God is so Good

In case any of us ever doubted, God is so GOOD! He is good in the big things and He is good in the small things. This morning, He showed himself to me in a mighty way! Sebastian's birthday is coming up and we wanted to take him to Busch Gardens to celebrate. They have a Sesame Street section that is perfect for little children: full of rides and entertainment designed just for preschoolers and toddlers. Well, our plans were thwarted when we found out I need 4 new tires and Jack needs a $900 surgery. I was crushed. A man in our community group gave the best description between a need and a want I have ever heard. Not having "needs" will cause you to suffer. Not having "wants" will not cause you to suffer. I knew in my heart that while I was so disappointed, going to Busch Gardens was definitely not a need. Other than my pride, nothing was going to suffer without it. God promises to provide needs not greeds, right? Well, Tuesday night we decided to go to Chik Fil A's Family night. Kids meals are free with the purchase of a Value Meal so we all ate for $12! Not to mention, the kids got complimentary ice cream and face paint too. I knew they were doing a raffle for 4 passes to Busch Gardens and honestly, that was the main reason I wanted to go. I RARELY win things but knew we wouldn't win if I didn't register. There's an old Persian proverb I love that says "Trust in God but pack your camel tight." So, I packed my camel tight, registered despite my history of not winning and have not thought another thing about those tickets.

UNTIL...

A lady from Chik Fil A called this morning to say that I had won the 4 passes! When she said the words, tears fill my eyes and I shared with her what an answer to prayer this is. She said that Chik Fil A strives to serve the Lord and that almost every winner always has a similar story to share. How amazing?

I am still speechless and all I can say is GOD IS SO GOOD!!!

Sebastian sitting oh-so-still for his first facepaint: Mickey Mouse.

Coco wanted a sparkly Easter egg; the painter added the scrollwork and flower which Coco loved!

No Place Like Home

Home: that's a loaded word for me. Is it a house? For someone who has lived in 4 houses in as little as 13 months, home is most certainly NOT a house. Is it a town? For someone who just moved nearly 1,000 miles away from my hometown, home is most certainly NOT a town. Webster defines home as "any place of residence or refuge." But for me, home is family. Wherever my family may be, THAT is my home. And now, I'm lucky enough to have 2 places to call home: Florida & Tennessee.

The kids & I took a 9 day vacation to our home called Covington and stayed so busy visiting and loving on our friends & family; it was a stark contrast to our quiet life in Florida. We went to Sesame Street Live, saw my baby brother get married, watched my other little brother become a daddy, visited Coco's preschool (where she got to treated like a total rockstar!) and spent lots and LOTS of time with our family. We also had playdates with dear friends in Memphis, Covington and our cousin A.J. The week ended on a high note for me with dinner at Marlo's with my friends - no highchairs or sippie cups were invited.

I had such a fun time and could have honestly spent another 9 days just hanging out with my mom and sister. I miss those 2 ladies so much.

Here are some photographic highlights of the trip:

All of us at the airport getting ready to take off! This was Coco & Sebastian's first time to fly. The flight to Memphis was a little rough. We provided great entertainment to the man lucky enough to sit beside us. The flight back in to Tampa was a little less eventful and they really enjoyed the ride. We had a renegade pilot with a lead foot. Take offs & landings were full-on "tummy ticklers!" The kids loved it; Momma got a little nauseous!

Uncle Todd & Sebastian Cutest. Picture. Ever.

A.J. and Coco eating perfectly-made PB & J's at Memaw's. They played together so well and had such a great time.

Coco adores baby Braxton. He spent the night after Cory & Shelby's wedding and she would look for him every night after that. She is obsessed with all things baby: pacifiers, bottles, diapers and carseats. Braxton will be the perfect toy for her when he comes to visit us!

Uncle Drew & his fan club!

Cory & Shelby: the beautiful bride & groom

Memaw & Hillary logged lots of lost play time with Coco & Sebastian. Memaw & Sebastian have a very special bond; I love that she's looking at him in this picture and not the camera. Coco would go live with Hillary & Trishy (who declined the photo op) if we would let her!

Morgan & Dave with their sweet Baby Wyatt. I was so happy he made his big debut while we were visiting. He is 7 pounds of perfect and I can't wait to see him again!

