Swinging

"Hmm, what is this large blue bowl you've put me in?"

"What am I supposed to do in it? Just sit here? Kinda BORING."

"Ohhhh, ok, when you push me it's kind of fun - fun in the sense of a side swipe smile."

"Yeah, I could like this. Not so sure about it yet, but thinking it could be a new hobby."

"OK MOM!!! HAD ENOUGH!"

plank

in my eye

have been completely unaware of it

and now, embarrassed and ashamed for how i've been acting

if change is going to happen, it's got to start with "me", not "they"

there will always be a hesitation in me to accept full responsibility for my sin because

"My heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9

Recovery begins with a fearless moral inventory . . . which is terrifying to step into but completely liberating to come out of on the other side.

step into freedom by listening to this:

http://www.buckheadchurch.org/messages/recovery-road

dont really have a title for this post

I'm feeling a little poetic this morning. . .

Today marks morning number 3

where the sun dances differently through the trees

It's contrasting from the months before

as it casts it's shadows across my floor

Just a stanza to mark the glimpse of Fall approaching :)

Check out my jean skirt and tenny's

SOOOOOOOOOOO excited about wearing this shirt to remind you to buy one to help send Daddy to Kenya!

Caughtya!

Even though I was more than 4 months in this picture Mama said, better late than never!

Look I can touch my toes

Did I mention my Daddy is going to Africa? :)

HollaSallaHarmonizas

(back story of the title: Freshman year of college Holla and I named ourselves the HollaSallaHarmonizas because "Holla" and "Salla" would "harmonize" so beautifully together when we sang. Well, it wasn't exactly beautiful or exhibiting any kind of talent, but it sure was a funny thing we did that caused a great amount of laughter between us :)

Holla came to eat with us on Friday night! It was just wonderful - so crazy that we only live about 45 minutes away. So thankful for her effort to make the drive. Daye was thrilled!

We cooked together. For a great life bonding experience don't have the supper ready when the pal walks in the door . . . let her join you in the kitchen! (source of idea: Holsie!)

We made a SUPER delicious linguini pasta and Roquefort Pear salad. We sat outside on the back porch - wish i would have taken some pics out there - perfect summer night!

Woke up Saturday morning and Baby Daye had a runny nose! Her first one. Poor thing, sniffling and sneezing and making some SERIOUS snot bubbles (aka HILARIOUS and awful because Tay and I laugh when she does them!) Then, Sunday morning I felt a TOOF! Her first one! Wondering if the runny nose had/has something to do with it trying to break through? You can barely see it, but you can for sure feel it! I can't believe it - baby girl getting her first tooth . . . going by TOO fast!

hahahaha, hilarious picture of how she looks these days while she can't breath and as she runs her tongue across her surfacing toof

Jail Break!

"I'm stuck, Mama!!!!! Let me out of here!"

The other night we walked over to The Doster's House. Trip is the Area Director for Young Life in Alpharetta and Rebecca may be one of the sweetest hearts around and Brooks - well with parents like that, how could he not be awesome?!

He and baby Daye were thrilled to see each other! Born just 7 weeks apart and living two streets over, they are destined to be pals (and Brooks already was making a move to see if she'd be his girlfriend?:)

Brooks: "Hey Girl! Wassup? Give me 5, eh?"

baby Daye: "Uh, Daddy, what's he doing?"

Brooks: "Maybe I could just put my arm around you?"

baby Daye: "I'm not so sure about this. . . "

Brooks: "Eh, not as great as I thought it'd be . . . BORING!"

baby Daye: "Hey, it's not boring! It's great!"

more from BUG

(short for Bringing Up Girls)

There is so much more I could include in these cliff notes, but, in hopes that you'll actually read those things I do pull out, I'll try and keep it modified . . . :)

-Your children’s successes or failures in many of life’s endeavors will depend on the quality of the relationships you share during their childhood years. Indeed, how they navigate the storms of adolescence will be influenced directly by the security of that bond.

-Mom, you are indispensable. The start your baby gets in life is in your hands—and in your voice and in your heart. What a wonderful privilege and responsibility it is to welcome her with open arms. That little bundle arrives straight from the hand of the Creator as His precious gift.

-Maternal desire is not, for any woman, all there is. But for many of us, it is an important part of who we are.

-If attachment is the goal of parenting, and it certainly is, that objective is achieved by expressing genuine love, affection, and dedication, combined with reasonable discipline, defined limits, and firm leadership.

-From where I sit today, I can say that nothing, and I mean nothing, from my children's childhoods turned out to be more significant than the hours I spent with my little family.

