Back to Reality

This is my happy place.

Well, it's back to reality. We returned home from a wonderful vacation and I am exhausted. It is always bittersweet to come home from this week. As my mom and I took one last walk on the beach this morning to soak it all in one last time until next year, I felt a sadness. There is a part of me that would love to stay there forever. However, there is something comforting about returning to my own house and my own bed. I also realize that if we did live at the beach, it wouldn't seem so magical and special, although I still think I'd like it a lot. For an entire week, all of my attention was on my family and the beauty of this life God has given me. Walks on the beach to collect seashells, playing in the water with Prince and Princess, feeling the baby powder sand between my toes, it was quite a grand time. I spent much of the week in dialogue with God as I renewed my spirit and rested my mind.

Last night, for our last night of vacation, Prince and Princess were allowed to stay up way past their bedtime and swim in the pool until it closed. After their late night swim, Hubby and I took them out to the beach. It was pitch black out on the beach and they have never seen the beach so still, quiet, and dark. There is something truly magical about seeing the stars twinkle on the dark beach when there is no competing light. Prince and Princess were amazed at how you can see them twinkle. I was reminded of times spent looking at the stars with my Grandaddy years ago. We usually just sat outside of our condos instead of walking on the beach, but those were good times. As we walked last night, I could almost smell his cigar and those old feelings came rushing back. As a teenager, I wished on those same stars that Hubby and I would some day marry and bring our family there. I love that I can share a part of my childhood with my children and hope that they are making memories that they may one day share with their own children. Until next year, I have pictures, seashells, and many memories to tide me over.

My happy place is happier with these two and Hubby!

Proverbs 3

It's 8 a.m. and guess what? I'm the only one up. That's right, after our children woke up early and crawled into the queen sized bed thereby crowding me out, they fell back asleep. I opened my Bible to read today's chapter in Proverbs, but I wanted to go back and reflect a little bit on what I have read so far, especially in chapters 3 and 4.

Proverbs 3 begins "My son, do not forget my teaching but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity." God tells me that if I listen to His teachings and keep them in my heart, a very personal and special part of me, I will live longer. My study notes tell me fear of the Lord brings health to your body.
Verse 3 "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." This made me think of making them into a beautiful necklace, perhaps a locket that you wear around your neck to remember something or Someone important and beautiful.
Verses 5 & 6 are among old favorites of mine, quoted often, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." If I serve God willingly, with a faithful heart, He will remove the obtacles from my paths and clear the way for me to continue serving Him. When things seem impossible, He will be there to make them possible. I think that sometimes, God makes things seem hopeless and we feel frustrated and defeated because He wants us to remember that we can't do it by our own power and might, but only through Him and His grace. That is where the trust comes in. Trusting God with all my heart is sometimes difficult when all seems lost, but God and I have a pretty good track record if I will wait and allow Him to work things out for His good.
7-10 "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Honor the Lord with the firstfruits of all our crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." We are called to give the Lord what is His, through tithes and offerings, the firstfruits ~ we give to Him right off the top, from the best of what we have. When we do that, God will bless us beyond measure and our cups will overflow.
11-12 "My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves as a father the son he delights in." This became easier to understand once I had my own children. God disciplines us for our own good. There are times that we have to discipline our children because face it, I don't want my chidren to grow up to be brats or worse, bad people. Sometimes my own behavior must seem pretty bratty to God as I clench my fists and cry out for my own way. I have thrown my share of hissy fits in my time and I'm not proud of them. I also don't like the discipline that can come with them. It's painful, but God is my Abba, my Daddy God and He loves me enough to discipline me and make me straighten up my attitude ~ a little attitude adjustment, if you will.
There is so much good in this chapter, he talks about the importance of having wisdom and understanding. He says "Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her (v. 13-15).
I am going to skip down to v 21-26 "My son, preserve sound judgement and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared." When we keep God's wisdom in our heart we gain understanding and are able to exercise good judgement and discernment in our lives. These are all gifts from the Lord if we will keep our hearts in tune with Him and His will for our lives.
How do we do that? By continuing to do all of the things that bring us closer to God's heart...reading the scriptures, praying, asking God to help bring our lives in line with His plan for us.