The Cousins: Jasper, Jillian, Coco, Sebastian & Jansen

As you can see, Coco was having a "moment." Rumor has it we can thank Grammy's genes for her flare for the dramatic. Only my disgustingly photogenic sister can look that good in jeans and a hoodie! Love & miss you Jai!

Abe, Luke & Coco

Coco just LOVES "her Luke" and while on this playdate Luke professed his love to her. Those 2 get so gooofy around each other it's disturbing! Kress joked that Abe was the 3rd wheel on their date. Who knew CHS Class of 1994 alumni Terry Wayne, Steve & Donald would have such cute kiddos?

Namps & Grammy:

seriously adorable picture!

Sesame Street Live!

Sebastian, Sam Harris, Jansen, Coco & Faith

Mom had extra tickets from the give away she did at the shop so we were lucky enough to get to go see the show for free! It was such a cute show and all of the kids loved it. We could not figure out why Sebastian wanted to sit alone. Who knows? Hopefully, this doesn't give allusion to any social reclusiveness he may have inherited from his Namps. LOL

Happy Birthday Jack!

Today is our first "baby's" birthday and he deserves his own post! Jack is 11 today. He is the world's best dog and despite my frequent complaining, I love him dearly. I joke that he came with the husband but truth be told I wouldn't trade him for anything. When he brings me the stinky stuffed duck or harasses our children for food, I might like him a little less than when he barks to let me know someone is outside or wags his whole body when we come in the door. He has aged quite a bit in the past few years. His sweet face is a LOT whiter than it was and his arthritis gets so bad at night. I unwittingly bonded with him when we made our 1,000 mile move to Florida. I worried about him so much on that 2-day trip. Would he be cold? Would he be okay sleeping in the van? Would he ever wake up from those sedatives?!? (Jack is a horrible car rider so we had to knock him out to make the journey.)

We found out last week that Jack has a tumor in his foot. I'm prayerful (yes, praying for my dog) that the vet can easily remove the cancer and he will be okay. Our family has had so many changes and adjustments lately I'm not ready to say good-bye to our buddy. Coco doesn't have much time for him but Sebastian loves him so much. Sometimes I wish Jack were younger because I know those 2 would have a lot of fun playing together.

Okay, I better turn this around because it's supposed to be a celebration post not a depressing one. So, cheers to Jack and Happy 11th Birthday! We love you so much!

The Blog and the Beautiful

I've had custom blog envy a long time and finally decided it was time to give my boring blog a beautiful new look. I give many kudos to Becky (http://www.adoptafrica.blogspot.com/) for sharing her talent and patience with me. Not really having a theme in mind, I was unsure of exactly what I wanted graphically but emotionally I wanted something "fun & happy." So I resorted to the creative source that inspires me most, fashion, for guidance. I told Becky I wanted the blog to look like Anthropologie and Boden had a virtual love child. Amazingly, she was able to hit the nail on the head and create my masterpiece. It's like getting that perfect pair of shoes! I just can't quit looking at it! Hope you like it too!

Wishing for Classrooms & Chalkboards

I'm realizing that getting older doesn't mean you stop learning; it actually is the opposite. You keep learning only the lessons get a lot tougher than multiplication tables and they don't happen in classrooms on chalkboards. Donald and I started a class at church last Wednesday based on the the book "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day." I really think God is going to speak to us through this study but I'll save that for another post. To get the class started the instructor asked everyone to introduce themselves and tell one thing they had done for the first time in the past 12 months. Of course our "first" thing was moving nearly 1,000 miles away from family. That seems like enough firsts for the year but today I got 2 more under my belt. I FINALLY chose a school to enroll Coco in for the upcoming school year. My Papa (mother's father) had it right when he said that nothing in life is free. The free VPK program here is wonderful don't get me wrong, but for someone brand new to the area it is not easy to figure out. Finding the obscurely located Early Learning Coalition took a few u-turns. Getting the voucher and figuring out real quick it's our golden ticket and not to be handed out lightly. Once you submit it, you get ONE time to change your mind/schools and that's it. Touring 6 schools all claiming to be the best; all having different learning and discipline philosophies. Choosing how important a faith-based program is versus one that's not. For an indecisive Libra like me, this was quickly turning into a tornado of pros & cons, none yielding a decision. As if divinely appointed, my dear friend Laura called this morning and gave me sage advice that helped me calm down and get the job done. She said, "just go with your heart and quit thinking about it so much." Well, that's just what I did and was able to choose what I hope will be a great Pre-K school for our daughter.

