Learning to trust

I don't get to truly share my heart on here like I use to...back in the day when I had a lot more time, I loved to write about what the Lord was teaching me...turning normal moments in my life into God moments.  The last few years, I feel like just trying to document the life and times of our girls is about all I can manage.  However, the Lord has me in a growing season and I don't want to forget it.

It's currently 3 am and my house is quiet...everyone is sleeping.  Not me...I can't sleep.  I roll over, realize I need to potty and then my brain turns on and I begin to think about all the things happening in our life.  Caroline is about to start a new school and both of her best friends are going to be at different schools.  The job Andy has currently held for the last 15 years is being abolished and as I write this, we don't know what he will be doing next.  We are thankful he has a job with his current company, we just don't know what his schedule will be, if he will have to drive 60 plus miles one way to a new location, work nights and weekends, we just don't know...for me, I am thankful for my job and I absolutely love it! We just returned from our annual conference and it was fabulous.  However, with that comes the 'start' of the school year.  I have a running list of 25 things that I need to accomplish and the list is growing daily.

It's easy for me to get overwhelmed...it's my personality.  I don't hide my emotions well so I've found myself in tears on many occasions lately...I'm a worry wart and can easily get caught up in the 'what if's' of life.  I don't like it but it's a battle I have to fight daily.   BUT the Lord is reminding me I don't have to live in this crippling place.  I can put my faith and trust in him.

Yes Caroline is going to a new school.  Yes it is scary.  Yes she will have to navigate this newness without her best friends.  BUT GOD is in the details.  To HIM, she is more than a name and number on a roster.  She is a child of the one true king! He knows HIS PLANS for her, this momma just has to let go and trust him.

Andy's job situation isn't a surprise to God.  He knew that this position would only be in place for 15 years.  He knew that we would find ourselves here.  And while I prayed the outcome would be different, I can trust His plan. This isn't my plan or what I would want, but I can trust that there is a purpose to this moment in life.

The enemy uses moments like this to bring us down or create doubt in our lives.  Maybe we should transfer Caroline to a different school.  A place that might be better for her.  A school where at least one of her friends will be.  Maybe we should meet with the current administration and tell them why our girl is more than a name on a list.  Instead, I'm having to put my faith in the one who knows...the one who created her, has a plan for her life, knows the number of hairs on her head, the one who works all things out for HIS glory and HIS purpose!  That's hard y'all!  It's a daily battle!

The enemy uses Andy's current job to tell him that he wasn't enough.  That he somehow let his family down.  That he doesn't work hard enough to provide for his family.  BUT THE ENEMY IS WRONG!  Our man loves us BIG!  He works long hours and makes sacrifices for us daily so that we can have the things we need and many of the things we want.  He works for a company that gives us amazing health benefits so that we never have to worry about doctors appointments or medication that is needed.  When folks heard that his job was abolished, they immediately began working on a plan to keep Andy local because they don't want to lose him!  They value his character and work ethic.  We don't know if these plans will work but what an honor that someone recognizes who you are and is willing to make changes because they value YOU as an employee that much!

I've cried many tears in the last month...more than I want.  But I keep coming back to the fact that my GOD is ENOUGH!  It's hard to place full trust in HIM but HE KNOWS.  He has a plan for all of us.  I told Andy just last week that I feel certain we will look back on this time and be reminded of God's faithfulness in our lives. When God doesn't answer our prayers the way we hope or pray for, that can only mean He has BIGGER plans!!  Just like so many other 'hard seasons' in our lives, we can look back and KNOW that HIS PLAN was better than ours...when I look at the precious, beautiful faces of our two girls, I see HIS PLAN.  Was infertility my plan?  NO.  But boy oh boy what a beautiful ending the Lord chose.  He didn't answer our prayers for me to get pregnant...why...because He had a better ending that we could have imagined!  I can't imagine our life without our two little ladies who truly are the greatest blessings in our lives. 

Will you pray for us?  Pray that we will continue to trust even when it's hard?  I look forward to updating somewhere along the way how it all comes together and how once again the Lord was faithful!

Water park fun

Today we had our annual eye exams and water park fun!  This is our 5th year going and it's always so much fun.  This was the BEST year yet!!  Both girls could ride the big water slides and Maggie was able to hang in there a little longer than usual.  As we were driving to the water park, a very dark cloud appeared in the sky.  I checked the weather app several times and it wasn't showing any signs of rain.  So we continued with our plan.  As we were walking to the slides the first time, I told Andy I had a feeling we had just paid money to maybe ride one or two rides.  I was waiting at any moment for the life guards to blow the whistle...however, they never did!  We spent the next 3 hours laughing like crazy...well except when Maggie wasn't too happy with our current choice.  Thankfully she got over it quickly and had fun.  Caroline was so excited that Maggie was big enough to ride the rides with her.  Both girls thought it was hilarious to watch Andy and I get 'dunked' as we came down most slides. :-)  Caroline thought it was extremely funny to take us through the crazy currents on the lazy river...we got soaked!!

My heart is full tonight!  I am extremely thankful for days like today.  Days when we get to forget about daily responsibilities and just enjoy being a family...laughing and giggling and enjoying each other.  Today was a gift for my soul...

