Getaway September 29, 2009

My college friends and I have a getaway every year.  Usually we go in February, but this year we ended up hanging out in September.  This year we went to Birmingham for our getaway.  We planned on staying at one of the girls home and going to Auburn for the football game.  We love Auburn and love Auburn football! We started Friday night with goodie bags from our hostess, Meredith, that had our tickets in them.  We headed to a great pizza shop in Mt Laurel called Area 41.  A friend from Auburn owns it and it was a fun blast from the past to see him and catch up on life.

The next morning it rained- A LOT.  We spent a long time trying to decide what to do.  We would have one or two girls who would want to go, then most would want to go, then someone would mention how hard it was raining and we would all change our minds again.  We charted the weather hourly online and finally said,”Let’s Go!”

We are on our way-Lisa and Jennifer in the van.   Jennifer doesn’t even have a coat!

It is pouring- Lisa and Amy look ready to brave the rain.  We are two miles into the trip and one of the girls changes her mind.  When she says out loud that she doesn’t want to go, three others pipe up.  We decide to eat lunch before we call off our trip.  At this point we are riding in a red van- away from Auburn on game day with 6 scholarship tickets.  What in the world is wrong with this picture?!

A little lunch at Wing’s.

My college roommate, Jennifer, and me at Wing’s.  She almost went by herself.  (She was Miss Auburn, so I guess we should expect that!)

We ended up watching football all day back at Meredith’s house.  There might have been a little regret in all of us when we saw that it wasn’t raining terribly at the game and that the Auburn Tigers were so great!

The weekend was a blessing as always and I am so grateful for 12 years of getaways.  These ladies love their families well, make an impact in whatever group they are involved, laugh often, and challenge me.  Looking forward to ‘10 already

Make that 3 September 29, 2009

Emma lost the third tooth today! I think we are done for awhile.

Emma’s turn September 24, 2009

Emma lost her first tooth yesterday:

I cannot tell you how frustrating the days before that were: the tears, the begging to help her get it out, the attempts to do so that ended in more tears.  I am sooo happy this tooth is out!  While I was taking her picture and reminding her to be careful not to drop it-

she dropped it

Tonight, she lost ANOTHER tooth!

Emma has an underbite, so we are hoping that losing these bottom two teeth will allow some change to happen.  I’m off to make sure the tooth fairy knows about tonight’s big event

Happy Birthday Dot Dot September 23, 2009

 

Happy Birthday Dot Dot!  Eric’s mom is such a trooper! This picture is a perfect example of how she loves our kids.  At Lucy’s baptism, Dot kept up with Cord, wild as he was that morning.  She is willing and able to play outside and she highly encourages good old fashioned fun- including jumping in mud puddles and getting dirty!

She always wants others to enjoy life and she will help you to do that.  She cooks for us, keeps our children for days at a time, and thinks of ways to alleviate difficult things in our lives.

What a fun group! I love the days when we get to visit and play at Dot Dot’s and C Dub’s. Christmas time is always so much fun.  I am so grateful for the ways that she thinks of what each person would love and how much fun it will be for them to use or enjoy what she gives them.  I have been the recipient of MANY wonderful things. 

I hope today is filled with special surprises.  We love you Dot Dot!

Liz Hurley 5K September 21, 2009

This October 17th, I am hoping to run the Liz Hurley 5k, Lord willing.  I have been training with a good friend three nights a week since the end of July.  I can’t believe that the race is coming so soon!  There have been so many things that I can thank God for through this process- so many things that are applicable to the Christian life.  But one that sticks out to me today is the help of a friend along the way- the power of the fellowship of believers.  My friend has faithfully run along side me for months- setting a pace for me.  She encourages and yet she challenges me all the time.  If she were only encouraging me, I would still be running one minute and walking three minutes.  Today we ran three miles.  That is more than I could have ever imagined! Today she challenged me to do more.  I didn’t want to.  I would not have chosen it.  But she knows my goal and is eager to help me get there.  I am so thankful for her.  I still have a way to go.  There are hills I haven’t even begun to train for, but for today I am very thankful for progress.

new pajamas September 20, 2009

I am like a little kid! I love my new pajamas.  I won the doorprize at the conference last week. When I opened up the gift bag, there was a brochure from goodnighties.com.  At first, I couldn’t figure out what I had won.  Then there was an announcement- the owner of the company was going to let me call and order whatever I wanted.  I was so excited. 

God is so creative.  I had just told Eric it was about time for me to get some new pajamas.  The last time I had new ones we lived in St Louis and I got a new pair when I had Emma.  These are especially interesting- they are made of a fabric that promises to help you sleep better.  have joint pain, are you hot natured- these promise to make your sleep better.   I have loved the two nights that I have used them and can tell a difference.  What a great gift!

The heart of a Pastor’s Wife conference September 12, 2009

Thursday I had the privilege to attend a conference for pastors’ wives entitled,”The heart of a Pastor’s Wife”.  It was arranged by our PresWIC (our presbytery’s Women In the Church).  Wives from Birmingham to the Tennessee line were invited to hear Pam Benton, wife of Wilson Benton, speak about being a pastor’s wife.  What a blessing it was to be around so many wonderful ladies and to put faces with names I have heard before.  I loved getting to see old friends from seminary and from Birmingham.

But the most valuable part was the reminder of what is most important in ministry.

Pam focused first on the Pastor’s wife and her husband, emphasizing that our marriages were the most valuable thing for our ministry.  Our role as “helper” is vital and enables him to do his job well.  She challenged us about our self-centeredness, encouraged us to communicate, and built us up in our privilege that we have to come along side him.

Secondly, she focused on our roles as mothers- the Pastor’s wife and her family.  So many of us worry about the difficulties that ministry can have on a family.  What I love about Pam is her encouragement of ALL the blessings that go with this unique job.  It is my desire that our children love ministry too.  She offered real ways to help that happen- when children are part of the loving and caring for others, they understand the blessings too.  She asked us what we really thought about being a pastor’s wife- we didn’t respond out loud, but she said that our answers would be what our children think of it too.  If we love it, they will hear that and see that.

The final talk was the Pastor’s wife and her church.  Here she focused on the fact that God has given you a specific family.  She reminded us how easy it is to love Humanity in general, but how difficult it can be to love a specific human being- how easy it is to love the church in general, but how often it is difficult to love the specific faces in the church.  She challenged us to love the faces- to love the people- to be excited about seeing the people that God has given to us.  She worked through questions from the audience.  Some in the audience were brand new head pastors’ wives.  Can you imagine all of the new things they are learning and needing guidance about? It was a huge resource for us all.

I was so encouraged by her own testimony of years of ministry- watching God defend her family through tough times and knowing her children love ministry and want to be in it themselves.  I am so grateful to the presbytery’s WIC council for funding this for the churches.  What a big impact it will make as it flows into all of the churches in central and north Alabama.

We left with goodies and I actually won the door prize.  What a week this has been:)

MMO September 2, 2009

Cord and Lucy have been going to Mother’s Morning Out once a week. I had to take their first day of school pictures too.

I love that he puts on his backpack each time and holds his little lunch box.  He LOVES to say he is going to school (like the big girls).

the “bottom two” as I like to call them

Ready to take on school!

Lucy’s first haircut September 2, 2009

Before:

I know it is sideways and I can’t figure out how to fix it with my borrowed computer-

During:

And After:

No more mullet! So happy to have our first haircut