Change is good...right???

Well, I've probably mentioned on here before that change is not really my favorite thing. I'm honestly pretty darn quirky about it. Just to give you one small insane example, the night before Davis was due, I was laying in bed saying that I had changed my mind and didn't want him to come out. I of course now see what a HUGE, in more ways than one, blessing he has been to our family and couldn't live without him. I just HATE change when it is happening. All that said, looks like there will be some changes around here. Yesterday, we got a contract on our house. There of course is two weeks for them to change their minds, but in the meantime we have to be prepared to be out of here on August 5th. We originally had a house that we liked, but as time has passed and we've learned more about it, have completely changed our minds. So now the question is...where to go?

I love how my 17 year old brother put it to me yesterday. "Well, congrats Ayah. You've gone from being a home owner to homeless in one swift blow." He cracks me up! I will keep you posted but it should be a fun-filled adventure. Nothing on the market right now really strikes our fancy so we may end up renting, or maybe just as God would have it, the perfect house will be coming on the market next week. I know the Lord is in this because already we have seen so many blessings in all the little things. We are praying God knows just what He is doing, because I'm not sure we do! :)

We had a great time Sunday night at Bena and Papa's neighborhood pool. The slide was quite a hit for the boys. Thought you would enjoy this action shot of Grady

On Monday, we headed out to the farm and the boys had a great time with Mooma. They planted, hoed, fed the chickens or girls as they call them, and played. They took a little break for some yummy organic grapes on the golf cart.

Hope you all have a good week!

Summer Reading

Well, most of you probably don't know that I have always despised reading with a passion... BUT the good news is that seems to be changing! As I am getting older, I realize that books really are important! (duh) Anyway, along with reading through Leviticus, I just finished Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman. My friend told me about it and it truly is an amazing book. I was so moved and inspired by her story. I would highly recommend it for anyone, but especially those dealing with a great loss in their life. I have decided to to try and read three more books this Summer. The goal is to have them done by September. Let's see how it goes...
1) Weird  by Craig Groeschel

2) The Help by Kathryn Stockett
3) Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent 
I will let you know how far I got and what I thought in September! 

Here is a look at my night yesterday. 

Sweet moments with a daddy and his boys! I cherish them because time sure does fly!

He is in ALL the details!

Well, little did I know that when I asked Allison over at Bridge Work Blog Designs to add a tab called Weekly Adventures to my blog, that I would get one heck of an adventure to blog about! I took the boys to Columbia, SC on Tuesday to visit Allison, aka Watt as I like to call her, and we had a really great time! I have known Allison since the 7th grade and whenever we get together it's like we have never missed a day together. She is so much fun and always brings a fresh breath of air to me. It is so cool to me that the Lord has blessed both of us with two precious little boys (one of hers is still in her tummy till October). Anyway, we went to the pool on Tuesday afternoon and let our little men clown around...

Precious boys!

Davis, Grady and London splish splashin' around

Really loving their snack

Cheesy boys!

On Wednesday, we headed to the Children's Museum. This was our second visit and it was a blast. There is so much to see and do.

                                                            Future Firemen...

                                       and Farmers!

Davis couldn't resist throwing one awesome temper tantrum

My little men

Cutest construction workers I've ever seen!

We came home, had some lunch and then the little guys went down for a nap and me, Allison, and Grady had just settled in for some relaxation when Grady decided to get into a scuffle with one of Watt's dogs. He was hugging her head and she got nervous and nipped at his chin, which would have been no big deal, but unfortunately she threw a left hook in there with her paw!

Long, long, long day and story short...we ended up at the Pediatric ER and Grady got 7 stitches with no help other than some Novocaine shots. He truly was a trooper and was very excited to know that his daddy had been bitten by a dog when he was little and had stitches too! Aaaah boys, you gotta love em!!

Here he is with his cool pirate hat, new stitches, the bear that the hospital gave him and a popsicle. Life is good!

The greatest part of all of it to me is to reflect back and see how the Holy Spirit was at work throughout the whole ordeal. I was able to stay calm and collected, find places in a city where I had never been, endure the rudest surgeon I have ever met and not bite his head off, and watch my baby scream bloody murder while getting shots in his cheek. These are all things that are just plainly NOT ME! I am telling you right now that the Holy Spirit was working in me that day and giving me a peace and a calm that I normally would NEVER have. I feel so blessed to have experienced this whole thing because yet again, God has shown me, He is in ALL the details and will lift you up when you need it!

