The Rogowski Family

Jan 2, 2012 Last Day at the Adams Home

2012-01-13T11:41:00.001-05:00

We spent our last day at Mom and Dad's at Turtle Park down by the river front in Albany. It was a gorgeous day and we had a really nice time. I took what became my favorite picture of the whole week at the park--you'll see it in this slideshow. It is of Miss Georgia. She's just such a precious little beauty!
We had a fabulous time with the family! One thing that I failed to get a picture of was the "Post Office" that the kids created together with Nonny's help. They invited us all to write little notes to one another so they could have letters in their post office. Then one night they brought them all in to the family room and delivered them to each of us. It was precious and hilarious! We will definitely be doing that again. It was my new favorite tradition for sure! I am blessed and grateful for these dear people.

New Year's Day Jan 1, 2012

2012-01-13T11:29:00.000-05:00

We had a really special New Year's Day this year. Carrie Beth and Abby and I sang a trio in church that morning at Albany FUMC which was a treat! I love singing with my sisters so much. The Morans and Mimi and Poppy came to celebrate the day with us also. When I was a kid we would spend our Christmas vacation at Mimi and Poppy's home, so when we can be together again with some of them, it is treasured time.

Christmas 2011 at the Adams' Home #3

2012-01-13T11:12:00.001-05:00

Here are some more pics of our time together. We always enjoy taking the kids down to Lake Loretta so they can feed the ducks and geese. It was a much less eventful trip than we have had in the past. No goose attacks/bites, etc this time, fortunately! We threw and threw and threw bread 'till it was gone. The kids were also really glad that we were able to play at the church gym. They have lots of scooters in there, so they wheeled all over the gym while we sat and chatted. The daddies scootered a little too! You'll see a couple of pictures of Posy seeing Miss Betty, the Atkinson's guinea pig. She wasn't too sure about her, and poor Miss Betty did a good bit of squeaking. Anyway, here are the third set of pictures. No. I'm not done yet! We were there for almost 10 days, so forgive me for the excess! :)

Christmas 2011 at the Adams #2

2012-01-12T11:10:00.003-05:00

On Tuesday Mom, AndyIII and I went over to Americus, GA to meet the Moran family who brought a moving fan with Mimi and Poppy's belongings from Perry. They moved into Magnolia Manor there, so we spent the day helping them get their room settled. The Morans really did the lion's share of the work, but it was a team effort getting that room arranged and unpacked properly. Poppy is definitely at a different place mentally, unfortunately. He is strangely sharp at certain moments and then very forgetful most of the rest of the time. One of his sweet sharp moments happened as we had lunch together that day. Mom, Andy and Mimi and Poppy and I were seated in a sun room at the Manor eating, and Poppy suddenly started quoting a poem he has used many times in sermons he has preached. He quoted the poem from memory as he's done so many times before, without missing a single word. Suddenly I was gripped with emotion. It was a poignant moment for some reason. Hard to believe that they will not always be here with us. So very glad to know we have all of eternity with them, though! We also had a good visit with Papaw, Dad's father, who is also there at the Manor. He is not terribly happy there and his health seems to be an ongoing struggle, but we pray that he can find peace and health and contentment. He seemed to really love seeing his great grandchildren. It's so nice that they're all there together. It was a full couple of days--as we went back on Wednesday to help them finish getting unpacked, etc, but we enjoyed getting to be with them for that time.

Christmas at the Adams #1

2012-01-12T10:48:00.002-05:00

OK, like I said a few posts back, I am warning you. There are lots of pics! If you can believe it, I actually left some out of these slide shows! I have several slide shows to post. I tried to kind of group them into days. This is the first few days at Mom and Dad's right after Christmas. We had such a great time together! Watch all of the slide show and you'll see one pic that reveals some pretty exciting news about one of the Adams girls!

Christmas Eve 2011

2012-01-12T09:33:00.001-05:00

We spent Christmas Eve day at Mary and Stan's here in Kingsland. The Destrada family was also there, and we enjoyed a fun day together. Papa (Stan sr.) has a fun tradition of getting a new, silly Christmas hat every year. You'll see some pictures of the kids wearing it. It sings, lights up and they love it! Mary and Stan are always so generous to us. We are hoping, with their big gift to us, to buy paint from Lowes and do some much needed painting around here--eventually! If only I could make a decision about colors. We were particularly grateful to spend Christmas Eve with the Rogowskis because Papa has been sick and in and out of the hospital for quite some time now. We felt so blessed that he was home and able to be with all of us for that time of celebrating. We just were missing the Hollands! We know they had a great first Christmas in their new home in Mt. Pleasant. God is so good to us. We are grateful for our family!