Weather Woes

The first two days of our vacation were rainy, yucky days. The rain did break so that we could have a cook-out and see some amazing fireworks on the beach and for that I am truly thankful. We also got some great July 4th pics of the kids, which I will post. After watching it pour down rain all day yesterday, we all were a bit frustrated and ready to build an ark. At bedtime last night Princess said a special prayer that Jesus would let us have a sunny day at the beach today. Almost immediately after the amen, Princess said, "Mommy, I'm sad about something."
Me:"What is it, Princess?"
Princess: "Well Mommy, I don't know if Jesus heard my prayers. What if he isn't listening or what if he makes it rain tomorrow anyway and we have another day that we can't go outside to the beach? I really want to go to the beach tomorrow."
Me: "I don't think you have to worry about Jesus not hearing your prayers. He always hears our prayers. The thing is, it's never a guarantee that Jesus is going to do what we want him to do. Sometimes, he has to do something else and it isn't what we want because it is what's best for us or for everyone else."
That's a hard lesson to learn. I've been struggling with that one for a long time and I don't always understand the whys. I know it's hard for an almost 6 year old to understand.
Guess what...when we woke up this morning the sun was shining so brightly through the blinds! Princess' first words as she woke up were, "Jesus answered my prayer. We can go to the beach!"
And it has been a beautiful day at the beach at that. More pictures to come...Hubby has made a video from them that I'll try to post later.

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day, everyone! This is Hubby's favorite holiday. I think it stems from, one, he loves American History. In college he double majored in journalism and political science. The other reason he likes it so much is that the Fourth of July does not present all of the stress and pressure that Christmas and Thanksgiving have. It's a day to relax, spend time with family, and thank God for the blessings and privileges that come with being an American. While this isn't my ultimate favorite holiday, I have come to love and appreciate it with enthusiam, as we always have a great time, while thinking of the brave Americans who have fought for the freedoms we enjoy and tend to take for granted.

This morning we woke up to the sound of thunder and heavy rain hitting the condo roof. Not a sound you want to hear on the first full day of your beach vacation. The children were oh so disappointed, inconsolable, really. That is until... Grandaddy saved the day! Grandaddy came down to our unit with umbrella in hand, asking to take them to their condo since he just got back from the store where he bought donuts and chocolate milk. Aren't Grandaddies great like that? Holla, Grandaddy!

Grandaddy looks like he is being all patriotic in this picture. He is truly a patriotic person and is in fact, my very favorite veteran. However, he is really covering his work badge. Their badges are not supposed to be photographed and he remembered having it on at the last second.

In other news, I am really enjoying my Proverbs study and have some wonderful things I plan to blog about soon. Chapters 3 and 4 have especially given me some great insights. For now, though, I shall go enjoy the quiet condo with Hubby and cheer him on as he is blowing up Star Trek ships on the wii.

God Bless America, over and out!

Let Vacation Begin!

Let the vacation begin! I have been looking forward to this family vacation all year. Tomorrow morning we will leave for the beach for a week. The beach is baby powder soft and white. We have been coming to this same spot for many years. In fact, my mother came to this same place when she was a girl. When we go, it is my Mema, aunt, uncle, and cousins, my sister and her family, my parents and the four of us. There have been years when we have missed going, but mostly we try to go and it is such a great week.

This is the Prince and Princess playing on the beach last year.
A few of the things I am looking forward to doing at the beach:
~digging my toes in the sand
~relaxing on the beach, watching my kids play in the sand
~quiet time alone with God in the mornings
~date night with Hubby!
~seafood
~spending uninterrupted time with my extended family
~seeing my cousins that I don't often get to see
~laughing and playing with my kids without the distractions of every day life
~watching the perfect sunset night after night

I took these pictures of the Prince and Princess last year while we were down waiting for the sun to set. They are among my favorite of all times. I think it looks like God is just shining down His love on them. I also think that it looks like my children are worshipping and enjoying the beautiful world God created for them, for all of us.

Octo Meme

Okay, several of the blogs I read are doing this and now I've been tagged.

So here goes...



