Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Fianlly The Last of It

It has taken me two weeks to post about a 4 day vacation, but we are now finally down to the last of it. 

Our last official day for beach time was Saturday, but it was not smooth!  It's as if we flew through the Bermuda Triangle and everything started falling apart.  At 12 am in the morning, Gracie woke up with an ear ache.  Chris ran to Walgreen's to get some Motrin and that seemed to do the trick until the morning.  Gracie's has always had ear trouble but her ear was doing something I had never seen it do before.  As soon as our family doctor opened up, I called them and explained what the problem was.  They told me that we needed to take her to the Urgent Care in Gulf Shores and have them check her out.  So thanks to my friend Lynn, who use to live in GS, we found a doctor to go to.  The unfortunate part was that we had to wait 4 1/2 hours to see a doctor!!!!  But what do you do.  I tell you what you do......you wait!  lol.

When we finally saw the doctor, it was totally worth the wait.  He was great with Gracie.  To no ones surprise, she had an ear infection and he gave her an antibiotic to take by mouth and one for her ears. 



When we got back to the condo, we headed down to the beach!  We didn't get to stay out long because it started raining. We then headed in to get ready for a few beach pictures.  As I was snapping away, my camera just quit working.  The flash wouldn't pop up, and it kept giving me a busy signal.  I snapped all I could while it would let me.






Not the best pictures....but it is what it is. 

The next day we headed home.  


All was going well until we hit Montgomery and the car started acting funny.  We stopped several times and Chris called a friend that knows stuff about transmissions, which helped.  We just had to go 50 most of the way home!!!! 

This trip was an experience!!!  We needed a vacation after our vacation!!! But although things didn't go as smooth as we would have hoped, we were together and that's all that matters.  I picture myself telling Emily and Gracie all about the "crazy" trip to the beach we took when they were little.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Words I Needed To Hear

I've had a rough couple of days in the "motherhood" department.  Thoughts of stress and failure have crept in and I know that those thoughts are only form the devil himself.  I found this at Kelly's Korner and its just what I needed to hear at the moment.



MOTHERHOOD AS A MISSION FIELD

by: Rachel Jankovic



As someone once said, “Everyone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help Mom with the dishes.” When you are a mother at home with your children, the church is not clamoring for monthly ministry updates. When you talk to other believers, there is not any kind of awe about what you are sacrificing for the gospel. People are not pressing you for needs you might have, how they can pray for you. It does not feel intriguing, or glamorous. Your work is normal, because it is as close to home as you can possibly be. You have actually gone so far as to become home.

If you are a Christian woman who loves the Lord, the gospel is important to you. It is easy to become discouraged, thinking that the work you are doing does not matter much. If you were really doing something for Christ you would be out there, somewhere else, doing it. Even if you have a great perspective on your role in the kingdom, it is easy to lose sight of it in the mismatched socks, in the morning sickness, in the dirty dishes. It is easy to confuse intrigue with value, and begin viewing yourself as the least valuable part of the Church.



There are a number of ways in which mothers need to study their own roles, and begin to see them, not as boring and inconsequential, but as home, the headwaters of missions.



At the very heart of the gospel is sacrifice, and there is perhaps no occupation in the world so intrinsically sacrificial as motherhood. Motherhood is a wonderful opportunity to live the gospel. Jim Elliot famously said, “He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Motherhood provides you with an opportunity to lay down the things that you cannot keep on behalf of the people that you cannot lose. They are eternal souls, they are your children, they are your mission field.



If you are like me, then you may be thinking “What did I ever give up for them? A desk job? Time at the gym? Extra spending money? My twenty- year- old figure? Some sleep?” Doesn’t seem like much when you put it next to the work of some of the great missionaries, people who gave their lives for the gospel.



Think about the feeding of the five thousand when the disciples went out and rounded up the food that was available. It wasn’t much. Some loaves. Some fish. Think of some woman pulling her fish out and handing it to one of the disciples. That had to have felt like a small offering. But the important thing about those loaves and those fishes was not how big they were when they were given, it was about whose hands they were given into. In the hands of the Lord, that offering was sufficient. It was more than sufficient. There were leftovers. Given in faith, even a small offering becomes great.