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34

Rock-N-Roll

Well, I did it...I signed up for the Rock-N-Roll Half Marathon being held here in Savannah in November. Sarah and Emily and I are going to trudge through the 13.1 miles together. We will begin our "official training" in July, so in the meantime, I have been enjoying some "down time." I have discovered Motion Traxx which has FREE downloads that you put on your Ipod. Now the tunes are not all that grand or anything, but they are set to certain beats per minute (bpm) which is awesome for training and/or cross-training. I am obsessed! They have a section called G Series Fit Mixes which have personal trainers coaching you through different types of workouts. I have tried the running and elliptical ones which both kicked my butt. I also tried the Treadmill Interval workout which was craziness that at one point had me running at a 12% incline!! Funny thing is they said these were "moderate intensity." I can't even imagine what "advanced" would be like! Anyway, go check it out and enjoy. We haven't decided what training schedule we are going to use yet but I will share as soon as we decide. This is Sarah's 1st half, Emily's 2nd and my 3rd so we are all meeting in the middle somewhere because we all want to cross the finish together. I think the goal time will be around 2 hours and 10 minutes of pure fun, sweat, and tears! Haha, well lets hope no tears!

Sweet Summer Moments

Have I mentioned that I LOVE Summer!! For as long as I can remember, I have truly looked forward to summer time. Now sure its so hot you want to just melt into the pavement some days, BUT it is relaxing and I LOVE relaxing. We went to Jekyll Island for a week with my inlaws and stayed in the most amazing house I have ever seen on Jekyll. It was absolutely beautiful. We swam, went to the beach, visited the Sea Turtle Center, road bikes, went to Summer waves, played putt putt, enjoyed my mother in laws delicious cooking and somehow did find time to relax a little in between it all. :)

Thank you Mimi and Poppy for an absolutely awesome vacation!

Love it!!

My baby learning to swim all by himself!

Poppy and Davis taking a stroll. Check out the thighs on little man!!

Tate arrived on Wednesday, and boy were Grady and Davis excited! Poppy had a blast swimming with his three boys!

Mimi and her namesake

Posey and Jason and the girls came down too for a few nights. So much fun!

Davis was ready to go for a dip in the "water pool" as he called it

Love these action shots! Tate looks like a professional and Davis was loving every minute of the water slide.

Audrey and Sarah came down to Summer Waves for the day too

Daddy and his boys!

Mimi, Poppy, Tate, Davis and Grady

 

 

Memories to last a lifetime!!!!

Home Sweet Home

We just got back from a week long trip to Jekyll Island with Mimi & Poppy (aka Chris' parents). It was an absolute blast and a full post with lots of pics will be up soon. It does feel good to be home, but I sure do miss the sound of the ocean and the convenience of a pool in the backyard!
For today, I wanted to share with you all what I found on my camera last week. I had gone to a Health Fair in Sun City with my grandmother to help man a booth for Heritage Organic Farm. A precious little girl, who happens to live just around the corner from us, has become quite a fantastic babysitter. Grady and Davis truly love her and this is exactly why I do. Who wouldn't want to turn on your camera and find this......

THREE OF MY VERY FAVORITE THINGS IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!
Have a great week!

Exodus

Well, I'm slowly but surely trudging along in my Bible reading expedition. Exodus is truly amazing to me because I am a details person and pretty much it doesn't get more detailed than this. God tells Moses to set up government, he gives exact plans for the Tabernacle and then even provides men with the exact skills they need to implement his plans. ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!

I was thinking about all the details and how much I wish God would send me some details! Wouldn't it be nice if God would just tell us exactly what He wants us to do??? I would love it. The thing is though, if that was the case, we wouldn't have to live each day seeking his face because we would already know his plans. I believe that by waking up and thinking, "What does the Lord want for me today?", it completely changes our perspective and of course draws us closer to Him. A few Sundays ago, my minister preached a wonderful sermon on what it really means to be saved and eternally secure. He was preaching out of 1 John 3:1-10. He laid out all his points really well and made it clear by using scripture and examples. He spoke about the #1 thing we should see in the life of a Christian. It is HOPE. Once we ask Jesus into our heart and start to form that personal relationship, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside us. With it, comes the free gift of hope through all circumstances. That was a humbling thing to hear because sometimes hope is very hard to hold on to in this crazy world we live in. I was yet again reminded of God's sovereign plan and that if we are truly focussed on our Heavenly future, hope should never falter.

Here are a few pics of the boys from last week playing in the sprinklers in the backyard. Summer is here and boy do we love it!