8 Things I'm Looking Forward to...

1. Going to Siesta Key for a week beginning TOMORROW!
2. My next trip to Disney with the family...it's my most favorite place in the whole world.
3. Someday writing my book "Confessions of a Control Freak."
4. Watching my children grow up.
5. Growing old with my Hubby.
6. A hot bubble bath
7. Cooler weather
8. Traveling around the world




8 Things I Did Yesterday...

1. Celebrated the 9 year anniversary of when Hubby proposed.
2. Went to work
3. Got haircuts for me and the Prince
4. Went to Target and didn't spend a penny. Aren't you proud? I even made a return so I got some money back!
5. Began packing suitcases for our upcoming beach trip ~ yahoo!
6. Weeded the flower beds
7. Cleaned out the mini-van. This was quite an accomplishment!
8. Began a Bible study on Proverbs...31 Chapters in 31 Days.




8 Things I Wish I Could Do...

1. Get caught up on housework and keep all of the rooms clean at the same time.
2. Sew ~ I can maybe sew a button but sometimes they still even fall off. I do try, but I never had home ec. since I was always taking band and choir classes.
3. Speed read ~ I took at speed reading class in school and practiced on that controlled reader machine, but I am just a slow reader. I like to take in all of the details.
4. Lose weight yet still eat any and everything I want.
5. Cook a gourmet meal
6. Be a professional shopper. That is my dream job!
7. Snuggle and hug on my children all day
8. Spend one more day with my Grandaddy.


8 Shows I Enjoy...
1. Big Bang
2. Top Chef
3. Next Food Network Star
4. Real Housewives (I know, trashy, right?)
5. 7th Heaven (not on anymore but I still love that show!)
6. West Wing (again, not on but I love it)
7. Parenthood
8. Paula Deen


How about you? If you are reading this, I tag you too!

The Engagement

Today is the anniversary of the day dear Hubby proposed to me 9 years ago. Every July 1st we talk about how this very special day came to be. Hubby and I had been dating on and off throughout high school and college and had remained good friends, even when we weren't dating. This time, though, I knew it was for real. I had been waiting for several months for a ring and was sure that it was never going to happen. To further complicate things, we were living 4 hours away from each other and traveling every weekend or so to see each other.

On June 30th, Hubby came to visit and we had a wonderful half-birthday celebration out with my family. We left the following morning to go back to his place in Georgia, as we were then going to drive up to Altanta to do the Peachtree Road Race on July 4th. On the way back to his townhouse, we stopped in Savannah, as we had done many times before. Hubby said that he wanted to show me something. He said that they had been doing work in Reynold's Square and he wanted to show me what they had done to the John Wesley statue. Reynold's Square is my most favorite place in Savannah. It's a beautiful park and I just love this place. I couldn't imagine what they could have done to the statue and started asking questions about it. He said that they had polished the statue and it was shiny. Well, as we approached the square I could see that the statue wasn't shiny and he walked me around to the front of the statue and I said, "It's not shiny." With his cool little half-smile Hubby said, "It isn't? Well maybe this is what's shiny." He then got down on one knee and pulled out a ring. My dear Hubby has always been a fabulous speaker, never at a loss for words or showing nervousness. He was a television reporter...he never shows he's nervous. He was so nervous on this day that as he recited the proposal he had written and memorized, he was fumbling his words. It was the sweetest thing! I have to tell you that I did make him sweat it out for a few seconds. My answer was, "let me think about it...yes." In that split second though, all the blood drained out of his face. I couldn't let him suffer too long although after all the talking I did about this ring, I couldn't let him off the hook that easily. After the yes, he stood up and we kissed. There were several people in the park that clapped and one couple who had been married for over 40 years that came up to us to congratulate us and wish us the best of luck. When I asked Hubby why he decided to propose to me there, he said that he couldn't imagine proposing to a good little Methodist girl like me anywhere else and that he figured it needed John Wesley's blessing.

After a few minutes in the park we went to get something to eat and I called my family on the way there. As we sat at our table and waited for the food to come, we prayed that God would bless our life together. It was truly a wonderful day that will stay with me as long as I live.

These pictures were taken a couple of months later when we returned to Reynold's Square.