A note to Daddy's:

• If you want to connect with your little girls, and even those who are not so little, you need to spend one-on-one time with them.
• Look for anything that will bring your daughter into your world or you into hers. While you are at it, tell her you love her every time you are together. You will be her hero forever.
• Never, ever, make fun of her.
• Be home for dinner on time. Very important.
• Surprise her by showing up at her school for lunch, bearing Happy Meals or pizza.
• Never permit her to talk back rudely—to you or to her mother.
• Don’t miss a recital, concert, play, or any other performance of hers. Not now. Not until she graduates.
• Don’t let her play you and her mother against each other.
• Never call her names. No matter how mad you are. No matter what she did. If you do, she’ll remember it for the rest of her life.
• Let her see, by the way you treat your wife, the way a man is supposed to treat a woman.
• Teach her how to look a boy in the eye and say “No.”
• Wait up for her. Knowing Dad will be greeting her at the door has a very positive effect on her decision-making process.

Thankful

We are so thankful for all of you who have bought a shirt! Thank you thank you!

For those of you who haven't yet, hear what others are saying,

"It's so soft!"

"Oh! I will probably wear this all the time!"

"I love this verse!"

"I could wear this as a snuggie it feels so good!"

ok so I made up the last one. But! Don't miss out! They're going quick!

Date night - Flip Burger & The Help

Last night we went on a date! It was so fun! We went to Flip Burger for the first time.

We really enjoyed:

the bacon an cheese burger

the local burger

fries

and

. . .

wait for it

. . .

the Krispy Kreme milkshake - what? seriously? Yes!

And it was presented with Liquid Nitrogen to appear more freezing than anything you've ever put in your mouth - Quite over the top, but, enticing and enjoyable! We will have to go back for the Nutella Milkshake next time! The burgers were delicious and not too big (if you go, don't plan on sharing one) and the french fries were great - nothing out of the ordinary, but with a shake like that, ordinary was a good compliment! I would recommend you eat there.

Then we went to go see The Help.

We got there 30 minutes early (my own Dad would have LOVED that). The line was RIDICULOUSLY long winding down all the hallways inside. Thankfully it was playing in two theaters so we snagged a mediocre seat.

We thoroughly enjoyed it! I still liked the book a lot more, but the movie was great! There were laugh-out-loud and tearful moments. The audience concluded with a round of applause. I would recommend you go see it! Minni was my favorite!

As we drove home we shook our heads about the fact that life really was like that. How could it be? How could those living in it not have done something about it sooner?

And then the conversation veered toward our time period and the immediate needs of the world (147 million orphans; 24,000 children dying of poverty, hunger and easily preventable diseases) and Tay asked "Do you think years from now when people are looking back on our time period they will shake their heads about the fact that life really was like that? How could those (us) living in it not have done something about it sooner?

. . .

I do not have The Answers. Thankfully God does and He is the One who can handle and heal and restore the brokenness of this world. And, amazingly enough, He gives us the opportunity to be apart of it in some way(s). Here is a very limited list of resources (and if you have others close to your heart, please list them):

1. Sponsor a child

a. World Vision

b. Compassion International

c. Amazima

d. BrightPoint

2. Go on a short term mission trip

a. Young Life Africa Expeditions

b. 410 Bridge

3. Adopt or Foster a child

a. All God's Children

b. Bethany Christian Services

c. One World

just some food for thought

Bringing Up Girls

So, I started reading James Dobson's, Bringing Up Girls (He also wrote Bringing up Boys). Needless to say it can be a bit overwhelming to realize the responsibility of being a mother/parent :)

I may run the risk of offending some readers with some quotes from the book. My intention is not to offend, simply to copy and paste some of the segments that I highlighted when reading that grabbed my attention.

A few Holy Cow moments I've read thus far:

- I have watched daughters talk to fathers. When you come into the room, they change. Everything about them changes: their eyes, their mouths, their gestures, their body language. Daughters are never lukewarm in the presence of their fathers. They might take their mothers for granted, but not you. They light up—or they cry. They watch you intensely. They hang on your words. They hope for your attention, and they wait for it in frustration—or in despair. They need a gesture of approval, a nod of encouragement, or even simple eye contact to let them know you care and are willing to help. When she’s in your company, your daughter tries harder to excel. When you teach her, she learns more rapidly. When you guide her, she gains confidence. If you fully understood just how profoundly you can influence your daughter’s life, you would be terrified, overwhelmed, or both. Boyfriends, brothers, even husbands can’t shape her character the way you do. You will influence her entire life because she gives you an authority she gives no other man.

-good parenting almost always requires sacrifice. Childhood lasts for only a brief moment, but it should be given priority while it is passing before your eyes.

(I realize this picture has nothing to do with sacrificing - it was just cute)

-I hope you will find a way to give your little girls (and boys) the great benefits of a secure, loving home. That is the surest way to preserve the light that shines in their eyes.

-Little and not-so-little girls need to talk too, especially about what they are feeling. Let me speak directly to the busy mom and dad who are too exhausted at the end of the day to get your kids talking, either at the dinner table or in those intimate few minutes before bedtime: you may be making a serious mistake. You need to know what your children are thinking, and they need the pleasure of telling you about it.

-moms are absolutely indispensable. It is their primary task to transmit enduring principles of right and wrong to the next generation.