December 2011--up until Christmas

2012-01-10T21:42:00.001-05:00

So here are several pics of some of the high lights of December--before Christmas Eve. We always enjoy decorating the tree, and this year was extra fun because we had a new tree! There are a couple of pics that were taken after the adult cantata and during the kids' musical. Those were both such wonderful events. We felt such a keen awareness of the Holy Spirit working, helping, moving in and all around those experiences. There's one pic of Stan at a band concert. His bands sounded great this year. His huge 6th grade band puts out this wall of sound!! Amazing! :) We were so glad to be able to zip over to Savannah for a quick visit with the Atkinsons on the weekend of their church's children's Christmas performance. Carrie Beth has worked very hard and those kids are really coming along! We got to go to Savannah Christian's "The Journey" which is like a re-enactment of the journey that Mary and Joseph took to Bethlehem. We all loved it! Very cool experience. It was quite a production. There are some pics from Benjamin's Noah's Ark preschool program, too. He did such a great job as a reindeer. He was pretty shy around Santa, and when I asked him why he wouldn't talk when he sat in Santa's lap, he said, "Mom, I already wrote my list. Why should I tell him again?" :) There are a couple other Santa pics with both of the kids from a Girl Scout event. Olivia looks so big on Santa's lap all of a sudden! When did that happen? After school let out, we had a week before Christmas, and we really enjoyed resting and playing as a family. One day was particularly warm and we went to the beach for the afternoon and had a picnic. Truly gorgeous! Well there are a million more pics coming, but here are a few to start! :)

If Anyone is Waiting with Baited Breath...

2012-01-08T21:57:00.000-05:00

I know I don't have a big audience out there reading my little monthly updates with pics of our family, but for those family members out there who might be waiting for some Christmas pics, etc. I'm working on it. I have about a zillion pics to work through and organize. Stan got me a new (to me) camera for Christmas, and so I really went snap happy! Anyway, I just thought I'd pop in here and say HI! And let you know updates are coming. Maybe this week I'll have some moments to work on it as the kids are returning to school and we are settling back into our routine.

Thanksgiving Break--the first half

2011-11-27T19:34:00.001-05:00

We had fun at the annual Noah's Ark Thanksgiving party, and then the Sunday after that we went to Albany for a few days to be with Mom and Dad. Will also came over on Monday night which was great fun! The weather was weirdly warm and the kids even took a swim in their pool--brrrr! We had a good time visiting and on Wednesday we took the annual trip out to the Busy Elves Tree Farm to help Mom and Dad pick out their tree. We always enjoy this venture, and this year was no exception. We did wish it could've been a tad cooler, but it was still lovely. We stayed through Wednesday and then headed home for the Rogowski Thanksgiving festivities.

Rogowski Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-27T14:07:00.001-05:00

We had a nice visit with all of the Rogowski family this Thanksgiving. The Destradas, Hollands, Rogowskis as well as Grandma, Terry (one of Grandma's twins), and Jason's mom and sister, Barbara & Dawn. It was a great, full day. We appreciated Theresa and Jason's hospitality to all of us for three full days of fellowship. We are glad that Ethan, Theresa's youngest, seems to finally be on his way to getting better after a scary night on Friday. He recently had his tonsils removed, and he was vomiting up lots of blood and had to be rushed to the emergency room. Fortunately he was able to go right into surgery and have something sutured to stop the bleeding. It was an exhausting night for his momma and daddy and I know several others waited up late for them until they got home. We were extremely relieved to finally get a text that they were on their way home in the wee hours of the morning. Throughout the last several days we played games, watched a ridiculous amount of football :) and ate lots of good food. We are thankful for our family. Lord, bless us all in this coming year and may we be a blessing to You, too.

