, and provided black people with services inferior to those of whites.

During the Apartheid era blacks were evicted from properties that were in areas designated as "white only" and forced to move into townships.

In the early 1980's a group of 400-500 people started the first informal settlement close to where Masiphumelele is today. Under the old Apartheid laws the families were chased away and moved on by force.

The people were told that they had to live in the poorly set up township of Khayelitsha, on the outskirts of Cape Town, more than 30 kilometres away. For those who had found work in the Fish Hoek area this meant a long journey on bicycle or public transport every day. They tried again and again to move back to where they had first set up camp.

Nearly ten years later, in 1991/92 as Apartheid was ending, they tried again. A group of people from Khayelitsha, joined by a few thousand people from the Eastern Cape who hoped to find work in the area, moved onto what was then known as "Site 5". It was renamed Masiphumelele by the people soon after.

In the early 1990s about 8000 people built their shacks and simple homes and started to set up their own community. Until 1995 there was not even a building for a school or a clinic. Today more than 38,000 people live in 110 acre Masiphumelele."

During most of our bed builds, we were priveleged to be working with Africans who knew the English language. However, when we entered Masi we took a translator who spoke Xhosa, the African language known for it's distinctive clicking sounds. We were briefed before entry, being warned that we were to stay close as a group since Masi was like a maze. Once inside it would be nearly impossible to find your way back out without the help of a guide. We each grabbed pieces of the beds and started in, winding our way through corrugated metal shacks. Although we were there in the middle of the day with the sun shining, the place felt dark and devoid of hope.

When we arrived at the shack, we found a grandmother caring for her 5 grandchildren. This family ate maybe once a day. They had recently been through a fire in which they lost everything. Father was something foreign to these children. Their mother only came back to drop off another baby, steal money and food and then leave again.

I have tried to put myself in the shoes of these children many times since my return, wondering what it must be like to anxiously await the return of your mother, hoping that this time she would stay and love you the way a child deserves to be loved, only to have her leave again and again. It is bad enough for a child never to know a mother or a father but to know your mother and be abandoned by her brings a whole new kind of heartache to the table. No wonder God is so passionate about us defending the cause of the orphans.

As dark as that little shack was, the light of Jesus shone bright that day. Once there, we realized that the one bunk bed that we had planned for this home was not sufficient, so we returned to the hardware store to buy supplies for another bed. The need of this family was great. We left wishing we could do more but were encouraged that the Living Hope ministry had been connected to this family in order to help in other ways as needed. We expressed through a translator to this grandmother how we wished for her and her grandchildren to know the love of Jesus more through these warm beds. Although she was a woman of few words, her gratitude was communicated through her tired eyes and tears.

to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. -Isaiah 61:3

The grandmother with one of her 5 grandchildren

Loving sisters sitting on their new bed

Sweet baby

Dedicated to her grandchildren

Two happy girls

Old Mattress

The entrance to Masi

Winding through the maze of shacks

A sea of corrugated metal

Notice all of the electrical lines for each shack strung to one little box

Here is a video of the trek through Masi

Find out how you can help more children like these precious five. Sweet Sleep is still in a fund-raising campaign to raise the funds to provide 2500 orphans in Northern Ugandan who suffer from HIV/AIDS with beds. Please go to www.sweetsleep.org to find out how you can help. $50 provides a bed with bedding. $10 provides a Bible. $8 provides a mosquito net. I have seen the way a child's eyes light up the first time they sit on their very first bed. Be a part of something amazing!

A Not So "Silent Night"

2011-12-19T22:47:00.000-05:00

I'm taking a little break in my Sweet Sleep, South Africa blog series to bring you these ~~hysterical~~ darn right scary pictures of the kids. A few weeks ago I saw this cute Christmas card picture on pinterest with the caption "Silent Night".

I thought it was so funny, clever and definitely fitting for my wild bunch so I decided to try to emulate this photo with my kids. Our attempt did not go so well. I told the kids to look surprised but I got more "serial killer" from Emma. Jackson and Leah are always hard to get to look at the camera. And, well, despite my optimistic attitude that maybe Noah would not totally freak out when we tied him up with Christmas lights and taped his mouth shut with festive red duct tape.... he did.

So if we do get Christmas cards out in time for Christmas this year, I think I will spare you from opening up your mailbox to find these fabulous photos (insert sarcasm here) and just go with something a little more traditional...... you're welcome.

A Sweet, Sweet Sound

2011-12-11T00:09:00.001-05:00

Sweet Sleep, South Africa, Post #3

We had the pleasure of building bunk bed #2 for 5 little ones stair stepping in age. These 5 kids were cared for by an inspiring woman named Sharon. Inspiring because she cares for her own 3 children and 2 abandoned children as a single mom with no income in a tiny 10 X 10 home. Inspiring because never once did I hear her words tend toward fret, worry or complaint in the midst of her circumstances. Only Joy. Inspring because being in need herself and being unemployed did not stop her from volunteering her time to help others in need. She even expressed a desire to help future participants in the Open Door classes. Such a giving spirit is a rare treasure in this world.

Sharon

I spoke briefly with Sharon outside her home as the bed was being assembled by the men on our team.

You know, because it only makes perfect sense that the men build the beds while us girls do what we do best...

talk until it is time to put the sheets on. Oh, I digress.

Back to Sharon, she told me a small part of her story that reminded me of what I need to be reminded of so often; nothing in our lives is too big,

or too small

for God to provide. She told me that she knew that there was a need in her home of beds for her many children. She said that she made plans in her mind to get beds for her family but she was unsure how she would make it happen since she did not have any income. After praying about this need for some time, Sharon began attending the parenting classes with Open Door, unaware that the graduates of this program would recieve Sweet Sleep beds for the children in their home. She said that when she found out that these strangers from America were coming to build her children beds, she knew that God had

very specifically answered her prayers.

Our team returned that afternoon to re-iterate to the children that when they pull their covers up over themselves at night to think about God giving them a great big hug. We were in store for an amazing blessing as Sharon asked if we would like to hear her children sing a song that she had written. Sharon and her children opened their mouths and a beautiful sound escaped from them. Take a listen for yourself.

It warms my heart that every day about the time that I am preparing to pick up my kids from school, somewhere half way around the world are 5 precious children climbing into their warm beds in a 10 by 10 house, making a sweet, sweet sound unto the Lord with their mama.

the little ones trying out their beds

Precious

To help more children like Sharon's little ones, go to www.sweetsleep.org and find out more about how you can help.

Many People, One Vision

2011-12-08T22:08:00.001-05:00

Sweet Sleep, South Africa, Post #2

It is no doubt that Sweet Sleep has many partners on the ground all over the world that make it possible for a team to come into a country and build beds for a large number of children in just one week. I think of organizations that Sweet Sleep has partnered with but mostly I think of people. There is Lucia in Moldova, Josephine and Sweet Jennifer in Uganda and many more who have let the vision of Sweet Sleep infiltrate their hearts and their lives.

In South Africa we met many people who were a part of the ministry there, but I want to introduce you to this amazing couple that played such an important part...

Cedric & Veronica & Me

Cedric & Veronica live in the township of Oceanview where most of Sweet Sleep's work in Cape Town was done. Cedric prefabricated the 20 beds that we assembled when we got there. He truly worked hard as if "working unto the Lord". You could tell that he had joy in his work and the ability to provide for his family.

Cedric & Jen (founder & president of Sweet Sleep) team up to do some bed assembly

Veronica was a part of the parenting class at Open Door. It is evident that her leadership and spiritual guidance was a true light to the women who were a part of these classes. It was said that the classes were every Monday for 2 hours, but they ended up staying for about 3 hours every week because the support and fellowship was such a needed presence in the lives of these women. When the women expressed their disappointment that the class was ending, Veronica took the initiative to start a bible study with these women so that they could continue to meet together and support eachother. I had the pleasure of talking with Veronica on many occasions throughout the week we were there and I was so uplifted and encouraged by her faith.

Veronica cracked me up when she hopped on this excercise machine just outside someone's house where we were working. She is too funny!

Our team had the opportunity to share dinner and conversation one evening with Cedric and his lovely wife. We listened as they told us their story, about their life, their children and their journey with the Lord. We were amazed at the faith that this couple shared, at the way God strengthened that faith through times of trouble and at the way that God has provided and cared for them. We were happy that they expressed that they wanted to be a part of Sweet Sleep's future work in South Africa.

I was also so touched by the fact that Cedric & Veronica take in a teenage boy every day during the day when he is locked out of his house by his family until his mother returns from work. His name is Cedric also. We took to calling him little Cedric and you will hear much more about him in a future post.

Please pray for Cedric & Veronica as they continue to be a light to their community. Pray for the children that will be impacted by the future work of Sweet Sleep in Oceanview and other areas of Cape Town.

Want to help Sweet Sleep provide beds for the world's orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children? Help us meet our goal to provide 2500 beds to children in Uganda this Christmas. Just $50 provides a child with a bed, bedding, a life-saving mosquito net and a bible in the child's own language. Make a difference this Christmas! Go to www.sweetsleep.org to help today.

Sweet Rowan

2011-12-06T22:38:00.012-05:00

Sweet Sleep, South Africa, Post #1

It has been almost one month since I returned from my mission trip with Sweet Sleep to Cape Town, South Africa to build beds for some of the most vulnerable children there. I feel like I have had some time to process what I experienced and I now feel ready to share it with you. Many of you have been a part of this through giving financially or giving your time in prayer. I can tell you that nothing compares to being on a journey like this and experiencing it with all 5 senses, however I will try my best to take you to the places we went and introduce you to some people who I was fortunate enough to cross paths with. I invite you to come to South Africa with me over the next few blog posts and let yourselves fall in love with the people and the country. It's so easy to do!

Rowan and Me

First, I would like to introduce you to our very first bed recipient in South Africa. His name is Rowan and he kind of stole my heart. This said heart almost broke in two when he asked me and my team members to take him home with us. Rowan is 7 years old. We built a bunk bed in his home for him and his little brother Roland who is 2. When we arrived at this first home we were taken back by the small size and poor condition of the home. However, later, we worked in some other homes that made this one look very nice.

Little Bro, Roland, checking out my camera

Rowan's mother, Nicolette, took part in an 8 week parenting class through an organization called Open Door, which serves Cape Town much like the State Social Services Department does here. Open Door identified those children who were most vulnerable and invited their caregivers to take part in this class. Upon graduation of this program, caregivers were given Sweet Sleep beds for the children in their home. This class is so vital for people living in this area because it provides education to combat child abuse, drug abuse and other problems that plague Cape Town. The best part is, Open Door has already begun another class to help another group of children, Sweet Sleep is committed to providing beds again to the graduates of this program.

Nicolette at her first glimpse of the finished bunk bed for her boys

We built the bed in the morning while Rowan was at school but returned later that afternoon, once he had gotten a chance to see his bed. When we arrived he was sitting in his bed playing & so happy. My friend John got the chance to talk with Rowan a little about Jesus. We learned that sharing the gospel with a 7 year old requires a lot of patience. So. easily. distracted. Check out the video of our chat and pray for Rowan, Roland and Nicolette.

You can help other children like Rowan and Roland. Find out how. Go to www.sweetsleep.org Donate online, sign up to make Sweet Sleep your VBS mission focus, hold a youth Lock-in or Lock-out to benefit Sweet Sleep or do some Christmas shopping in the online Sweet Sleep store.

Sweet Sleep Sponsor Spotlight on Carrie Koppin

2011-10-13T00:24:00.004-04:00

I am happy to spotlight a special lady on my blog today. She is an amazing wife, mom, realtor, spiritual mentor and friend. I am thankful to her for sponsoring me and my upcoming mission trip to South Africa with Sweet Sleep.