-manners and morals are directly connected.

Dobson, James C. (2010-04-13). Bringing Up Girls. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

(I'm only on chapter 5 of 22. I'm sure there will be much more to share as I progress in the book)

zip up

Yesterday I made a last minute decision to zip up 85 and meet Anna in Commerce for a quick visit!

It was a delight and good for both our souls! (Baby Daye in a Pop-Eye voice: "Ey, I like this gal" )

She pressured me (jk) into buying this for Baby Daye . . . I had buyers remorse due to a Budget Lockdown that I should be on, but seriously, when faced with the opportunity to clothe your child in a hot pink tutu?!?!!?!!? what decision would YOU have made? :)

Shirts are going FAST! Thanks for joining us in this trip to Kenya! If you'd like one click on the BUY NOW button to the right!

Big Bows

So, Handley Reid sports some seriously (amazing alliteration) cute big bows!

Unfortunately Daye's beautiful hair is still in a stage that the big bows just slide right out. But, I managed to attempt to whip up some homemade bows the other night and this one stole the show!

Melt.My.Heart . . . .ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

We met up with the Flores' again! Beautiful Brittain and Baby Daye had a fun little evening on the floor!

"Hey, what's your name again? I'd like to hold your hand!"

"Oh! Hey Mom and Dad!"

Dont' forget about these awesome shirts! They look good on both genders and all ages!

Tay's going to Africa!

Tay and Tombo and Daddy are going to Kenya in October! They are going with 410 Bridge.

410 Bridge enables the self-developing capabilities of the people they serve. In order to do that, they're careful not to do for Kenyan communities what they can do for themselves.

This strategy extends through the deployment of the 5 impact areas for every community.

• Water
• Education
• Health Care
• Micro-Enterprise
• Spiritual Development

SOOOOOOOOO

Here's where you come in . . . buy a t-shirt (click on the buy now button to the right) and help Tay get there to assist in carrying out the above!

It is an American Apparel tri-blend track shirt (aka feels REALLY good!) shirt.

Around the border of Africa it says, "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?''

And across the front it says, "Here am I, send me" Isaiah 6:8

Here I am wearing it - seriously, it feels REALLY good, especially in this HOTTTTTT weather, it's much better than a regular cotton t-shirt.

It only costs $20!

So, even though you aren't physically going on this trip, you can be apart of it by purchasing one of these shirts!

If you don't want a shirt but would still like to be apart of his trip financially click here to make a donation.

Morning Dip in the Pool

This morning seemed like the perfect time to go take a dip in Birdie and Poppy's pool! Aunt Tindy is in town and she braved the waters at a time she could have still be in bed :) It was delightful! Daye LOVED it!

Just sticking her toes in

Now the popo

Trying out the tube

About to get dried off and so happy about it! (does anyone notice Taylor in this picture?!?)

Ahh! All warm in Mama's favorite thing: hooded towels!

P.S. we do not own swim diapers yet and thankfully did not have a messy while submerged under water - but, regular diapers were made to hold some serious liquid because that thing was SO HUGE when I pulled her out of the water . . . AND, you can't squeeze water out of them! They HOLD the water! I thought it pretty amazing!

P.P.S. if by accident a regular diaper gets thrown in the wash, you may spend a long time picking off the millions of absorbent-beads-that-make-the-diaper-HOLD-water off of all the other clothes that were in that load :)

Cannot wait for October 4!

Katie's book, Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption, is being released October 4.

You can preorder her book on Amazon.

Her blog will stir your heart in ways you may not be able to shake. In the words of Steve Larmey, her "world has been wrecked" in one of the greatest ways possible - her heart has been broken for the things that breaks God's.

Girls weekend!

This last weekend we had a family girls weekend in Greenwood (where sifter lives) because all hubbies were out of town. Yes, we did just spend a whole week at the beach together, but, we thought it necessary and ideal to hang out again this weekend! :)

We shopped (mostly just browsed) and ate and talked and went to church, but the BEST part of the weekend was when we went to Jumping Jax - an indoor inflatable birthday party venue for children - only the 5 of us had more fun than any kid in that place! We are all rug burned up from an amazing hour racing and jumping and sliding and jousting!

A few pictures to prove it:

showing our battle wounds

Hands and Beau going down the awesome slide

Mama, "whooaa!"

Sifter - look at that form!

Me

Hands - looking a little uneasy

Peggy

Jousting - Sifter dominated all of us until . . .

. . . Mama got a hold of her - look at the aggression on her face - shheeeeesh!!

The race is on!

I won this one!

Peggy and Mama - hilarious!

The girls are thinking, "wow, this is boring. . ."

and our favorite of the day. Peggy went AIRBORNE soaring over the edge AND OVER A CHILD. . . when she did the slide the 2nd time (pictured here) we made sure no innocent children were in harms way. A father did walk by and pointed towards Peggy saying, "they're so fun at that age." ha!!