WeekDay Conference

My staff and I just returned from our annual two day WeekDay conference. It was an amazing experience.  I was reminded what a true blessing my staff is to me and the families we serve.  The Lord has blessed me with amazing women, who love HIM and love their jobs.  They truly seek to show the love of Jesus to all they encounter.  We prayed together, worshiped together and learned lots of new stuff while laughing a lot and enjoying getting to know each other a little better!  I am so very thankful for this season and the opportunity to lead these ladies!  I pray that the Lord will continue to equip me to serve well!  Here's to the 2019-2020 school year and the beginning of my 5th year directing!

Side Note-the girls spent time at Camp Cleveland and Camp Daddy and they LOVED every minute!  Pizza, snow cones, late night movies, the Lion King Movie, Target trips, mall dates, life was good! :-)

Frozen Jr.

Our local kids theatre performed "Frozen Jr." last night and it was fabulous!!   We all enjoyed the show!  It was super special because it was Nori's first performance on stage.  We knew several of the kids performing which made the night that much more exciting!

Prior to us seeing the show, we went to a 'meet a few of the characters' at a local coffee shop story time.  Both girls really enjoyed that!

  

Caroline and Josie

These two have a super sweet bond!  They love every chance they get to spend time together!  They discovered early this summer that they both have the same overalls.  Well today when we showed up for Bible Study at Josie's they discovered they have the same shirt.  Josie saw Caroline heading in and immediately changed.  It was precious!  There is nothing more exciting at 10 or 11 than matching your best friend!

Celebrating Jared and Joy!

27 years ago, a sweet baby boy entered our family!  He was perfect...at least we all thought he was!  His momma thought he would break.  My daddy loved him with every ounce of his being...he was the reason my daddy quit smoking.  Jennifer said Jared couldn't be around cigarette smoke and Pops quit!  If Daddy was having a bad day, we would bring Jared over and all would be well with the world!  My daddy jumped at the opportunity to keep him on a weekend...maybe more than Jennifer ever wanted him to stay.  :0)  Any way you look at it, this sweet boy changed our lives the day he came into this world and we are so thankful he did!

About 6 years ago a beautiful young lady name Joy entered the picture.  She seemed perfect for Jared and we all immediately fell in love with her!  Joy graduated high school, graduated Clemson and recently just graduated from MUSC in Physical Therapy.  We were so excited when Jared finally purposed!!

Tonight we kicked off the wedding season with an "I Do" BBQ Lawn and Garden shower at Daniel and Claire's.  It was a beautiful evening.  We were thankful it cooled off a little after the party got started.  We are extremely thankful for our sister in law Claire, who was the landscaper, the announcer, the decorator and the pit master!!  What would we do without Claire????  We wouldn't laugh nearly enough! :0)

 It was a real treat to celebrate these two.  We are so happy for them and look forward to all that the Lord will do in their lives!

Dentist Visit

The girls had their 6 month dental check up yesterday.  Caroline was a wee bit freaked out because she has a bottom tooth that is hanging on by a thread and the permanent tooth is already coming through.  She just KNEW they were going to pull the tooth and she didn't want that.  Maggie on the other hand was super excited to go to the dentist...my how things can change because she use to be terrified of the dentist.  She walked right on back, hopped in the chair and let the hygienist go to work! I was so proud of her!!

Both girls had great check ups.  No cavities!  Caroline has 6 loose teeth.  One of her upper teeth is coming in on the side of the gum.  I've got a feeling these next 6 teeth are gonna be interesting...we were laughing the other day.  I told Andy instead of a college fund, we needed to change Caroline's to a dental fund! :0)

My very own barista

Summer has been extra sweet for me!  Andy makes the absolute BEST pot of coffee!  Caroline has learned how to make my cup of coffee just the way I like it!  Delicious!!

Cancer....

I noticed a flaky patch on my chest in February.  At first I thought it was just a skin irritation but then I noticed at different times it would scab over but never really healed.  By this time it was April and I knew I had my yearly dermatologist appointment in May.  I knew my chances of getting an appointment any earlier most likely wouldn't happen.  So when I went in May, my dermatologist didn't like the way it looked and decided to do a biopsy right there.  Well for those of you who know my level of medical anxiety, I wasn't too thrilled but I didn't have time to change my mind.  

She told me it would take a week for the results to come back.  One week to the day, I got a call while sitting in carline.  The biopsy came back Superficial Basal Cell Carcinoma.  While it is very common, it was still cancer and that made me a little anxious...I'm pretty young I think to start down this road.  Anyway, I asked what I needed to do next.  I had two options-come in and have it burned off or use a topical cream for 6 weeks.  Here I am almost at the end of the 6 weeks period.  My spot looks pretty angry and at times, it is extremely tender.  I'm ready for this to heal and be behind me but I'm super thankful it was caught early. 

