Family Pics

We had our first "official" family pics taken in May.  I  made a little video with my favorites!

Luke 18:16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

My sweet Ty is an amazing boy.  It is hard to believe that he is already finished with kindergarten and will be a first grader soon.  He is a thinker and a dreamer.  He is always planning something, building something, or dreaming about something.  I am always telling him, "I love your brain".  His thoughts amaze me.

Several months ago, Ty began asking me some tough "life" questions.  He wanted to know "does everyone die"?  Being in the ministry, the funeral home is something fairly familiar to my kids.  I know some people do not think children should be exposed to funeral homes and death at an early age.  We do take our kids and I think it's good.  I want them to know that death is part of life, (always sad, sometimes tragic, but certain).  When Ty asked this I didn't want to say, "Yep, part of life".  Instead I said, "No.  If you know Jesus, you never die.  Your old yucky body goes to the grave and you will be with Jesus".  Well, that just stirred up more questions.  This went on for months. 

Ty's next big question, "Does everyone go to Heaven?"  Tough question.  Tough answer.  Based on what Jesus taught I said, "No Ty, not everyone goes to Heaven, only the people who have trusted Jesus as their savior".  He said, "Well I trust Jesus.  I want to go to Heaven".  So I did what every good woman who is married to pastor does, I said "Talk to your daddy"!

When Tyson came home, he had a long talk with Ty.  After all, he is only six.  I didn't want to push him.  Tyson talked with Ty.  A tearful Ty admitted that he had sinned, (he didn't listen to his mom), and that He wanted Jesus to be his savior. 

Not only is Ty my precious first born, he is now my brother, adopted by the Lord, Himself, to be part of the family of God. 

Several weeks later, on Father's Day, Ty was was baptized by his daddy.  It was an unbelievable day!

                                                      

Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, and The HAIR Fairy

What???  You have never heard of the Hair Fairy.  Well, grab a cup of coffee and read the "true"story of The Hair Fairy.

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, (Tunnel Hill, GA to be exact), there lived a mom who rarely fixed her hair, (me), and her roots were in desperate need of being dyed back to their "natural" color.  She was totally unaware of her condition and was relying on the sun to bleach those roots.  While going along merrily in her daily life, the young prince, (Ty), made a profound declaration.  He said, "Mommy, your hair is changing.  It used to be blonde and now it's brown on top!"  The poor mom was astonished at this proclamation.  She began to share this predicament with her friends.  Not wanting to spend money on her hair, the mom determined in her heart to allow the sun to work it's magic.  Little did she know that The Hair Fairy was taking notes.  Then early one Saturday morning, she received an unbelievable text stating that she needed to report to Julie at Lux Salon.  There her hair would be transformed and best of all, it was paid for in full!!!  The mom was astounded at the kindness and generousity that had been bestowed on her by The Hair Fairy!  The mom went to Lux Salon and was changed into a queen.  And from that day forward, the mom felt like a queen because her once dreary, two-toned locks were now back to their dazzling, "natural" color!

This is a very true story!  I changed the names in the story to protect the privacy of the parties involved!  HA!.. In all seriousness, I do have a Hair Fairy.  Her name is Paige Buckner.  She really did pay for me to have my hair done.  And yes, Ty really did say that about my hair. 

To my friend, Paige, you will never know how much your gift meant to me.  Throughout this last year you have been my Hair Fairy, my faithful blog follower, my encourager, and above all, my friend.  Thank you for all are!  I love you sister!  Thank you for being my friend and I appreciate your advice, (especially concerning my hair)!

Psalm 27:9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,

and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.

Before

 



After
My roots have been rescued by The Hair Fairy, AKA Paige Buckner!



Things I Thought I Would Never Do!!!

I was talking with my dad the other day and saying I have done things since I have turned 35 that I thought I would never do!  He asked what those things were.  So here is what I told him:

1.  Plant a garden!  ( I have never been a fan of bugs, dirt, or sweat).

2.  Run a 5K and my 10K is coming up!  (Again, never been a fan of sweating or exercising).

3.  The craziest of all, taking part in an American Idol Home Town Parade! (Not big on mass hysteria).

To which my dad responded, "Don't forget, adopting a child from China!"  I just laughed and said that was the most logical and easy to believe thing that I had done! 

The picture above was taken before the American Idol Parade for Lauren Alaina.  We were invited to be in the parade to represent The Good Stuff, by my friend Christy McCain.  She is an amazing woman.  She is a Christian, wife, mother, writer, entrepreneur, and much more.  She submitted an article to the Chattanoogan.com online paper and featured me and the girls in her article!  Here is the link to the article.  It also contains a link to her website.  She has an awesome product line that features wonderful gift items.  The candles and bath salts are my favorite.

http://chattanoogan.com/articles/article_201390.asp



As for the garden and the running a 10K, if I live through it, I will tell you how it goes!

Here are a couple of pics of Lauren singing at LFO high school.  Go Lauren Alaina!

She is always near...

My friend Tracy Jennings brought her sweet daughter Mia home from China last spring.  On Mother's Day last year she planted a rose bush in honor of Mia's birth mom.  I thought that was a beautiful idea.  So, this year we planted a rose bush in honor of Ren's birth mom.  I always want to hold her in high regard.  After all, she carried my daughter for me.  She chose to give Ren life.  She chose to leave her in a place where she knew she would be found and cared for.  She is always near to my heart.  People often ask me if we know anything about Ren's biological parents.  The answer is no, we know nothing for certain.  We do have a hand-written note that was attached to Ren's clothing when she was found.  I am sure her birth mom wrote it.  It gives her date and time of birth and then says, "Please kind person, save this baby".  The one thing I believe to be true about Ren's birth mom is that she loved her.  So on Mother's Day and everyday, I remember and honor the precious Chinese woman who chose life for my daughter Ren.

Happy Mother's Day!

I can not think of anything better than being a mom.  I asked my mom the other day, "Do you remember when I said I was NEVER having kids?"  She laughed.  Can you believe it?  Back in the day, when I was completely all about myself, my plan was to move to Atlanta and work for some big corporation.  I thought I might get married, but kids were not part of the equation!  When I think back on that, I first have to laugh.  But my next thought is, "Thank you Lord".  I am so thankful that He saved me, well, from me.  Don't get me wrong, there are days when I think I will loose my mind if I have to change one more diaper, clean up one more toddler mess, or hear "I don't want to go to bed", followed by stomps and deafening crys!  But, in the few seconds of quiet, when I look in on my sleeping children, two from my womb, one from the inner city of Chicago, and one from an orphanage in China, I just want to hit my knees in worship.  I want to worship the Lord for His plan and His deliverance and for allowing me to be a mother to children that ultimately belong to Him! 

My hope is that I would follow what the Lord says.

 Deuteronomy 11:18-19  Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds. Teach them to your children!

Easter 2011

Here are some of my favorite pics from Easter!