Carrie Koppin works as a Realtor with Realty Executives in the East TN area. I personally have worked with Carrie on many occasions and can testify that she is smart, hard working, kind and always looking for ways to bless others with her work and her life.

Here are a few words from Carrie:

For generations my family has called Greene County home and I am proud to carry on that tradition! I know about the joy, frustration, disappointment and excitement of buying or selling a home (I have personally done both numerous times) and I want to be with YOU every step of that process. I have a teacher's heart and will patiently walk through each step of the buying or selling process with YOU. If you are looking for personal service and positive results please call me, Carrie Koppin,today at 423-552-0397, email me at carrie@realtyexecutives.com, connect with me on the web at www.CarrieKoppin.blogspot.com or stop by the office at 818 Tusculum Blvd. Let me put my knowledge and diverse background to work for YOU!

You can find many helpful and interesting posts on Carrie's blog. Find tips for home organization. Get real estate advice as seen in this post, The Walker Family's Journey to "NOT a Short Sale". Also, discover fun activities to do in East Tennessee like in this post titled, Marguerite Fall ROCKS! Follow Carrie and her husband Brett as they remodel their "Handyman's Dream" in posts like this one titled Stuck-Oh. Plus you can view videos of some of East TN's prime real estate, like the one below for 934 W. Summer Street, (MLS:309228)

Also, if you are in need of a builder or licensed contractor, call Carrie's husband, Brett Koppin, owner of Koppin Construction LLC at 423-620-8798

Thank you again Carrie for supporting me and the work we will be doing to help orphans in South Africa!! I couldn't be a part of it without people like you!!

Kindergarten Finale

2011-10-06T23:39:00.005-04:00

So, I have been a horrible mommy blogger. I blogged about the girls' end of the school year awards programs last May and had big plans to blog about Jackson's too but then summer began and the pool was calling our name and there were parks to visit and .... well you get the idea.

Jackson had a great year in Kindergarten. His teacher was awesome and Jackson just adored her. I feel like we have been so fortunate to have been blessed with some great teachers since our kids have been in school. I am so grateful to them for loving my kids and making them better people.

Here is Jackson's class singing the Humpty Dumpty Song.

Josh, Emma, Jackson and I at the post program picnic.

Mimi and Noah were there too.

I am going to try to be a better mommy blogger from now on because...
"the more we get together the happier we'll be"

Sweet Sleep: The Journey To Here

2011-09-27T10:29:00.014-04:00

This post is full of linky love and orphan love. Yay!

The past year has been an adventure for us to say the least. This time last year, Josh was spending his last few days with Cedar Creek Church of God as Youth Pastor. We were embarking on a new journey to plant a church in the area... or so we thought. It's amazing how God can take the plans that you think He has for you and remind you that HE is Lord. Praise the Lord, we can begin to see the good that has come from what seemed like a failure at every turn.

I have related to Peter very much this year, feeling like I had the courage to step out of the boat and go towards Jesus but soon noticing the waves around me. I found it easy to focus on my circumstance instead of Jesus. Thankfully, He is always there to stretch out his hand and pull us back up to where He is. In spite of all of the failures in Peter's life he was still used in mighty ways for the gospel. Thank you Lord.

Through the trials of this past year, God brought a wonderful thing in to my life. Shortly before our time ended at Cedar Creek. I had begun a journey with a direct sales company called Thirty-One Gifts. At the time, I thought I was joining just to get some super cute bags at a good discount... maybe enjoy a night away from home with some other ladies every once in a while. As we soon found ourselves struggling financially, I began to work this business with new motivation.... just to make ends meet.

It's amazing how the Lord can be teaching you about something very important without you even realizing what He is doing. I started to learn the best ways to spread the word about my business. Finding new ways to share and get the word out, I soon saw how the little bit of effort I had put into my business had multiplied exponentially. As if I had received a blinding flash of the obvious, I realized that this is exactly how Jesus wants us as disciples to spread his good news.

Give of my time and energy.

He will bless and multiply.

At the same time that I received this revelation, God was also laying it on my heart to become more involved with a faith based non-profit organization called Sweet Sleep. Sweet Sleep shows God's love to the world's orphaned and abandoned children by providing beds, bedding, mosquito nets and bibles to them. These children would otherwise be sleeping in unsafe and unsanitary conditions with little hope for the future.

I had first heard of Sweet Sleep a couple years back after reading about it on the Bring the Rain blog one day in this post. Since the organization is based out of Brentwood Baptist where my brother and sister-in-law go, I also heard about it when I would visit and go to church with them. Soon after, my sister-in-law, Sam, became very active with Sweet Sleep, eventually traveling to Gulu, Uganda on mission. She took all of the pictures in this post. And so, my heart would be reminded of these sweet orphaned souls even more and more.

I finally worked up the courage to send a message via a general info email address that was listed on Sweet Sleep's website. My email stated that I knew God had been urging my heart to help with their cause, but I felt challenged because I lived four and a half hours away from where Sweet Sleep is based. To be honest, I never expected to hear a reply from my email.

I was definitely surprised when I received an email back letting me know that they had been praying for people just like me who could be regional representatives for Sweet Sleep in other areas of the US. It's always a blessing to find that something you did turned out to be an answer to someone else's prayers. Still suffering from surprise, I agreed to pray about the tasks set before me. How could I not say yes? Knowing that it was a total God thing made the decision relatively easy. And so, I became the first of Sweet Sleep's Regional Reps.

I had already been hoping to go on mission with Sweet Sleep one day, but once I started to work with the organization in this capacity, I knew that it was something I had to do. I was set to wait on God and his timing though. The trip to South Africa was officially put on the calendar in early August. Through various experiences, he made it clear to me that this was the time for me to "go".

And so, I will be traveling to Cape Town, South Africa on November fourth through the fourteenth of this year. While I go to minister to others, I anticipate that God will move like never before in my heart as well. I pray that it will be so.

I have been blessed by what I have raised financially towards my mission trip so far but there is still need. If you feel so led to donate towards this cause, please message me at cbeddingfield613@hotmail(dot)com and I will give you instructions with how to proceed.

If you wouldn't mind, please lift us up in prayer as we prepare to do the work God has for us in South Africa. Pray for our mission team, the children there, the country, safe travel and a special time. If you wish to follow our journey, be sure to check out the Sweet Sleep Blog.

I leave you with this video, made after a Sweet Sleep journey to Uganda. What Hope He has given...

Under the Stars from Sweet Sleep on Vimeo.

P.S. If your church, children's ministry or youth group is interested in a helping orphans while hosting a fun event, check out some of Sweet Sleep's events and find out how you can help.

Emma's 3rd Grade Awards Day

2011-05-23T23:22:00.001-04:00

Here are some pics from Emma's End of the Year Awards Day for 3rd grade.

She received an award for the A-B honor roll.

She received an award for having exceptional cursive writing.

And, she received the national fitness award (quite the accomplishment!)

Here she is with her teacher, Mrs. O.

And her assistant teacher Mrs. C.

She celebrated with her classmates by enjoying a sundae.

We are very proud of your accomplishments Emma! Way to go!

Move over Flynn Rider

2011-05-20T00:01:00.002-04:00

All right, listen! I didn't want to have to do this but you leave me no choice....

Here comes the smolder...

A Beautiful Beginning....The Sequel

2011-05-19T19:15:00.013-04:00

Leah will be moving on from Pre-School to the big Kindergarten next year. We are very proud of how much she has learned this year. We again are so thankful for a wonderful program and a truly amazing teacher. Mrs. L is definitely special to our family. We are already hoping that Noah will get the privilege of being in her class one day just as his big brother, Jackson, and his big sister, Leah have. You can also read about Mrs. L on this post that I wrote after Jackson graduated Pre-K last year. Thank you again Mrs. L. We love you!

Here is Leah with her assistant teachers, Ms. W & Ms. B. We love you too!

With the BFF...

With the boyfriend.
She is already making plans for marriage ;)

They performed some of Leah's favorites during the program...

The Wide-Mouthed Bullfrog

A Tootie Ta-Ta

Leah received the same candy bar award that Jackson did. The "Pop Rocks Award" for being the "Most Energetic". We are so excited that Mrs. L chose the same award for Leah that she did for Jackson last year. It fits her just as well as it fits Jackson. :)

We love you
Leah Caroline "Princess Buttercup" Beddingfield!

Leah's Dance Recital

2011-05-18T10:54:00.007-04:00

Leah had a big day yesterday! Pre-school Graduation Awards Ceremony followed by her dance recital. It was all about her and she ate it up! She loved performing her dances for us. Of course, we thought she was adorable.

She did the Twinkle, Twinkle dance...

The Music Box dance...

and The Pony Parade dance

Here are the girls with their teacher, Ms. Loriann. She is wonderful with the girls and we are thankful for her!

Pics and videos to come of Leah's Pre-School Graduation.

Emma's Ballet Recital

2011-05-17T20:05:00.007-04:00

Both girls have been taking Ballet at Central Ballet here in town. We have have been so happy with how well they have done there. Both are making great improvements in their dancing abilities. Emma had her Spring Recital last night.

She did so awesome!

Of course, I'm not partial or anything!

Here is a video of their Fairy Dance

She also did a dance with her class called The Children's March. She was so excited about this one because she got a solo part and she got to be lifted up by a "cute boy". I'm still not sure how I feel about that. But She did great!

If you are looking for a place for your children to take ballet, we highly recommend Central Ballet! Check it out.

Pictures of Leah's Recital are coming soon too!

Susan & Ryan

2010-12-07T22:49:00.008-05:00

Congrats to my sis, Susan and her fiance, Ryan on their recent engagement. Also, a big thank you goes out to them for letting this VERY amateur photographer take their engagement pictures. Also, special thanks to my sis-in-law Samantha for helping with edits on a few pics and for teaching me a few things.

This is an equal opportunity partnership.

This is the pic Ryan did not want circulating on Facebook. He was not fond of the signs that Suz made for them to hold. Apparently, he thought that everyone should already know that he "hearts her" since they were having engagement photos made and all...

A reenactment...

A couple of little kids...

Love Ryan's face in this one...

My favorite!

Here it is again Ryan...just for you :)

And they lived happily ever after...

Shooting 5 years with Jackson

2010-10-07T11:20:00.002-04:00

Got the chance to take Jackson out and shoot some pictures yesterday. It was a beautiful fall afternoon.

I love the shadows and light on this one.

Found a cool background at a used car lot with a gazillion hubcaps laying around. Who can resist this cheesy grin?!

Couldn't you just squeeze him?

We may have to re-shoot this one in the morning light. I couldn't get an angle that didn't leave shadows on his face. But, I love the sign. What a cute way to celebrate being 5 years old.

Love the texture in this old barrell. And I LOVE that smile!

:)

And... My absolute favorite shot of the day! That's my boy.

Noah - 10 Month Update

2010-09-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I posted a big Noah update (since he was 6 months old). He is now 10 months old.

He is a big boy, tipping the scales at 20 pounds last week when he was at the doctor. Emma was nearly 2 years old before she weighed that much. I haven't found anything that he doesn't like to eat.

He is into everything. Creeping, Crawling and pulling up on anything he can find. He even let's go and looks at me with his "look ma, no hands" look. I'm sure it won't be long before he is walking....running to keep up with his older brother and sisters.

He sprouted his first tooth last week. All my kids were late in getting their first tooth but I've heard the later they get them, the healthier the teeth so I am okay with that.

He eats cheerios like a champ although he much prefers the fistful method to the pincer grasp.