Now I'm that person at the pool...the one with a large brim beach hat and a sun shirt.  The sun shirt is actually not as bad as I thought it would be.  It keeps me cool and I've actually come to enjoy it other than my pool friends making fun of me.  However, I don't really care...I might look like an 80 year old grandma but hopefully these steps will keep me from going through this again. :-)

Curls like Sissy

You know it's a great day when you not only get to dress like your Sissy but you also have CURLS like your Sissy!

Living right, summer laundry!

I had a thought as I was working on laundry this weekend...we must be living summer right this year because my laundry consists of more swimsuits and pool towels than any other items...

Sweet Sisters...maybe, maybe not...

Friday night at the ball game, the girls did the chicken dance and received a coupon for a free kids meal at Chick Fil A.  So I thought it would be fun to take them there after CHAMPS to celebrate.  Lucky for them, their friends were there also.  (They were using their free meals from Friday night as well!)  Everybody was happy!!

We got in the car to head home and the typical fighting began...don't touch me...that's not right...you don't know that...you're wrong...stop bothering me...  "ENOUGH" I say and then begin to lose my mind...

I told the girls I had had it!  I was tired of their attitude towards each other.  (mainly I was upset because I tried to do something nice and they 'ruined' my moment.)  If they couldn't treat each other kindly then they wouldn't speak with each other at all.  We came home, unloaded our things and each were sent to their room alone.  They were free to play in their room without electronics or each other.  They spent 2 1/2 hours alone...finally Caroline caved.  She asked very kindly, " Can I please try to play with Maggie?  We won't argue."  So I called both into the den and talked about their attitude towards each other...I reminded them that we were a family and we were blessed to have each other.  I also told them the first time I heard any sort of arguing , they were back to their rooms by themselves.

Y'all we had the very BEST afternoon!  It was fabulous.  As I prepared to tuck Maggie into bed, Caroline said "Move over sister, I'm coming in tonight!  But the first time you talk or mess with me, I'm out!"  Mags moved over and let her in.  5 minutes later I went back to find Caroline reading and Maggie hard and fast asleep on her side.  Shortly thereafter, I found both asleep!  It made my momma heart smile!!

Parenting isn't easy but at the end of the day, it's the best job ever.  I pray that no matter what these girls go through, in the end, they will love, protect and defend each other!!

CHAMPS!!!!!!!

 WARNING!  Picture overload!!  Today both girls swam in the Summer Swim League Championship Meet.  We had not planned for Maggie to swim in this meet but the smaller meet she was planning to swim in got cancelled due to weather.  So...here we are!

CHAMPS is extremely overwhelming for a momma, let alone the actual swimmer.  We weren't sure how Maggie would do.  So we made sure to get her there in time for warm ups.  Ruth and Grace told her exactly what she needed to do.  She jumped right in (actually cannon balled every single time she entered the water!) and swam her little heart out.  Reese was waiting in the water for her and encouraged her the entire way!!  I was SO PROUD!

 Our team hanging out, waiting for the event to begin.  Mr. Archie bought the girls a couple of card games that were a HUGE hit.  We had several games going on different blankets. :-)

Maggie's first race was a boys relay with the other younger kids on the team.  (Girls can swim in a boys event but boys can't swim a girls event.)  She was READY!  Ruth talked with the group and told them what to expect.  

 Mags climbed right up on the board without any hesitation!  When it came time for her to actually jump in...she wasn't so sure.  Oh my word, this brought back memories from Caroline's first ever event...a relay!  Finally Catherine jumped in the pool ahead of Mags and off they went.  For whatever reason, Maggie totally forgot to actually swim freestyle...she more or less dog paddled her way to the end.  BUT she finished!!!!!!  We were all so proud!

 Helen giving Mags a few words of advice!  Sadly we had the same experience the second event...Mags was not getting into the water without a coach...Helen jumped in and off they went!  We laughed and said Maggie actually dropped 20 seconds off her first time... :0)  After this event she was finished...now to concentrate on Caroline's next 3 events.

 Caroline did great!  She enjoyed every event and was proud that she dropped 3 seconds off her 50 free.  

 By the end, sweet Mags was pretty tired.  She laid on my legs and 'rested' while Caroline finished.

If you made it this far, you must be a sweet friend or family member...no body else would make it.  It was a sweet day for our family.  It was fun to have both girls in an event together.  We didn't walk away with any awards this year, but this momma walked away with a happy heart.  The Lord continues to teach me about my heart each and every day.  It's easy to brag and feel great when your kids win awards or stand out for being great kids.  However, the greatest lessons come when they don't and that's ok too!  We came home with a 5 year old who conquered her fear and swam in a college pool.  We came home with a 10 year old who swam events that weren't her favorite but she did it because her coach needed her to.  This momma watched as 6 sweet girls (Ruth, Grace, Helen, Reese, KK and Cate) LOVED on my girls and encouraged them over the last 6 weeks.  Our team as a whole didn't come home with many awards but boy oh boy do we have the absolute best team there is!!

Baseball Game with Church Family

 Tonight we joined several families from our church at a local baseball game.  It was HOT for about the first hour and then it turned into a lovely, cool(er) summer evening.  The girls enjoyed being with their friends and Andy and I enjoyed being with ours.  Thankful for our church family and fun nights spent together!