Look at your children in faith, and see how many people will be ministered to by your ministering to them. How many people will your children know in their lives? How many grandchildren are represented in the faces around your table now?



So, if mothers are strategically situated to impact missions so greatly, why do we see so little coming from it? I think the answer to this is quite simple: sin. Discontent, pettiness, selfishness, resentment. Christians often feel like the right thing to do is to be ashamed about what we have. We hear that quote of Jim Elliot’s and think that we ought to sell our homes and move to some place where they need the gospel.



But I’d like to challenge you to look at it differently. Giving up what you cannot keep does not mean giving up your home, or your job so you can go serve somewhere else. It is giving up yourself. Lay yourself down. Sacrifice yourself here, now. Cheerfully wipe the nose for the fiftieth time today. Make dinner again for the people who don’t like the green beans. Laugh when your plans are thwarted by a vomiting child. Lay yourself down for the people here with you, the people who annoy you, the people who get in your way, the people who take up so much of your time that you can’t read anymore. Rejoice in them. Sacrifice for them. Gain that which you cannot lose in them.



It is easy to think you have a heart for orphans on the other side of the world, but if you spend your time at home resenting the imposition your children are on you, you do not. You cannot have a heart for the gospel and a fussiness about your life at the same time. You will never make any difference there if you cannot be at peace here. You cannot have a heart for missions, but not for the people around you. A true love of the gospel overflows and overpowers. It will be in everything you do, however drab, however simple, however repetitive.



God loves the little offerings. Given in faith, that plate of PB&J’s will feed thousands. Given in faith, those presents on Christmas morning will bring delight to more children than you can count. Offered with thankfulness, your work at home is only the beginning. Your laundry pile, selflessly tackled daily, will be used in the hands of God to clothe many. Do not think that your work does not matter. In God’s hands, it will be broken, and broken, and broken again, until all who have need of it have eaten and are satisfied. And even then, there will be leftovers.



This came from desiringgod.org



Beach 2011 Day 3

Day 3 was much like the first. We headed to the beach and played in the water and then headed to the pool. 





We promised Em that we would take her to play Putt Putt.  We found the best place!  It may not have been fancy on the decorations, but we were the only people there, so we had the run of the place.  The girls had the best time.




Thursday, June 23, 2011

Beach 2011 Day 2

Bottom line is, I've got to blog!!!!!!  Busy is the word around here so as usual, I'm way behind!!!!  I've had sick kiddos, VBS, and same kiddo that is still not well.  But here we go. 

Our second day at the beach, didn't start out smooth.  It may not have been smooth, but the girls made up for it by being cute! 



We made the discovery that the girls like the pool better than the beach and that is a change from last summer.




We stayed at the ocean for a very short period of time. It was kinda of hot so the girls were ready to head to the pool. 






That night we headed to Lu Lu's, which is our favorite place to eat.  I was a little nervous when they said the wait would be and hour and a half!  But we met some nice people form Ohio and we talked with them.  It made the time just fly on by!



Photo by Emily!  As you can tell, I believe in sunscreen!  lol!



More to come!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Beach Trip 2011

Our beach trip this year was more like a "three hour tour" instead of a vacation.  It started out with high hopes because the trip was relatively smooth and the kids were so excited when we got there.  Em couldn't wait to get to the beach!  Once we got to the room, we headed down to the water.  They were so happy with the sand and the waves, Chris and I actually thought that this trip was going to be a piece of cake!!!  Although the first night was laid back and easy going, it was only a camouflage of things to come!!!  Ha Ha!

 After we hit the beach, we headed over to Mikee's for dinner. 









More to come.......

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Dancing Queen

Emily had her first dance recital this past Saturday, and I must say she was wonderful!!!!!

I got choked up on the way to the recital because I told Chris that I've been dreaming of doing things like this forever.  Chris was not overly impressed because he said he had to do it every year when his sister was little!  But I know he was still proud of our little star!!!

The ballet was called Return to the Secret Garden.  My mother-in-law told me there was a movie called the Secret Garden and I really want to see it now. 

Emily was an orphan, and I do believe one of the cutest ones I've ever laid eyes on!!!





I've notice that sometimes when Emily gets nervous, she makes a "fish face" with her lips. 








It was a great night.  There were some parts of the play that were truly magical.  I can't wait to see what is in store for next year.