He has found his voice and will let you know if he thinks he is being ignored by screaming a high pitched, very loud scream. I love you Noah, but seriously, so annoying.

In the last couple of days he has started making another sound that sounds like he is saying "huh?" complete with the raised inflection so it sounds as if he is asking a lot of questions. We are wondering what exactly he's trying say and anxiously anticipating him starting to talk more.

After having and ear infection every month since he was 2 months old, we have finally scheduled a date to have ear tubes put in. It will be Monday, September 20th (say a little prayer for him). I think he will be a much happier camper after this procedure.

He is the easiest baby to put to sleep. I simply lay him down on his left side with his binky in place and his snuggly bear tucked under his arm and he literally becomes immediately still and dozes off to dreamland.

Most people say that he looks like Leah these days. I can't really argue since he has the same beautiful blue eyes and a priceless smile that he will greet you with at each new meeting.

Here are some pics taken since the last update. Watch me grow month by month...

Noah at 7 months...

Noah at 8 months...

Noah at 9 months... So big!

And I just took these adorable pics this morning at 10 months old...

Sleeping Baby

2010-09-15T12:00:00.001-04:00

There's nothing cuter than a peacefully sleeping baby.

Seriously?

2010-09-14T12:00:00.002-04:00

I went to check on the kids before bed and found Leah here. That can't be comfortable.

Leah Rockin' the Tulle

2010-09-13T12:00:00.002-04:00

Leah modeling her cutest ever monogrammed swimsuit. I plan on letting her wear it to ballet class this fall too. It's just too cute to pack away for the winter.

Baby Gate Time

2010-09-12T12:00:00.000-04:00

Yup, I think it's that time. Now where did I pack away that baby gate?

Yup, I think it's that time. Now where did I pack away that baby gate?

Jackson's Sweet Face

2010-09-11T12:00:00.000-04:00

Emma's Protest

2010-09-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

I told her she couldn't go to bed until her room was clean..... well, she didn't.

First Day of School 2010

2010-09-09T12:00:00.001-04:00

Well, we are well into the new school year and momma is lovin' the one on one time with baby Noah. Seriously, I almost forgot what it was like to go to the grocery store with just one child. Of course, it helps to know that the 3 oldest have amazing teachers this year... (and yes, Leah did get into Mrs. L's class, Yay!) I know that their little minds are soaking up all kinds of knowledge each and every day. Here are some of the annual first day pics.

Leah Gets Her Ears "Pinched"

2010-09-08T12:00:00.005-04:00

Before the hair cutting incident over Labor Day weekend. Leah had another change in appearance that I have been meaning to blog about for a while. She got her ears "pinched". Some of you may recall that she had requested to do this a few months ago but upon seeing the woman putting on the latex gloves, she quickly aborted her mission. I guess it was a little to0 reminiscent of shots at the doctor's office. But, last week as we pulled into Wal-mart to get some groceries, Leah said again, "can we get my ears pinched today?" I asked her if she remembered last time when she bailed last minute. She said that she really wanted to do it this time so we gave it another try. And, by Pete, she put on her brave face and sat right up there and let them pierce her ears. She was tough as nails until the moment the earrings went through and then she let out a scream that all of Wal-mart heard I am sure. She cried for a minute and then giggled through tears as she looked in the little hand held mirror at her beautiful ears adorned with red hearts. She has almost inspired her older sister to do the same thing..... well, almost.

Oops, She Did It Again....

2010-09-07T21:19:00.003-04:00

As my sister says, "She looks like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music". We had to take Miss Leah to get a "bob" after finding the monstosity that was her hair after she took the scissors to it again for the second time this year. I may never be allowed to own a pair of scissors again. Lord knows if they are in the house this little girl will find them. Well, enjoy the pictures, we are off to practice singing "Edelweiss" in three part harmony. Ta Ta.

Noah - 6 Month Update

2010-05-21T17:21:00.004-04:00

Noah turned 6 months old on the 16th of May. He has already been wearing 6-9 month clothing for a month and can now fit into some of his 12 month clothing too. He's a big boy, weighing in at 17 lbs and 14 oz. at his 6 month check-up last week.

He is on the verge of taking off as a crawler. He can get himself up on his hands and knees and rock like crazy. I've seen him move his hands a knees forwards a couple of times but mostly he will just lunge in the direction he wants to move and pull himself the rest of the way. If that doesn't work he can roll to anywhere he wants to go.

He can sit up with some help. Emma is more than willing to help him with that most of the time.

He loves to bounce and jump. I guess he takes after his big brother. :) When we arrive at the YMCA for mommy's morning work-outs, the ladies in the nursery usually already have the jumperoo out of the closet, cleaned up and waiting for Noah. They say he will jump until he is worn-out and then they pick him up and walk with him until he falls to sleep. I guess he's getting his morning exercise at the YMCA too.

He's already had his first haircut. The newborn hair on the sides and back had fallen out and started to grown in again but he still had the long full newborn hair on the top. It was starting to look like he was wearing a bad toupee so we decided to trim the top a little bit.

He's a very joyous baby smiling and laughing throughout the majority of the day.
Usually he's most happiest when his siblings talk to him. He loves to get their attention. Sometimes he gets a little apprehensive around Leah but that's only because Leah is still learning the "be gentle" concept.

He says "mama" when he cries. It could be an accident but I seriously doubt it. ;)

He already has music preferences. When he gets sleepy and starts to cry I will sing to him. He will continue to cry unless I sing one of just a few songs that he likes including "Beautiful One" and the lullaby from Dream Works' Prince of Egypt movie. Those two put him out like a light.

I truly can't believe he has been here for 6 months. Just think, in another 6 months we'll be celebrating his 1st birthday. This is REALLY hard for me to swallow.

I can't imagine life without you sweet baby boy!

A Beautiful Beginning

2010-05-19T00:17:00.005-04:00

A couple of years ago, God asked us to make a leap of faith.

He asked us to move from a town that we loved, with family near, to a small community nestled in the mountains....with no Target or Starbucks! Talk about sacrifices! :) For the record, we adore our little community nestled in the mountains.

Although, I was pretty excited about the adventure God had placed before us, I couldn't help but be concerned about a few things. One of which was the questionable future of my second born.

At the time, Emma was in the middle of Kindergarten. The teacher she had, Mrs. C, was absolutely amazing. You know when someone asks you which teacher had the most profound impact on your life? This was her. Truly gifted and serving within her God-given calling.

Jackson, about 3 at the time, was all too quickly approaching school-age himself. He was a very energetic little boy. Still is. But, knowing how some people view hyperactivity as a behavior problem, I was greatly concerned about his initial experiences in school. Would he have a teacher that could channel his energy in a positive way? Or would we end up being called on a regular basis because he wasn't being good and sitting quietly in a chair like the other children?

I knew that if he was in Mrs. C's class, it wouldn't be a problem. She was exactly the kind of person that I wanted to guide him through his first year of school.

Imagine my concern about Jackson when we decided to make the move to a new church in a new town. We had to let go of the notion that Jackson would spend his first year of school under the instruction of the same wonderful teacher that Emma had. Not knowing now what kind of person Jackson's first teacher would be, the questions lingered in my mind.... Would Jackson's education end up being a sacrifice in order to answer this call?.... Would he end up hating school as a result of the move?... Are we doing the right thing by Jackson?

Today, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the father's love and answer to prayer.

Today, we attended Jackson's Pre-school awards day. I have kind of been an emotional wreck today. In a few quiet moments of reflection I have once again been awestruck by my Jesus. I can see now how God has taken care of our Jackson.

If you could have seen the pride on his face today as he sang with his classmates. He was loving school. If you could meet his Pre-K teacher and see that she, like Mrs. C, is one of those teachers that I'm sure Jackson will always remember. She, too, is definitely living out her calling. She has truly instilled a love of learning in Jackson and for that I am utterly grateful.

Thank you Lord, for peering deep into the heart of this mother and blessing both me and my children beyond that which we deserve. Thank you for answered prayers. May this child, and all my children grow to love you more each day.

Mrs. L: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We could never put into words how grateful we are for what you have done for our child (here I go crying again) We love you and we anticipate seeing the same little light in Leah's eyes next year!

Each child received a candy bar award. Jackson received the "Pop Rocks Award" because he is so "bouncy." :)

Emma also had her awards day last week. She received the " Pixie Stix" award for being "sweet and petite"

Real Life Motherhood

2010-05-03T23:35:00.005-04:00

You may have noticed the stellar photographs of my family in the header and the sidebar. We recently had our family photographed by an amazing photographer friend, Bonnie. If you are in need of photography in the East Tennessee area you should totally check her out. She's great to work with and she has an amazing eye for the modern photography flair. Check out her photo blog here.

With the Mother's Day holiday coming up, I was challenged with the task of finding a photo that exemplified motherhood. I immediately thought of a set of shots that were taken toward the end of our family photo session. The kids were starting to get tired of the photographs, especially mister Noah (they all did awesome up to that point). Bonnie snapped a few more shots anyway and I am so glad she did. They are not the traditional "everyone's looking and smiling" kind of shots. But, as Bonnie said on her photo blog, "It is real life." Real life is not picture perfect (especially when you have four children age seven and under). I wouldn't have it any other way. What I love about the photograph is that it captures the love that we have for each other even in the middle of the unpredictability of life. And as you can see, I, the mama, am just trying to enjoy every second.

I hope to share some more of my favorites from our photo shoot soon so check back.

Mama Mia!

2010-04-29T21:09:00.009-04:00

One of my favorite things that I remember doing with my family as a kid was having a "make your own pizza" night. I loved getting my hands dirty in the dough and topping my own pizza however I wanted. So tonight, I re-lived the pizza party fun with my kids.

We started with these ingredients. Normally you would have more toppings on hand but this is a "cheese only" pizza crowd. We mixed up the dough and divided it into three equal sections, one for each of the three kids. Noah isn't quite old enough for pizza. :) They each had fun patting out their own shapes. I thought I had a picture of all the patting but I guess not. Then we put them into the oven for a crust pre-bake.

Then the kids spread their sauce onto their crusts. At this point Emma said that she regretted making a triangular shape. She wished she had mada a circular shape so she could swirl the sauce onto the pizza like they do in fancy pizzarias. Then she reminded me that a 3rd grade boy at school told her yesterday that she was "hot" but don't get me started on that one.

I told the kids to be careful because the pan was still very warm from the pre-bake. As you can see in this picture, Leah did not heed my warning.

Next they sprinkled some Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Just a side note- Apparently when I say, "sprinke my kids hear "dump huge piles."

Then we returned the pizzas to the oven for some final cooking.

So proud of their finished product!

Noah thinks maybe if he smiles really cute I'll give him some pizza. It almost worked. ;)

Digging into the yummy goodness!

"Hey! Where's mine?"

Works For Me Wednesday - Summer Pajamas

2010-04-28T23:25:00.003-04:00

I'm sneaking this post in on Wednesday in order to participate in a blog carnival on the We Are That Family blog, one of my favorites! The blog carnival is called Works For Me Wednesday. It's a great place for mom's to share tips on cleaning, cooking, organizing, anything to make life a little easier. I have wanted to participate in this carnival for a long time but I rarely think of any clever tips to share... except this one. It's been on my mind since last fall but it's kind of seasonal so I had to wait till spring to share it. Pretty sad that I have only come up with one tip in 6 months time. haha. Oh well, here it is.

My idea helps when spring rolls around and it's time to put away the kids' fleece pajamas and replace them with cooler summer jammies. Instead of buying all new complete summer sets, I simply pack away all of the long sleeve tops but keep the pants to these sets in my childrens' drawers. I buy a package of white t-shirts for the boys or white cami tops for the girls to couple with the pre-existing pants. It's an inexpensive way to transform their pajama wardrobe from cold weather pajamas to warm weather pajamas in a flash.