Abby Visits Albany Oct 2011

2011-11-04T11:01:00.001-04:00

We were so excited that Abby and her precious little Georgia could come for a weekend visit to Albany! Aunt Betsy, Uncle Keith, Kaylyn and JD were able to come Saturday and Sunday, and we had so many fun laughs all together! Will came over for Friday night and Saturday. CB and Brad and the boys were able to be there through the weekend, too! We were missing Stan, AndyIII and AndyIV and Titus, but it was still a very fun weekend. Mom was a beautiful hostess--as usual. She knows how to make people feel so loved, cared for and welcomed into her home. Just wish the weekend could've lasted a little longer. Big thanks to sweet Uncle Andy who kept the boys while Abby came to GA!! You rock!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-04T10:36:00.001-04:00

This year Olivia was a black cat and Benjamin was a pirate (thanks to a cool hand-me-down from the Destradas!). We went to a festival in town and then we met up with the Destradas and Mary and Stan in their neighborhood where we went trick-or-treating together. The weather was really nice, but the sand gnats were vicious, of course! There was quite a bit of candy filling our buckets and bags by the end of the night, and we had a fun time walking the neighborhood together. Mary and Theresa took turns wheeling Stan sr. around in a wheel chair. He is still recovering from surgery, but we were glad he could come along for the ride. There was one funny moment when Mary took her hands off of the wheelchair handles for a second, and Stan sr. almost wound up in a ditch. We all giggled pretty good over that! We got home and thus began the task of shrinking the candy pile and making most of it mysteriously disappear (in the circular file, as they say!) :). Fun times!

More for me than for y'all

2011-10-18T09:29:00.001-04:00

So I think I'm a pretty cheesey writer, but I enjoy making the attempt--thus the title of this post. I'm pretty sure this writing thing is more for me than for you, but maybe you'll find some joy in these messes of words I am calling poems/lyrics. So here we go with another one I'm working on. Hope it doesn't offend anyone. I have just been struck lately thinking about saints in the church who have stayed and stayed. They've remained faithful through thick and thin. I admire these people greatly as I am learning that while there were aspects of moving from church to church as a PK that were challenging, there are challenges also with staying where the Lord has planted you. I've recently been so saddened to hear about some family members of mine who have poured themselves out in a lifetime of ministry to a church and it now looks as if, through some painful circumstances, the Lord might be leading them out to a different place. This family has been such a witness to me throughout my life. They've loved their church passionately. They've given all they have and more to the Kingdom work the Lord had for them there. While they've experienced many joyous moments there, they have also had many, many difficult times. They've dealt with oddballs in the church, weak leadership, and just down-right frustrating folks. But because they believed in the notion that there is no such thing as a perfect church--only a perfect Savior, they've remained where they felt the Lord wanted them to remain. From the outside looking in, it seems as if there were many times when they could've justified throwing their hands up and saying, "I'm outta here! I've had it!" But they remained submitted to the Lord's will for their family. He may or may not be transplanting them into a new body of believers, but what a testimony they've been to me and so many as they have loved their church, served Christ there wholeheartedly--recognizing that they bring their own imperfections to that Holy Spirit hospital we call the Church. I have to believe that their dedication and desire to lift Jesus higher despite the enemy's attempts to confound is a spiritual discipline that can bring the angels in heaven to their feet singing songs of praise to Jesus who has given them the fortitude they've needed to stay. I love them and am so grateful for them. For the lives of service and love they've shown to me and so many. I wish I were a better writer, because their lives are worthy of greater excellence in writing than what I can create. Here are some thoughts I've been mulling over in the last few days as I have been praying for them in this challenging time.

"The Perfect Church"
v1
They'd been serving in that church for nearly thirty years.
They'd had a lot of joy,
but they'd shed their share of tears.
Pastors came and went
Friends came and went too.
The devil hard at work
tried to split the church in two.
There were days, weeks and months
when they felt their hearts would break.
And showing up Sunday mornings
was sometimes a tough step to take.

(chorus-1stX)
But there's no such thing as a perfect church
There's no house of worship where the devil doesn't lurk.
The church is full of broken hearts
but jump on in and give it your part.
So give up the hunt
You'll never be pleased.
Perfect only comes
when we're all on our knees.

v2
Miss Alice had been there for nearly 50 years
she didn't stick around 'cause of how things made her feel.
Her time, her talents, her gifts--she'd made a promise.
And she never once thought
of stepping away from us.
Church was a place to worship and love
Baking cakes, training acolytes
serving her Father above.
Glamorous and exhilarating?
Not all the time.
But Kingdom work had its way of satisfying
No, things didn't always go as she thought might be best
Knowin' His hands were on her life
gave her heart joy and rest.