On an extreme high of having actually made a decision and feeling peace about it, the kids and I head to Target to pick up something for dinner. We're sitting at a redlight and of course one of the kids needs something. Keeping one hand on the wheel I turn around to help them, hear a horn honk and think the light must have turned green. I turned around to see that it was still red and wondered why the honk? Then, I feel a bump. Yep, another first for me...I got rear ended! Thankfully and most importantly, no one was hurt. I got out of the car to hear the lady calling the police saying she just got hit. WHAT?!?!??!?!? I quickly corrected her: "Ma'am, YOU hit ME." You can imagine that the next 45 minutes of waiting on the State Trooper was awkward to say the least. She claimed I backed up (seriously, at a red light on a super busy road?) and I claimed she rolled into me. Initially, the officer was going to site that no one was at fault. There were no witnesses and we had conflicting stories. That didn't settle well and I may have let some frustrations show. If you've never lived on one income, let me just tell you that having to fork out a $500 deductible to get a bumper fixed is a BIG, budget-breaking deal. I must have said something that triggered cause for him to do some more investigating. Sparing the details, he brought me the accident report and quietly remarked that he had listed the other driver as at fault & was giving her a ticket. Thank you Jesus! Needless to say, I gladly accepted the report, counted my blessings and scooted out of there before I had to see the smoke come out of that lady's ears when she got the news! I immediately called my Daddy to thank him for the gene that just couldn't help but argue a little when I felt wronged. And thank him for his example of how to do it in a Godly way.

The moral of this post? Even in my 31st year, God continues to teach me. There isn't a teacher standing in front of a classroom any more & the lessons aren't written on a chalkboard. Sometimes I find myself wishing for just that; I think it would be much easier. Nonetheless, He continues to teach me through great advice given by my friend and the great life lessons my father gave me. Honestly, I'm just thankful He finds me worthy to instruct.

Rough Day

While my personal philosophy in life is to always remain positive and try to look at the bright side of things, I am having trouble doing that today. It's just a rough day and all I want to do is go home. I want to be there for my friend who has a very sick little girl. I want to be there for my family when trials keep coming their way. I want Coco to be back in her preschool class she misses so much. I want to run into just ONE person who looks familiar. I want to have a conversation with someone who isn't "new." I somehow had convinced myself that if I didn't admit it, I wouldn't be homesick. Denial never works, does it? Tomorrow is a new day and I am faithful that God will sustain me.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Endure hardships as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12: 7 - 11

Awesome Baby!

We got to meet one of Donald's sports idols tonight, Dick Vitale, A.K.A Dicky V! I can honestly say I don't think I have seen my husband actually get excited like this in a long time, maybe ever? Anyone who really knows Donald knows he doesn't excite easily. I can remember planning our wedding and asking him over & over to please, PLEASE just show a little excitement. While the bridal to-do list didn't do it for him, meeting Dicky V did. Heck, I won't deny it, even I was excited. As it turns out we are likely to run in to him quite a bit; he lives very near us. We are in the "common folk" part of the neighborhood and I'm guessing he's in the gated, "not-so-common folk" part. Dicky V wrote a children's ABC's and 123's book & the Main St. children's bookstore hosted a book signing. We have been looking forward to it all week. So much so, we were the first in line! Mr. Vitale signed Sebastian's book on the letter 'S' page: "Sebastian, Awesome baby!" Knowing that Dick Vitale has a special passion for children with cancer, we brought along a "Pray for Lucy" picture to give him. After he signed the book, Donald told him about Lucy's diagnosis and handed him the picture. We also wrote the blog address on there so he too can join Team Lucy & follow her journey back to health. What a great night! I can't think of a better way to end this post than this (you guessed it...) AWESOME BABY!

DP chatting it up with Dicky V!

Team Lucy's newest member