Hop on over to the We Are That Family blog for more Works For Me Wednesday Tips!

Hope and Joy

2010-04-27T21:23:00.015-04:00

This past weekend our youth group took part in a World Vision 30 Hour Famine event. During this event, youth commit to fast for 30 hours in order to experience first hand the desperation of extreme hunger. They played games, watched World Vision awareness videos and participated in deep discussions about the needs of the suffering people in the world.

Teenagers find friends and family who will sponsor them for the event. The money raised goes directly to World Vision. We raised over $1,400 dollars through the event which is enough to feed 4 children for an entire year. At the Sunday evening service our friend and worship leader Sean Currier made a plea to our congregation to become child sponsors. 12 Children were matched with their sponsor that night! That's 16 lives that have been drastically changed by the sacrifice of our youth group. I am so proud of them. Proud of them, and proud of our entire church for rallying around them with fury.

During the Sunday evening service Josh asked me on the spur of the moment to share about our experience as a child sponsor. Of course, I agreed. But, I am not the most eloquent speaker. I get very nervous and tongue tied. I have a hard time organizing my thoughts and relaying them to the audience in a way that can be easily understood. I can quite relate to Moses when he tells God that he's got the wrong person for the job (Moses couldn't speak well either). Perhaps that's why I enjoy writing on my blog so much. I have a chance to think things through in the less intimidating environment I call home.

Not to mention, when I was sharing this at church. My 3 year old came on stage with me because she was being extremely clingy and whiny. I set her down next to me on stage and she ran behind me to play with the microphone on the keyboard (We won't even talk about the microphone that she, earlier that same day, submersed in the fish pond fountain thing that adorns the Narthex in our church)

When my very dear friend, LeAnne, came up to help me with the "little angel," Leah screamed, "I want my mommy" all the way out of the sanctuary. If I didn't stutter before this incident.... well let's just say it really threw off my chain of thought.

So here is our experience as I shared it. Hopefully it will be less confusing and chaotic here.

A little over a year ago, I felt like God was calling us to sponsor a child through World Vision or another organization like it. Though, I wanted to enter into the commitment prayerfully. I didn't want to pick just any child. I wanted to be sure that we would be matched with the specific child that God would want to place in our path. I sometimes think that God has specific things to teach me through specific people so I prayed for just the right child. I asked God to give us a child that shared a birth date with one of our own children. I did not actively seek out children through different organizations' websites. I just waited for God to show me the one.

One Sunday, David Konstantopoulos, a very talented flute player came to our church to do a concert. He also happened to be a World Vision Independent artist. As I walked over to the table to thank David for his wonderful music, I glanced down and saw the card for a pretty young Cambodian girl of about 10 years with troubled eyes. Her name was Maisen and she shared a birthday with my son Jackson. I knew in an instant that this was the child that God wanted us to bless.

So, I completed the card and we began our journey as a child sponsor. I was no doubt blessed by knowing that we were making a difference in a child's life. Occasionally, I would pray for her and encourage my children to do the same. But, that was about as far as it went. The monthly drafts from our checking account were automatic and the heart behind our initial decision to sponsor became distant.

Fast forward almost a year.

Recently, I have been drawn in by several groups of bloggers who have become "Compassion bloggers". Compassion International is an organization very similar to World Vision. They also work to find sponsors for less fortunate children. These bloggers travel in groups to Compassion project sites in order to witness firsthand the devastation and poverty that exists in that particular area of the world. They also experience the difference that Compassion is making in the lives of children there. They write of what they see for the sole purpose of recruiting more child sponsors. They are to the blog world what World Vision artists like Sean and David are to the music and worship world.

In some of my reading on these blogs I learned that on Saturdays children in a project site will gather as mail is passed out from their sponsors. Letters and packages are handed out like presents at Christmastime. These children treasure the letters, gifts and photos they receive from their sponsors.

At that moment it hit me hard...

We had never written to our sponsor child.

Not once.

No letter, no packages, NOTHING.

Of course, we had sent in our monthly financial gift, but our hearts had become disconnected from this precious child of God. I pictured her sitting there every Saturday for a year. Hoping that this might be the Saturday that she would receive something special from her sponsor. I could picture those same troubled eyes filled with sadness as she was forgotten Saturday after Saturday. It broke my heart and I wept.

The next day, Emma and I made a trip to Walmart. We picked out a pretty pink cotton dress, some flip flops, jewelry and various art supplies. We came home and wrote a long letter telling Maisen of our family and how we have prayed for her. We completed it with a family picture, the one taken in the hospital just after Noah was born. We stuffed it all into a large bubble mailer and headed off to the post office.

I'll have to say that I had not considered what it would cost to ship a package to Cambodia. I suffered from a bit of sticker shock at the post office window. Nevertheless, I cannot explain to you the joy that it gave me to send that package.

I have not heard from Maisen since I sent the package but I expect that I will. I anticipate our regular correspondences from this moment on. I hope that the people at the World Vision project there will help take and send an updated picture of herself. Maybe those eyes won't seem quite so troubled. Maybe, just maybe, there will be a glimmer of hope and joy.

(This is not our actual sponsor child)

If you would like to sponsor a World Vision Child click here, or a child from Compassion click here.

Fever

2010-04-22T23:57:00.003-04:00

My little Leah has been sick over the past couple of days with a 102+ temp. No other symptoms just a temp. Is it awful that I kind of enjoy the time together when they are sick? I mean, of course, I want them to feel better. But I love the hours of precious snuggle time that you have with them when they are sick. You just don't get too much of that when they are well. They would rather be off playing with their siblings or friends somewhere. I love how they actually want to be in your lap when they are sick... and to be rocked... and to have their little heads stroked. I feel like I'm in my element as a mother when they are sick, doing all I can to make it easier for them. I realize this might be a bit selfish.... okay a lot selfish. I definitely will be glad when she feels better but, until then, I will enjoy every moment of mommy snuggles I can get.

He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed!

2010-04-08T23:02:00.004-04:00

All dressed up for Easter Sunday at Church

Hunting Eggs

He Died for us to give us LIFE and to give us HOPE he rose!

4 Months

2010-03-31T03:00:00.002-04:00

Tantrums and Boys Time

2010-02-21T23:12:00.002-05:00

Today we went to Mcdonalds for lunch after church. Leah was in rare form.... well actually it's not so rare for her these days. She is going through the "trying threes". With my kids three has always been more difficult than two. Anyway, she ended up being taken red faced, kicking and screaming at the top of her lungs out to the car by her daddy for some well deserved time-out. Another lady in the play area made a comment that in sinuated that I needed to spank her.... ha, like I've never tried that before.... then the same lady asked me if I wanted her to raise my daughter.... ugh, the nerve! I love how people get a fifteen minute glimse into the not so glorious part of my day and they think they need to step in and do it better. I told her that my son was the same way and he has outgrown the tantrums so I think she'll be just fine, thanks.

Anyway.... now that I have that off my chest.... here are some super cute pictures of my boys enjoying "boys time".

Come in Motherbird, Do you read me?

2010-02-20T17:55:00.004-05:00

I just finished watching the movie Julie & Julia and it made me think, "hey, I had a blog once. So, I thought I would dust off my keyboard and make a little contribution to my corner of the web. Here are some of the latest pictures of baby Noah who is now 3 months old. Can you beleive it? Didn't he just get here yesterday. As a matter of fact, didn't Emma just arrive yesterday too? My, how the time does fly.

I also have started an Etsy site to showcase some of the hats that I have been making. It's still under construction but if you would like to see it you can find it at

www.courtneyb613.etsy.com

I welcome any orders. They make great baby gifts!

Happy Birthday Little Man!

2010-01-07T00:56:00.002-05:00

Dear Jackson,
Gosh, you've grown so much this year in so many ways. Starting school has been an amazing adventure for you. We have seen you come out of your shell. We have seen it in the way you make new friends easily and the way you volunteer to pray at a meal. You have matured into a boy with a longer attention span and greater ability to sit still and listen to a story or lesson. You have gained a baby brother this year and we could not be more proud of how you take care of and love him. And although it's hard having two sisters, they have become your best friends. We love hearing the clever things that come out of your mouth, most of which are quotes from your favorite movies. Could it really have been 5 years since you, that sweet baby boy, came into our lives? We cannot wait to see what more unfolds for you. We pray that you, like David, will be a man after God's own heart, that you will have compassion for the people God has placed in your life and that you will continue to be the sweet and funny boy that we have grown to love so much. Happy Birthday Buddy. Love, Mom

Somebody's 1 Month Old Today!

2009-12-17T00:58:00.003-05:00

Noah's Acting Debut

2009-12-13T23:13:00.002-05:00

Tonight, Noah had the honor of playing baby Jesus in our church's Christmas program. He did wonderfully! During his first scene he seemed mesmerized by the lights. He remained bright eyed and happy as he gazed up at his momma
(a.k.a. Mary). During his second scene he started to get a little fussy but we were able to keep him from a full cry. He was vocal at the most appropriate times and we could not have asked for a better performance. Noah will have his Oscar acceptance speech ready for next Sunday. :)

First Snow of the Season!

2009-12-07T12:40:00.004-05:00

Emma, Jackson & Leah with some neighborhood kids and the snowman that they all built

Noah stayed inside warm & cozy in his swing while mom got the hot chocolate ready for his chilly brother and sisters....actually, now that I think about it, Josh made the hot chocolate. I intended to do it but there are a lot of things I have intended to do that haven't been done lately. The story of life with a new baby. Wouldn't have it any other way! :)

Welcome Baby Noah!

2009-12-05T17:21:00.004-05:00

He's almost 3 weeks old but I have yet to introduce him on my blog. We've been spending all of our extra time sleeping instead of blogging. Here are some pictures from the day of his arrival.

Our New Car! :)

2009-11-06T09:56:00.009-05:00

Have you ever had one of those seasons in your life where you have no idea how you got from point A to point B? A time when the presence of God in your life is both undeniable and awe inspiring? We've just come through one such season. As I reflect on the last couple of months I can't help but marvel at the God of the universe who cares deeply for me and my family.

Point A was a little over 2 months ago. I sat on the side of the interstate with my husband as he tried to turn over the engine on our broken down mini-van. The look of defeat and hopelessness that came over his face when he heard the sound that it made told me all I needed to know. We were in big trouble. Our mini-van had been a huge blessing. A reliable car that we were proud of. A car big enough for our growing family. And, it was paid for. We had the van hauled to a mechanic where our fears were confirmed. The engine was done.

It's no secret that a life in the ministry means a limited income. Add to that a mom who feels strongly about being home with our kids as much as possible and...well, there's just not a lot of extra money around here. We were definitely not in a position to take on a car payment at this time. Our only other vehicle is a 13 year old, 200,000 mile, SUV that holds 5 people. Did, I mention that we are about to be a family of 6? I had no idea what we were going to do. The situation seemed hopeless. I had no choice but to put it into God's hands. I prayed for him to provide a car for our family. Then, I could do nothing but sit back and watch him work.

Let me tell you, he used our church, our family, a failing economy, a struggling family of strangers.....even the darn IRS to answer that prayer. Amazing.

I remember when they took the love offering at church for us. When, we were told the final number of the offering, we were so thankful. It was so much more than we could have asked for. But then, I started to divide that number by the number of families in our church. It nearly brought me to my knees as I understood the sacrifices that our brothers and sisters had made for us. These people were not just dropping 5 dollar bills in the offering plate. Amazing.