(chorus-2ndX)

Cause there's no such thing as a perfect church

There's no house of worship where the devil doesn't lurk.

The church is full of broken hearts

but jump on in and give it your part.

So give up the hunt

You'll never be pleased.

Perfect only comes

when we're all on our knees.

(bridge)
Bring all your hurts
He wants them to be His.
A place to find freedom
that's what the true church is.
There might be disappointments
There might be pain.
We're all just sinners
who need grace the same.

(chorus-3rd&finalX)
Cause there's no such thing as a perfect church
There's no house of worship where the devil doesn't lurk.
The church is full of broken hearts
but jump on in and give it your part.
So give up the hunt
You'll never be pleased.
Perfect only comes
when we're all on our knees.

(tag)
So come on, church

let's get on our knees.

Been doin' some writing

2011-10-10T14:58:00.001-04:00

My sweet husband said to me out of the blue recently, "Why don't you work on some song-writing? You're a good writer and I bet you could find some joy in the process."
I don't know if I can fully express what these few words from my precious husband's lips meant to me. I felt inspired and uplifted immediately. What a blessing to have a spouse and friend who knows me, my passions, my abilities and interests, and he believes in me. Thank you, Lord, for this gift. May I be just as supportive and encouraging to him in all his interests and pursuits.
So anyway, I pulled out one of my many partially filled journals and began scribbling. This is the result of some scribbling and a little bit of editing. I feel like it's still got some edges to be softened (maybe a lot), but I have, just as Stan knew so well, truly enjoyed the creative process. I think this song would definitely be in the slightly country genre. As I've been editing it, I've been toying with the melody, but that still feels like a long way off. Just writing the lyrics was fun. To my writing friends/family, I welcome your constructive criticism--things that are working or not working as much, etc. Without further ado,

"Don't Let Me Slip Away"

Thirteen years might sound unlucky

but the Lord knows they don’t believe in luck

He was workin’ two jobs goin’ day and night

She was home with the kids, but somethin’ didn’t feel right

Life’s pace was fast, the days became a blur

He sometimes felt lucky to steal a kiss from her

But one night in the darkness

she cried to him,

Don’t let me slip away,

don’t let our love grow cold and gray

life has pushed our hearts apart

so press my heart against your heart

and say, “Honey, I’ll never let you slip away.”

Sixteen years old, he thought he was a man

just lost and confused, cared nothin’ ‘bout his family’s plans

didn’t care a bit ‘bout what The Lord had to say

figured he’d just try things his own way

thought he knew what was right and best

inside he was just a boy scared to death

though he pushed them all away

they knew what he really wanted to say was,

Don’t let me slip away

don’t let your love for me grow cold and gray

I’ve pushed our lives apart

but press my heart against your heart

and say, “Son, we won’t ever let you slip away.”

She’d been raised in the church all of her life

gave her life to Jesus at the age of five

years and years of walkin’ with her Savior everyday

she never thought she could fall away.

but the world pressed in hard and tragically

She woke beside her husband the day she turned 63

reaching for his hand to greet him with the sun

she found he’d gone to be with Jesus before the day had begun

what will she do?

who’ll hold her in her pain?

then she heard her Savior saying,

I won’t let you slip away!

My love for you never grows cold or gray.

When life’s pain pushes us apart

press your heart against my heart

and I’ll say, “Dear child, I’ll never let you slip away.

I’ll never let you slip away.”