We had family that, in spite of their own financial hardships over the past year, dug deep and gave generously to help us meet a need. Amazing.

In this economy so many are making the move toward low gas mileage vehicles. The market has been saturated with large gas guzzling SUVs, which is exactly what we needed. When you have a family of 6, fuel economy kind of goes out the window. :) The prices of these type of vehicles had been driven WAY down. He even used a struggling economy to provide for us. Amazing.

We found out, at the most opportune time, that because Josh had been recently licensed as a minister he was eligible for tax credits for this year and last that we were unaware of. A little paper work and we had some extra unexpected money in our pockets. Amazing.

As we drove to look at the vehicle that would become ours, I remember praying, "God, it's obvious that you have worked miracles for us here. Let us be an answer to prayer to the family that we buy a car from as well." As Josh took the vehicle for a test drive, I stood there with the owner and mom of 3 as she poured out her heart to me about her husband being laid-off twice in the last year. They had been living off savings but their savings had run out. Their bank account had been in the negative for 2 weeks. She said, "I really hope your husband likes the car". When he came back, Josh and I talked and we decided that this was the car. We agreed on a price with the owner. She was so happy. She said that provided them with plenty of money to find a cheaper car and still have some money to live off of for a little while. And it has given me a sweet family to pray for. :) Amazing.

Here we are at point B and I feel so lucky to be driving this 2004 Ford Expedition with leather seats and a DVD player for the kids. And, Josh says I look pretty hot driving it. :) How did we get to be so lucky to have a car that not only meets all of our needs but also most of our wants? It's undeniable. There is a God and he cares for us deeply. He has surrounded us with wonderful, selfless friends and family. AMAZING!

3 More Weeks!

2009-10-23T20:47:00.005-04:00

It was a good day. Went to the doctor today. We were scheduled for a growth ultrasound. My belly always measures a bit bigger than it should so doctors always want to do measurements to make sure the baby is not too big before delivery. You would think they would learn after having a few 6 pounders that it's just me... not the baby. He was measuring to be about 6 lbs. 2 oz. at this point which means if he continues to grow at a normal rate then he should weigh in at just over 7 pounds at delivery. This would be our biggest baby although he is still far from being TOO big.

As I laid back and the ultrasound began, the tech noticed that he was in optimal position for getting pretty good special 3D ultrasound shots. Wanting to get the shots while she could she offered us a last minute special on the 3D ultrasound. It is normally $250 dollars for a 3D simply because there is no guarantee the baby will cooperate and it can be quite time consuming. Knowing that she could get good pictures quickly she offered us the ultrasound for $25 dollars but we had to make the decision quickly before he moved. We definitely agreed to it!

It was so great to see his sweet face. I can see a little bit of all 3 of the other kids in that little face but I'm sure he will have his own unique little look about him. He smiled several times during the ultrasound. Already hamming it up for the camera. :)

I was also quite pleased to finally get to schedule my c-section for November 16th at 9:30 in the morning. As long as we don't have anymore pre-term labor episodes, that will be his arrival date.

We topped the visit off with a swine flu vaccination. It seems to have already worked it's way through the kids relatively easily but we decided it's not such a bad thing to be protected against any future exposure.

Here are some pictures of that sweetest ever little face!

Flower Girl Dreams Come True

2009-10-18T10:49:00.005-04:00

A few years ago, we went to a wedding. One of Josh's good friends, Nolan, was getting married in Kentucky. Emma was 2 years old at the time. At the reception, she was in awe of the flower girl. You could just see the wonder in her eyes... You could see her thinking, "How did this little girl get to be so lucky to wear this beautiful dress and be the center of attention (sort of)?" That day, "flower girl envy" was born. We have been hoping since then that one of our friends or family members would get married and ask her to be the flower girl. As the first girl grandchild on both sides, I got the chance to be the flower girl in several weddings. It's definitely an experience I hope every little girls gets to have sometime. Finally, Emma's chance came this past September when my cousin Sarah got married. Emma loved her special day. I was tickled pink to see another little girl about 2 years old following her around with that same wonder in her eyes that I noticed a few years ago...

Brewing Excitement and H1N1

2009-10-18T09:50:00.002-04:00

Here I am, finally, with a blog update for you! Our family has been through one thing after another over the last week or two.

Last Friday night, at only 34 weeks, I started having contractions about every 10 minutes. After being up and down all night with the pain alternating between my stomach and back, we decided to call the doctor at about 9 am Saturday morning. Of course they told us to come on in to the hospital. We quickly realized that we were nowhere near ready for this baby to come, but wanted to be prepared, just in case. We jumped into gear and packed bags for us, for the kids to stay at Mimi's and for the baby. I realized, I did not have anything purchased for the baby yet. No Diapers. No Baby Wipes. No Baby Wash. Even the car seat was down underneath the house in desperate need of being disinfected. We grabbed what we had and made the hour and a half trip to the hospital. After several hours of being monitored, they gave me a shot of Terbutaline which put a stop to the contractions. While waiting for my discharge papers, we were surprised to see my mom and dad walk into the room. We had called them early that morning to let them know what was happening but had told them there was no need to drive to the hospital. They didn't listen. They made the 3 hour trip from N-ville only to arrive as we were being discharged. It was a great surprise though. It was my mom's birthday so we ended up spending the rest of the day visiting with them.

The following Tuesday, I was just recovering from our excitement over the weekend, when it came time to drive back to K-town to take the girls in for their yearly check-ups. We decided to come up the night before and spend the night at Mimi's to make the day a little easier on everyone. As I kissed them good night that night, I noticed that both of the girls were running fevers. My only thought was that the timing was actually good since we would be at the doctor's the next day anyway. We found out the next day that both girls were in the very early stages of the H1N1 flu. We quickly got prescriptions of Tamiflu for all of the kids and myself. It took all day to get that taken care of between looking for a pharmacy that wasn't out of the suspension formula for the kids and trying to get my doctor's office on the ball. It was a little nerve-racking since the younger kids and me (since I'm pregnant) are in a high risk group for complications. We have all done okay so far though. Everyone seems to be on the mend now. No more fevers just a few coughs and runny noses. The kids were on fall break the first part of the week anyway but having them at home couped up all week has been almost too much for any of us to bear. They are so ready to get out and run around. Even with the cold weather, I think we will be going to the park very soon!

Photo Sessions

2009-10-18T09:42:00.009-04:00

I hate taking the kids to cheap photography studios that have left me feeling disappointed and frustrated. I also hate the price tag of those wonderful photographers out there even though their work is usually gorgeous and painless for the kids and I. But, after one last straw last year at one of those cheapy places, I vowed never again to take the kids to any such place. Since then, I have been studying a bit about aperture, shutter speed and other such photography subjects. I have always loved taking pictures but now I am just making an attempt to be knowledgeable about the subject. I won't say that I am anywhere near professional yet but I have been very satisfied with some shots that I have taken over the last few months with the kids. I got a few great shots of each of them. Shots that are frame worthy and came without any tears - major accomplishment! I can't wait for baby Noah to get here so that we can get some great sweet baby shots of him too.

Psalm 37 according to Beth Moore

2009-08-29T11:25:00.004-04:00

Last night I got the chance to attend a Living Proof Live simulcast with some girls from my church. It was a 2 day event. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the second day. But...I thought I would post some of my notes from last night anyway. I'm not the best note taker but...this was pretty good stuff from Ms. Beth Moore.

Enjoy!

Psalm 37 - In original Hebrew it was written so that each line began with each letter of the alphabet. Why was it written that way? So that it would be easy to memorize. Hint, Hint.

theodicy - God of Justice. Read Psalm 9, Psalm 73 and Job. We all go through a season where we struggle with the question: Is God Good? God is just. He LOVES justice.

On the first night we received 3 of 7 facts that Beth came up with regarding Psalm 37:4. Look at whole Psalm but narrow in on 37:4, which says...

"Delight yourselves in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart"

Fact #1: Nothing dictates our lives like our desires
- people do what they want to
- God is not a dictator
- desire is not a bad thing - it give us zeal for life
- a craving is an unattended to legitimate desire
- our prayer should be: protect us from everything EXCEPT from your glory
- Psalm 38:9 says "All my longings lie open before you
- We disconnect our desires from our religion until we lose all passion
- a legitimate heart's desire necessitates a wait. It is a sustained
longing, unaffected by mood, time or circumstance

Fact #2: Beneath the desires of our hearts is the heart of our desires.
- if you have not received the desire of your heart, something us up.
Glory is at stake.
- What is present in the absence?
- God does not say "no" flippantly
- He sees the end from the beggining
- every desire implies something we lack
- often if we move our delight to center on God, our desires will shift a bit

Fact #3: Delighting in God adapts our desires into inevitabilities
- Psalm 37:23 - the delight is reciprocated
- man's delight (ps 37:4) a feeling of extreme pleasure
& satisfaction, wonder, awe
- to sport - outpouring joy (like at a football game)
- "venti joy w/ an extra shot"
- on sharing faith - "God grant me a heart that delights in you"
- When a 2 month old smiles at you and you finally have a connection.
What joy! God has been smiling down on us our whole lives.
Joy is when we finally smile back at him and connect.
If joy is a smile, then delight is a laugh.
- delight = sensitivity to God, to worship
- He will only & always give us the heart of our desires
- God's delight (ps. 37:23) to move toward, to take pleasure in

This world is too depressing for delight? God sees it ALL.

He sees the most horrible evil in the darkest places.

He sees the mother teaching her toddler "Jesus loves me, this I know"....

He delights......

He sees, out 90,000 people at 516 locations, one woman and her desires.....

And He delights....

I have friends taking notes today. I can't wait to read about her other 4 points on this Psalm!

Don't Know if I Remember How To Do This...

2009-08-25T19:53:00.003-04:00

So sorry friends.... I really should be keeping up with this a little better.

Well, we are settling into another school year. Emma has enjoyed getting back into the swing of things. She is in second grade this year and was excited to have some of her good friends from 1st grade in her class this year.

Jackson has started pre-school. I have to say that I could not be any happier with how it is going. We have been incredibly blessed with a wonderful teacher. She and Jackson get along great. Jackson takes great pride in going to school. Josh says he watched him this morning as he put away his backpack, got out his "take home" notebook and put it in the tray where it goes each day. He is learning the routine and doing very well. One of the assistant teachers told me today that she had fallen in love with Jackson and that they had nicknamed Jackson "The Class Flirt". Of course, this did not surprise Josh or I. Jackson definitely knows how to find the pretty girls. Such a ladies man.

On a more serious note, I humbly ask for your prayers for our family as we are going through a rough patch. We know that God is in control, but it is not always easy to wait for Him to reveal his plan to us. Pray that we will make good decisions in the following weeks and that we would have peace, patience and faith that the Lord will provide for our needs. Thank you friends.

Oh, The Wonderful Month of June!

2009-07-09T14:14:00.011-04:00

Gosh, I was sitting here trying to think what all has happened since I last posted. I'm realizing that I have neglected my blog for too long. I have much catching up to do.

Lets see... Well, Emma turned 7 years old on June the 6th. We had a wonderful birthday party here at the neighborhood pool. We were a little worried about the weather since it had been storming so much, but turns out we had a perfect little window of sunshine during the exact 2 hours of her party. We had a great turnout with family and friends from church, school and our neighborhood.

We celebrated many other June birthdays and visited with a lot of family including my grandmother, grandfather and cousin from Missouri, Josh's family in Alabama, as well as my brother and sister-in-law & their youngins from Texas. This was all before rounding out the month with Leah's 3rd birthday on June 3oth. She also had a pool party, but her's was at her mimi and papa's neighborhood pool. With cousins from Texas in town, a great time was had by all!

We also attended our big 20 week ultrasound for baby #4. It's always so amazing to see those little ones with all working parts in place and still so tiny. We received confirmation that we were, in fact, having a boy. This led us to decide on the name James Noah. This was a huge compromise as Josh was insistent that the little guy have a "J" name while I was really a fan of "Noah". So, he did get a "J" first name but we will call him by his middle name, Noah. As far as the ultrasound could tell he appeared to be a very healthy 10 oz. boy.

We celebrated a great fourth of July by first attending the annual neighborhood 4th of July parade at Mimi and Papa's neighborhood. Emma, Jackson & Leah, along with their cousins decorated all their "go-gos" with flags and streamers. Leah enjoyed riding "back seat" on her new Barbie 4-wheeler. It was a birthday present that she doesn't really care to drive. Finally, we returned home for a spectacular fireworks display and picnic put on by some dear friends from our church.

The month of June was a memorable one! Now we are enjoying some much needed rest. Especially momma, who thinks Noah is going through a big growth spurt!

Church Camp Initiation

2009-06-08T10:15:00.003-04:00

Emma just got back from her first week of church camp ever. Josh and I have been working with youth for many years and have seen the huge impact that summer camp has had on the young people. So, it was so exciting to see our own daughter get to take part. When I attended the services, I was so proud of Emma. She would get up and pray with all of her friends at the end of the service. Her demeanor reflected compassion and sincerity. I can't wait to see what God has in store for this little girl. I know that she is going to serve in mighty ways!

Here she is on her bunk at camp.

There is a tradition that consists of all the kids eating ice cream with an insane amount of toppings out of a gutter. They call this little tradition "Gutter Goo". Here is Emma enjoying.

Here she is going down the huge homemade slip 'n' slide with her daddy (Josh was one of the camp counselors for the boys)

This was taken in the midst of a shaving cream fight. I think this is a mandatory activity at all church camps. :)

After church camp, we celebrated her 7th birthday on Saturday. Is it possible that this sweet girl is seven? Doesn't seem like it. She is now enjoying some summertime fun for a week at her Nana & Grandpa's house. I'm sure she is having a blast building a play fort with her grandpa, but I'm ready to have her home for awhile.

Boy, Oh Boy!

2009-06-02T16:29:00.002-04:00

I had my 15 week doctor's appointment yesterday. I convinced the doctor that I needed an ultrasound to make sure some minor first trimester issues had been resolved. These issues were really not that great of a concern but I saw my opportunity to see live pictures of my baby and I jumped on it. I'm so sneaky that way.

My doctor asked me if she could tell the sex of the baby, would I want to know. "Of course!" Generally, 15 weeks is too early to tell but after a quick glance things were looking very boyish! The doctor said not to run out and buy all blue just yet. There is still a chance that this glimpse of manhood could have been just umbilical cord. Still, judging from the few Ultrasound pictures I received, I am pretty convinced that it's a little guy. Can't help but be a little excited as this will even things out for us. 2 boys, 2 girls.

As a funny side note, when the doctor first placed the scanner on my belly and we got our first pictures of baby, you could see the little guy immediately move his hand from up near his face, down to cover his private area. The nurse, doctor and I busted out laughing. Apparently, he knew exactly what we were looking for and he's shy. :)

A Day at the Farm

2009-05-28T11:15:00.005-04:00

Here are some picture highlights from Jackson & Leah's field trip to the farm for the end of the CPO year.

Jackson either looking tough or not in the mood to smile for pictures

I think the calf wanted to kiss Josh

Leah not sure if she wants to get too close

Leah and Jackson checking out all of the milk in the holding tank

Leah feeding the calf a bottle

Lookin' like she belongs on the farm

Ready for a hay ride

Chillin' at the riverside

Jackson found some eggs in the hen house. I think we broke more than we found. Oops.

Leah and Jackson showing off their eggs

Playing in the goat pen

Jackson having a blast on the tire swing

CPO Awards

2009-05-15T11:14:00.007-04:00

We had the end of the school year banquet for the CPO (Christian Parent Outreach) program at our church. It's kind of like our Mother's Day Out.

They sang "Happy Birthday" to all the kids with summer birthdays. When Leah got up there she was just so proud to be the center of attention. Her beaming smile got the whole room laughing. Her joy for life is simply contagious.

Then it was awards time. Jackson & Leah went up together to get their awards. Miss Sandra told a story about how the CPO grannies turned around during play time and found Leah stripped down to nothing but a tiara and a bracelet at the dress up station.

Miss Sandra also told about how Jackson tried to outsmart the CPO grannies by putting himself in a self imposed time-out so that he would not have to help pick up blocks during clean up time. Jackson did not like Miss Sandra telling this story so he covered his ears.

Then all of the children entertained us with their instruments.

Before we left I caught Jackson pulling a pretty little gal into the corner and trying to kiss her. Oh dear.

Soccer Practice

2009-05-04T18:08:00.003-04:00

Wow! 3 posts in one day! I'm making up for lost time. Here are some pictures of Jackson at Soccer practice today.

Running in for a goal!

Score!

Coming in for a water break

Ahhh...that hits the spot

I think he's the cutest soccer player I've ever seen!

Come Skating

2009-05-04T18:03:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures of Emma reciting her poem at the 1st grade poetry recital & tea. I was really proud of her. She remembered her poem and spoke very clearly and loudly. Not shy at all like when she practiced.

Her poem was a Shel Silverstein poem called "Come Skating". It went like this:

Come Skating

They said come skating;
They said it's so nice.
They said come skating;
I'd done it twice.
They said come skating;
It sounded nice….
I wore roller-
They meant ice.

Ultrasound Pictures

2009-05-04T13:21:00.002-04:00

Here are some Ultrasound pictures of "Lou-Lou" at 10 weeks and 5 days. My scanner is a few years old so these didn't come out as clearly as I would've liked. Oh well, you get the idea.

Looks pretty plump for someone who is only about an inch and a half long, don't ya think?

See those little legs sticking out on the left side?

No, I don't think his/her arm is growing out of his/her head. But it does look like he/she is covering his/her face with an arm. Must be too shy for pictures! :)

And The Videos

2009-04-25T19:59:00.006-04:00

I wanted to post the videos of Emma's Dances as well. In all of these videos, Emma is the one in the back row all the way on the right side as you look at the screen.

This first one is her Jazz Dance to the song "Dig A Little Deeper"

This one is her Ballet Dance to the song "Reflection" from the Disney movie Mulan.

And this last one is her Tap Dance to the song "Move It Like This"

Shake It Girl!

2009-04-25T15:29:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures from Emma's Dance Recital last night. She did so good!

Here she is in her orange jazz dance costume

This is her red and black tap dance costume

And in her purple ballet costume with one of her teachers, Miss Brandy

Here is Emma with Miss Jamie, owner of Winter & Co. Dance Studio and also our church secretary. We love Miss Jamie!

This is Emma with Miss Hannah. Hannah is one of Emma's dance teachers. She is also in Daddy's youth group. We are so excited that she is graduating in May but we will miss her when she's away at college. Love you Hannah!

Mimi & Papa got to come and watch Emma dance. Here they are during Intermission.

And this one is Emma and her daddy. She's proudly showing off her medal that she received at the end of the recital

We love you Emma. You did such a great job! You are a wonderful dancer!

Egg Hunt

2009-04-16T12:57:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures from the Kids' Easter celebration party and Egg Hunt!

Waterslides and Waterfalls

2009-04-14T22:38:00.006-04:00

Sorry for the dry spot in posting. I'm blaming it on morning sickness and fatigue...same reason my house is a mess right now and has been for weeks. I'm over the first trimester. Only 4 more weeks to go.

Here are some pictures from our little mini-vacation that we took as a family in late March. We went to Gatlinburg and hit the indoor waterpark there. We also did some hiking to Laurel Falls. Little did we know that would involve keeping the little ones from getting too close to some deadly cliffs. They did good though. Looking forward to some good weather so we can do some more hiking.

TN Aquarium

2009-03-31T19:04:00.004-04:00

We got to spend the Friday before Spring Break with Josh's parents. We headed to Chattanooga to check out the TN Aquarium. The kids had a great time and tolerated the long day pretty well.

Here is Josh, Emma and Jackson. They crawled through a small tunnell up inside a fish tank that had all the characters from the movie "Finding Nemo" in it

Here is Jackson Finding Nemo

Here is Jackson with a great big shark right behind his head. He didn't realize the shark was right there but the look on his face would make you think otherwise. Lol.

Here are the 3 kids in the Butterfly Garden

Here is Emma with her dad and papa at the sting-ray tank where you could touch sting-rays

It's Positively Positive!

2009-03-19T21:35:00.001-04:00

Behold the Lamb of God, who makes new life begin!

This Tough Girl Got A Shiner

2009-03-14T01:45:00.005-04:00

Well, Leah got her first shiner. If you know Leah, you would think that she would be proudly sporting this after a standoff with a child 3 times her age. Not this time, though. She and Jackson just knocked heads accidentally.

I don't know how many more of these will come in the future, but I do know one thing. I don't have to worry about my baby girl backing down. That girl can definitely stand her ground.

Handstand

2009-03-07T22:23:00.003-05:00

Emma was a little worried today that she would never learn how to do a handstand. Josh and I showed her that she could practice by kicking her legs and using the wall to help her balance. She tried about a dozen times before she could actually stay up. When she did it, she was so excited. I told her to hold that pose so I could grab the camera. Just look at that face!

Friday Funnies - Gotta Love The Kiddos

2009-03-05T23:22:00.009-05:00

I'm linking up for Friday Funnies at Run A Muck. This blog belongs to the cute and lucky mommy of The Mother Letter Project.
So, here are a few of the hilarious happenings that have gone down in our house this week.

-----------------------------------------------

Monday night.

Me: Emma come here and let me pull your hair back so I can take you to dance class.

Emma: You have to get your shoes on mom. You're wearing your house shoes.

Me: I know, I know. I will. Or maybe I'll just wear my house shoes to take you to dance, I mean they aren't the real fuzzy ones, I doubt anyone would even notice.

A few minutes pass as I brush and fix Emma's hair.....

Emma: Mom, will you please put some regular shoes on.

Seriously, she shouldn't be old enough to be embarassed by me yet.

-------------------------------------------

Tuesday afternoon.

Leah walks into the living room after putting on one of her sister's pretty dress-up dresses. She walks ever so sweetly up to Jackson and says with a warm smile...

Leah: Jackson, do you want to dance with me? I'm a beautiful princess.

Jackson turns his back to her and starts to walk in the other direction. Leah grabs his arm, smacks him on the head and says...

Leah: I SAID DANCE WITH ME!

Such a timid little flower, that one is. :)

-----------------------------------------------

Wednesday night.

Josh decides, since he has had a pretty busy week with very little family time, that he will let one of the kids sleep in our bed. Since Jackson was the only one still awake when he decides this, he brings Jackson downstairs to our bedroom and they turn in for the night. (I am in the living room watching T.V.) Josh said that Jackson kept tossing and every time he would move, Josh would lovingly rub Jackson's back and forehead. Finally Jackson sits up and with a heavy sigh he matter of factly says....

Jackson: If you go to sleep, I'll go to sleep.

---------------------------------------------------

Hope these were good for a laugh or two. They were for us! Happy Friday!

Little Wonders

2009-03-03T22:45:00.016-05:00

If you know me at all, you know that I have become addicted to the TV show LOST. I did not watch the first 3 seasons on TV. But, when I was on maternity leave after giving birth to Leah, I realized that ABC.com had all 3 of the first seasons available online to watch for free.

Once I watched the first episode, I was hooked. I actually burned up the hard-drive on my laptop from running so much video in such a short amount of time on my computer. (Since Josh works on computers in his spare time, I just changed out the burnt up one for another recenly repaired laptop).

I knew, from doing some research on LOST online, that it was a show centered around time travel theories although that had not really become obvious until this, the 5th, season. There's something about trying to wrap your mind around some of these unfathomable theories that is just so interesting.

Many "Losties" joke that they are always lost after watching the show because of the many plot twists and unanswered questions. But since I am not a genius physicist, I am also quite lost when it comes to the science of these time travel theories....

and I LOVE it.

I love trying to figure out this that is so mind boggling.

Maybe I need some "perspective".

Perspective actually did come... directly from my 6 year old.

Emma got a new DVD for Valentine's Day from my mom and dad called "Meet the Robinson's". It's a really cute movie that also centers around the theme of time travel.

Apparently, this subject is fascinating at any age because I have been asked numerous questions about it by Emma.

What exactly is a time machine?

How does it work?

When will they build a time machine that works?

Of course I have very little in the way of answers for these questions. I just tell her that no one has figured out how to do it without dying in the process yet.

I guess that I expected all of these questions, but what I didn't expect was this statement that came next.

"Mom, when they figure out how to make a time machine, I want to go back in time and see Mema Carolyn. Because I really want to see her".

Mema Carolyn is my maternal grandmother who was killed by a drunk driver about 12 years ago. I often think about how unfair it is that because of a incredibly irresponsible human being, Emma and her grandmother (who would have loved her more than I could ever say) never met.

When Emma said this to me, we were driving in the car. I couldn't help but tear up. I told her that I know that Mema would love to see her too.

Emma, If they ever do figure out how to make a time machine, I wouldn't mind going with you on that trip.

Even so, if they don't, it won't matter much....

It won't matter, because this earth is not the end. We can look forward to seeing our dear loved ones again one day, thanks to the hope of Christ. What peace comes from resting in that very hope. Pondering the wonder of His ways is even more fascinating than time travel.

Thank you Lord.

Before The Rain Came

2009-02-11T22:51:00.006-05:00

Here are some pictures from our day out at the park today. We got a couple of hours of playtime in before the rain came.

And The Winner Is...

2009-02-09T15:42:00.005-05:00

Estela!!! You were the 97th comment! This was the lucky number generated by Random.org. You have won your choice of a precious Tutu from EmauNi*s LiL TuTu KreaTiOns*!

Estela said:

What a lovely giveaway! My daughter and I particularly liked CusTom PrinceSs TuTu DreSs Set. They are all adorable though! Please enter me!!

Check out Estela's blog called Spared Change.

Estela, please check your email for a message from me.

This was so much fun! Let's do it again sometime!

Emma's First Date

2009-02-07T18:58:00.006-05:00

Emma is out on her first date tonight. What? You think 6 is too young? Don't worry. I trust the man, who is taking her to dinner and a dance, completely. It's her daddy Plus, I gave her a quarter to call me if she needs a ride home :) They just called a minute ago from the restaurant. Emma was excited because her daddy bought her a chocolate milkshake to go along with her dinner. They will be on their way soon to the middle school to attend the "Daddy - Daughter Dance".

Aren't they cute?!

By the way, have you noticed the pictures on my blog being a little more vibrant lately? I've been learning some photoshop tips from Mckmama. You can read her post here, titled "Kick Up The Color Baby" if you want to learn how to do the same thing with your pics. Honestly, I do not have Photoshop because it's a little pricey. But you can download a program called GIMP for free here, that does the same kind of things.

100th Post - Giveaway!!!

2009-02-05T15:53:00.011-05:00

Guess what!!! This is my 100th blog post! I am so excited because I've been planning something extra special for this blog post. I'm am hosting my very first blog giveaway contest!!!

You all may recall that I won a couple of blog giveaway contests recently. I won a pair of oh so cute "Glovelies", which are a very stylish pair of rubber cleaning gloves. I won the awesome Logos Scholars Library Software package valued at over $600 dollars! And most recently, I won a very cute hand stamped mommy necklace that will be personalized with my kids' names and birthstones.

Receiving some of these great prizes has been great! So great, in fact, that I could not wait to host my own giveaway.

Stephanie from *EmauNi*s LiL TuTu KreaTions* has graciously agreed to give away one of her precious Tutus to one lucky blog reader - your choice! I'm telling you, these are so pretty. They would be so great for that little princess in your life.

Stephanie is the wife of a supportive husband and mom to 7 kids! She has 4 sweet princesses and 3 lil kings! She says that Kreating Tutu's is her passion. Each custom TuTu is designed to fit your lil' princess. She offers many tutu designs, perfect for pageants, portraits, birthdays, weddings or just to play dress-up! She also Kreates headpieces, wands and other accessories!

She says don't hesitate to contact her at anytime. She looks forward to Kreating a special dress for your little princess! Also feel free to visit *EmauNi*s LiL TuTu KreaTions* Myspace site for additional pictures of her work. If you wish to make an order you can do so online via her Etsy site.

To enter the contest, simply visit Stephanie's Etsy site for *EmauNi*s LiL TuTu KreaTions* here and then come back to my blog. Leave a comment telling me which tutu is your favorite. Simple comments like "nice" or "thanks" will not get you an entry. It must be obvious to me that you visited her site.

Once you have made your first entry, you may gain extra entries by doing any of the following:

1. Become a follower of my blog (existing followers get this extra entry too!)

2. Subscribe to my blog (yes, existing subscribers get an entry)

3. Follow me on Twitter

4. Tweet the giveaway (link to my blog and include @courtneyb613 in your tweet)

5. Blog about this giveaway and leave a link. (2 entries)

Make sure to leave a comment for each entry. If you blog leave two comments saying that you did so. Your entry must be verified before you can be announced as the winner. Also please, please remember to include your email address in your entry so that I can contact you if you win. Spelling out the (at) and (dot) in your email address will prevent spam robots from detecting your email address.

This contest will be open until Monday, February 9th at 2pm Eastern time. The winner will be chosen via Random.org. I will email the winner and you will have 3 days to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This contest is open to anyone with a US address.

Good Luck!!!

The End Of An Era

2009-02-04T21:06:00.005-05:00

We've had a terrible casualty in our household tonight. One of Jackson's favorite objects has met it's demise. The beloved Sherriff Woody hat was assaulted. It was found in it's broken and confused state next to the rocking chair in Jackson's room, victimized by an unknown assailant.

I told him to make his "sad" face in this one and here's what I got...

Does anyone have any ideas how I can mend this beloved object?

The Dancing Queens

2009-01-31T22:23:00.007-05:00

We went to watch Emma dance this morning at the half-time of a basketball game. The girls did really awesome considering they have only learned half of the dance which they will also be performing at their recital in April. Their CD kept skipping but it didn't phase them. They just kept right on dancing. They all looked so cute in their bright orange sequin costumes. It reminded me of my orange sequin wearing days at UT.

After the dancing, Emma had a birthday party at the skating rink to attend. It was just me and Emma since Leah went to Mimi's for the weekend and Jackson went to another basketball game with Josh. (There were some kids from Josh's youth group playing).

I decided to just sit and watch Emma skate with her friends as to not embarass her. As I sat there I kept thinking about my pre-teen years. I spent just about every Friday night at the skating rink. I had cool white roller skates with hot pink wheels. My parents would drop me off at the rink where I would skate and dance the night away with friends.

After reminiscing awhile, I couldn't stand it. I went up to the skate counter and asked for some size 8's. After all, what good are parents if you can't embarass your kids? Plus, I just had to see if I still had all my moves.

I did.

I skated for a little while with Emma, trying to teach her a few tricks, before I realized that almost 20 years and a few extra pounds makes your feet less forgiving of the time spent on wheels.

Per your request...

2009-01-29T01:44:00.003-05:00

As requested, here are some pictures of the cakes that I made for my nephew, Elijah's first birthday and Jackson's 4th birthday.

Elijah likes monkeys so his had the monkey theme.

Jackson is into pretending to be a dinosaur right now, so his had the dino theme.

Playing House in The White House

2009-01-25T20:00:00.007-05:00

I thought this was too great not to share. This video clip was featured on The Today Show. In it you hear Jenna and Barbara Bush reading a letter that they wrote to Sasha and Melea Obama. I thought it was wonderfully thoughtful.

*Remember to pause the music player at the bottom before you play the movie.

Just Practicing For Mardi Gras!

2009-01-22T12:43:00.004-05:00

You may remember I did a "name that photo" thing a few posts ago for this photo...

Good comments. My favorite comment was from my friend Stacie who wrote,

"just practicing for mardi gras!"

Made me giggle.

I'm going to have to get my "girl gone wild" under control, I guess.
No more flashing for beads! :)

Thanks Stacie! You win bragging rights!

Take a look at this next picture. Think I might have passed on my nail-biting habit?

Hope

2009-01-21T13:17:00.004-05:00

I saw a link to this article on BooMama's blog. The story is truly inspirational. You might need some tissues.

Life of Reilly
There are some games in which cheering for the other side feels better than winning.
by Rick Reilly

Melinda Wright
Gainesville State players douse head coach Mark Williams in celebration.

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.

It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.

Did you hear that? The other team's fans?

They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions.

It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.

"I never in my life thought I'd hear people cheering for us to hit their kids," recalls Gainesville's QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. "I wouldn't expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!"

And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he'd just won state. Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.

But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That's because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.

This all started when Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth."

Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan's office and asked, "Coach, why are we doing this?"

And Hogan said, "Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you."

Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders!

"I thought maybe they were confused," said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). "They started yelling 'DEE-fense!' when their team had the ball. I said, 'What? Why they cheerin' for us?'"

It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. "We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games," says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. "You can see it in their eyes. They're lookin' at us like we're criminals. But these people, they were yellin' for us! By our names!"

Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game's last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still.

After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us."

And it was a good thing everybody's heads were bowed because they might've seen Hogan wiping away tears.

As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home—a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player.

The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, "You'll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You'll never, ever know."

And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they'd never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.

Anyway, with the economy six feet under and Christmas running on about three and a half reindeer, it's nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.

Hope."

Thoughts on Inauguration

2009-01-20T16:06:00.005-05:00

I've been watching a bit of the inaguration coverage. It's incredible to be watching such a historical day. I am excited for the Obama's. I'm celebratory for our nation and yet, I also feel a burden to pray feverently for our country.

I know that president Bush's popularity declined rapidly towards the end of his presidency, but I believe that he is a good hearted man who did a good job, given the circumstances, leading our country. (If you feel the urge to argue with me on this point, please don't)

I have always loved Laura Bush and count her among the few famous people that I would really love to meet and have a conversation with. I think she is very classy and sincere.

I wish both George and Laura Bush the best and thank them for their service. I pray that Obama is treated with more respect than Bush has been over the last 8 years.

I was just listening to Emma and her friend have a conversation about the new president. This is how it went:

Emma: There's the new president on T.V.

Her friend: I don't really like the new president.

Emma: Why? I voted for him. (They had a mock election at school)

Her friend: I just don't.

Emma: He's the first black skinned president. But I would not have voted for a woman president because I want to be the first woman president.

She's a smart one, that girl is.

Reminds me of another story about my dad. He ran for class president in either Junior High or High school. I can't remember. His last name is Sapp. So he made signs to hang in the bathroom stalls that said, "Don't Crap, Vote for Sapp". Yes he did. He didn't win. I would've voted for you dad....just for the awesome signs. LOL. We still love you dad. :)

Happy Inaguration day everybody!

Name This Photo

2009-01-18T23:12:00.002-05:00

This photo needs a caption.

I won!!!

2009-01-17T13:57:00.006-05:00

UPDATE: Mad Church Disease was NOT released last week it is due to be released on February 1st. My bad.

I am soooo excited because I just won the coolest blog giveaway contest from FlowerDust.net The giveaway was for a Logos Scholar's Library Software package. Logos is an awesome $630 collection of Bible study helps perfect for the Youth Pastor man in my life. If you were to buy everything included in this software from print materials you would have to spend over $6,000.

The randomn number generator picked # 165 which just so happened to be yours truly.

As a small thank you to Anne, I am featuring her book, Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic which was released just this past week. I have not read the book yet, but I am ordering it today.

The Mad Church Disease website says its "a lively, informative and potentially life-saving resource for anyone in ministry, vocational or volunteer, who wants to understand, prevent or treat the epidemic of burnout in churches."

Check out Anne's author site and her blog.

You can also download and read a sample chapter from her book here.

Thank you so much for the software, Anne!

Look Who's Turning One Today!!!

2009-01-17T00:13:00.006-05:00

We'd just like to give a shout out to our cousin, Elijah, who is turning one whole year old today. Happy Birthday Cuz! You Rock!!

Just Look At That Sweet Face!

"My Mom Is Freakin' Hilarious!"

"I Have The Best Daddy Ever!"

Dad's Little Man

Wordless Wednesday: "The Look"

2009-01-14T13:32:00.003-05:00

Me, giving Jackson "The Look" and telling him to come, sit down, smile and get his gosh darn Christmas picture taken! Dad, where do I get this from?

First Time...Ever I Saw Your Face

2009-01-12T17:42:00.006-05:00

I saw this photo contest on Valarie's blog. Thought I would participate since I have 3 pretty cute faces running around here. Here are three favorite "face" pictures, one of each child, from this last year. Want to check it out? Go here.

Update: It helps if you read the contest rules before you enter the contest. Only one photo allowed. So Leah is the only one getting entered this week. Emma and Jackson another time, I guess.

Jackson is 4 Today!

2009-01-07T02:12:00.000-05:00

4 years ago today our lives were blessed by a bouncing baby boy. At 6lbs 11 oz. he was just a little thing, but we were all so proud of him, especially his big sister.

3 days later we went home from the hospital following up the next day with the pediatrician. I'll never forget when Dr. Joe looked in Jackson's mouth and saw blisters on the back of his tongue. A look of concern flooded his face and he immediately left to get another doctor to look at the sores. Within 10 minutes we were being given instructions to go immediately to Children's Hospital to be admitted. At the time, I was obviously concerned but ignorant to the possibilities that lay before my baby boy.

Jackson had, what is referred to as, Coxsackie Virus. You've probably had it before. It is a common cold accompanied by sores in the mouth. It can also present as "Hand, Foot and Mouth". For us, it's not such a big deal but to a newborn it can be deadly. The virus can easily spread to the cardiac muscle of a newborn causing fluid to build around the heart and ultimately, heart failure.

We stayed at Children's Hospital for 24 hours for close observation. The Lab Tech who came to draw Jackson's blood looked terrified. He said that he had never drawn blood from a baby that small (Way to put the mom at ease). Most babies, that small, who are sick, never leave the hospital where they were born. The people at Children's hospital were used to dealing with older infants and children. Jackson and I cried together as they drew what seemed like an enormous amount of blood from his tiny arm. We were discharged only after taking an Infact CPR class and being given a heart monitor that Jackson would have to wear for the next 2 months.

By God's grace, Jackson did just fine. He was monitored by a pediatric cardiologist who gave him a clean bill of health at 2 months old.

For all that he went through in the first precious days of his life, you would never know it now. He has the energy level of 10 four year olds. Like any little boy, he can be pretty ornery sometimes, but he has a lot of love to give and I can't imagine life without his sweet face.

Jackson, I am so happy you're here. You're momma loves you bunches!

Happy Birthday Buddy.

A Few Christmas Pics

2009-01-05T22:57:00.000-05:00

"A Picture Perfect Christmas"

2008-12-23T11:36:00.008-05:00

As promised, here are some pictures from our Church's Children's Christmas Program. They called it "A Picture Perfect Christmas". Earlier in the week the kids dressed up as manger scene characters and took some pictures. As the kids sang, the pictures where displayed on the big screen telling the story of Jesus' birth. Really Cute!

As we were walking out on stage Jackson told me to "Cue the lights". :) Leah did some really cute twirling on stage and then proceeded to pick a fight with another little girl her age in the middle of the show. I knew the kids had not had a nap that day (they had been traveling). I tried to be easy going with them as to not "set them off" but they were definitely out of hand by the end of the show.

In this next picture you can see Emma pretty good. She is standing next to her cousing Becca, who was in town for the holidays. Becca made a guest appearance in the show.

Notice how Jackson, in this next picture, is hanging up-side-down on my lap (right side). In practice, he had been so cute singing and having a good time, but when he got up there in front of all of those people, he would not face the front and he tried to head butt me, hit me, pick his nose, turn up-side-down and mess up my hair.

We had a visit from Santa Claus and the "no nap factor" reared it's ugly head again. I'm pretty sure if that was the real Santa, he marked my kid's off his list.

Christmas Programs

2008-12-19T17:24:00.008-05:00

Here are some pictures of Emma's School Christmas Program. They sang "Jingle Bells", "Frosty the Snowman" and "This Little Light of Mine" in Spanish. It was really cute. They even had one of the teachers dress up as a Spanish looking Frosty. Emma is in the front row in a red shirt and black hat.

Mimi got to come see the performance and Emma's classroom.

Emma also spent some time "giving" for the holidays. Her class took a field trip to a local nursing home where they blessed the residents with Christmas Carols, even some of the Spanish ones. They passed out presents, which were socks, to the residents. After the performance in the dining hall and passing out the gifts there, they went to some of the rooms of people who could not make it out of their beds to see them sing. They all piled into one room and were then escorted right back out. I heard the director of the nursing home say, "I am so sorry." Apparently they walked in on someone using the potty. Even with that little mishap, the trip was such a blessing to all who participated.

In this picture, all of the children were visiting a man in his room. The teacher asked the man if he would like for the children to sing to him. He misunderstood and started to sing himself. It was simply magical. All 25 kids got so quiet that you could've heard a pin drop. They just listened to him sing to them. I didn't recognize the Christmas song but it was beautiful. I even got a little teary eyed. The teacher looked at me and I looked at her as if to say "Wow! That was amazing". The children came there to give to that man but he ended up giving back to them something that was very special. If that doesn't get you in the Christmas spirit, I don't think anything will folks.

Still to come are pictures from the our church Christmas program which will be this Sunday evening.

As a side note, this is the exchange Jackson and I have had many, many times this week. :)

Jackson: Do you know what Christmas is mom?

Me: What is it Jackson?

Jackson: It's Jesus' Birthday. Everybody loves birthdays!

Hope you are enjoying the party and remembering who the guest of honor is.

She'll Drink Anything

2008-12-11T21:09:00.004-05:00

The other day we were having breakfast when Leah opens the fridge and pulls out a can of Slimfast....the Low-Carb Diet kind. I have had these for awhile. I bought them quite awhile back when trying to be good, but soon after trying one, I decided that I would rather drink snot....no, not really, but they are pretty bad. I like the regular Slim Fast that you mix up yourself, but drinking it from a can is gross. Not to mention, when you take the Carbs out, it's like drinking cardboard.

I'm thinking to myself....
a) I am never going to drink that!
b) Leah will ususally eat/drink anything.
c) There are lots of vitamins in these things.

So, I check the expiration date and hand it over. Don't call the authorities. I'm not putting my 2 year old on a diet. Just add it to the other crazy things that she likes and I let her eat or drink...like Salsa and Coffee and Miller Genuine Draft... just kidding on that last one. I had you for a minute though, didn't I?

Christmas Parade

2008-12-09T09:34:00.007-05:00

Sunday we went to see the Christmas parade here in town. Emma got to ride the float with Winter & Co. Dance Studio where she takes dance classes. We bundled her up in her long johns and her Red dance studio hoodie.

She needed a black hat. Josh had two of them. One was North Face and one was Carhardt. I told him to let her where the North Face one because it was more cool. He laughed at me and said something like, "we're in small town East TN now, Carhardt trumps North Face". Who would've thunk it?!

I hate that this first picture didn't turn out very well. She looks so cute!

Jackson and Leah had a blast picking up candy that was thrown from the floats. They enjoyed seeing the marching bands, fire engines, Dora, the Grinch, Elmo and, of course, the big man himself, Santa.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

2008-12-01T16:35:00.003-05:00

It's snowing here!!! I'm talking blizzard kinda snow! I havn't seen this kind of snow since I was living in Iowa.

Emma and Jackson are loving it! They are outside right now making a snowman with Josh. Leah is napping but I am hoping she will be up soon to take part.

It looks so pretty!

We're Thankful For...

2008-11-30T15:47:00.017-05:00

We're Thankful For....

Turkey

Family Get-Togethers

Jumbo Turkey Legs

Big Blue Eyes

Leaves

Wii

Turkey Cupcakes

My Big Red Car

Friends

Eachother

Christmas Tree Decorating

2008-11-25T23:59:00.011-05:00

Well, Valarie guessed it. The item missing in my last post was a picture of Leah on the wall just like Emma and Jackson's. They were taken at one year old for each child. I have Leah's but it's not framed yet. My parents usually do the framing for me as a Christmas present (hint, hint).

There was one other item missing though. I cleared a space in the corner for what?....Our Christmas Tree!

We decorated our Christmas tree. Yes, it might be a little early but we wanted to do it before we went to visit family for Thanksgiving. That way we can really jump into the Christmas spirit when we get back. :)

Fluffing the Limbs

Hanging Ornaments

Say Cheese!

Still sporting the Sheriff Woody hat from halloween

Yes, I had pizza for dinner.

Look what we did!

Home Improvements

2008-11-25T14:07:00.004-05:00

I know you are sad to see them go, but there are no more country cottages in my living room. The wall border adorning country blue and mauve is no more. Don't worry there's still some in my kitchen for a limited time only.

Our living room is looking pretty nice with a fresh coat of paint....but there's something missing.... Can you tell what it is?

The Mother Letter Project

2008-11-21T18:25:00.003-05:00

So, this is my second post today but I just had to spread the word about this because I think it is incredibly sweet.

A very thoughtful husband and his wife have decided not to buy into the commercialism of Christmas this year and, therefore, are making gifts for eachother this year, sending what money they would have spent to an African village where they visited this year.

And so, The Mother Letter Project has been born. It is a blog set up to compile letters of encouragement from other mothers for his wife. He is going to place all letters together into a book for his wife (and you, if you write a letter) for Christmas.

I am thinking over some things to write in my letter. So, if you have a funny mom story or some wisdom or encouragement to share, I urge you to go here and write a letter.

Pilgrims and Indians

2008-11-21T13:05:00.004-05:00

It's snowing in East Tennessee! And it's even sticking a little! The mountains look beautiful covered in snow. This is one of the great things about living a little further East in the Mountains. You get more snow. The kids are loving it and it's got me ready to put up the Christmas decor!

Yesterday was Emma's Thanksgiving lunch at school. The whole family joined her class for a feast made in a school cafeteria. Yum, Yum. (insert sarcastic smile here). It was really cute though. Her whole class had dressed as pilgrims. She had made indian head-dresses for Josh and I to wear. She had a lot of fun having us there in her classroom.

Here are some great pictures that I got of Emma the other day. Strike a pose girl!