Birthday Fun

2011-10-07T10:49:00.001-04:00

Well, my Mom came to visit for my birthday! Doesn't get much better than that! Love it when my mom comes--for sooo many reasons. I love that we always get some little project or to-do item done when she comes, I love that she plays with the kids like she's still 35 years old (which I turned on Oct 3rd!), I love that she listens to me so lovingly and responds in grace, and I love that she never leaves without helping me gain a new/better perspective about things I'm facing. I value her friendship, her prayers over me and my family that are passionate, her dramatic, emotional response to injustice, her dedication to serving her Savior through the church and community, her great desire to be used up for Kingdom purposes, the way she never stops parenting all of us kids and prays for wisdom to do so....I value you, Mom! Right now, she and Dad are at a very, very busy point in their ministry, and it is challenging for her to find time to leave town. So when she is able to steal herself away and find herself on my doorstep, I am ecstatic! Monday night we ate at Ops and then came home and Stan and Mom had cake and ice cream for me. Mom and Dad gave me a generous amount of mad money and then also gave me a Fontanini manger scene lighted grotto. I look forward to building my collection! Stan and the kids had given me an iPod touch earlier as an early gift, and on Monday they gave me a wonderful little travel case for it. We were able to hop over to the Jekyll Island Hotel's Grand Dining Room for lunch on Tuesday, and we had Benjamin as our tag-a-long. We weren't certain how he'd do, but praise the Lord, he was wonderful! We enjoyed a scrumptious lunch in that beautifully appointed room and had a funny experience of over-hearing several little old ladies at a table near by talking fairly mild church gossip about St. Simons UMC. :) I hope that if there are little old ladies having lunch together in Albany that they are saying wonderful, sweet things about my parents! Then after lunch (and I'm sorry the pictures aren't better!) we zoomed home just in time to meet Olivia at the bus stop. Wednesday was a shopping day. My sweet Mom and Dad-in-law gave me a Belk gift certificate and Mom and Dad also gave me mad-money, so we went and spent every bit (except for .07 cents!). I saved $308. :) Not bad! We had a dinner picnic at the riverfront park, and the weather was sublime. Then Mom came with us to our Wednesday night church activities. What a fun thing to have her there to see what we've been pouring our hearts into week after week. She was sweetly encouraging through it all. She helped me look at paint colors at Lowe's on Thursday morning before she left. I took home a couple of samples to try on the walls. This is something I've been meaning to do for months, so I appreciate her pushing me to do it! Maybe in November we'll find some time to do this big project! All in all it was great having her here, and I had such a nice birthday! I'm so grateful for my loving family who made it a special week! I also meant to mention in my post about our trip to Charleston that Karen made me a delicious cake for my birthday! I don't remember the name of it, but I remember she said she has friends who call it "Waffle Cake", because it tastes wonderfully rich and sweet like waffles! It was delicious, Karen! Thanks for making it for us to enjoy!

A Weekend With The Hollands

2011-10-07T10:26:00.000-04:00

We enjoyed a visit to Charleston/Mt. Pleasant, SC this past weekend to see Karen and Nick and their kids, Caroline and Nicholas. We traveled up after school on Thursday. Carrie Beth met us at the interstate exit near Rincon and took Posy for us for the weekend which was a tremendous help. We got to the Hollands' wonderful, lovely new home later that night, and we stayed busy the next couple of days with plenty of cousin-time fun. Caroline and Olivia kept us entertained with creative plays they wrote and performed together. Nicholas and Benjamin did plenty of Star Wars roll-playing and Wii playing, too, much to Benjamin's delight! We were able to see their schools, shop at a neat farmer's market type of store, have yogurt at Menchies after Aunt Karen's yummy dinner on Friday night, and before we left on Saturday we were able to go to a CSU football game and see the Buccaneers play and see Nick's marching band perform in the stands and on the field for the homecoming game. It was nice to be able to catch up with them all and we were grateful to have the opportunity to have a good visit with one another on a weekend with such glorious weather! A big thank you to the Holland family for having us in your home! We were also pleased to meet the Holland family members, Lexi and Otis, their dogs. They are such funny characters! :) We'll see you at Thanksgiving, Hollands!

Benjamin's 1st Day Back to Noah's Ark, etc.

2011-09-22T16:24:00.002-04:00

Benjamin started back to school the Wednesday after Labor Day, and we can hardly believe this is his last year in preschool! Noah's Ark has been a tremendous blessing to our family for the last 5 years. We will be sad to say goodbye to those precious teachers and the wonderfully simplistic day-to-day schedule that comes with three days of preschool. Before we know it, they'll both be huddled around the table at the end of a school day getting their homework done so they can hurry off and play.

We usually encourage Benjamin to wear his Noah's Ark T-shirt on the first day of school as many kids choose to do this, too. Benjamin wasn't really excited about wearing his this year for some reason, and Olivia quickly disappeared and came back out into the kitchen wearing one of her old Noah's Ark T-shirts! She said, "Look Benjamin! We can be twins!" He quickly scrambled to get his shirt on! It was a very sweet moment. I was proud of Olivia for being a sweet big sis! You moms know that those moments are precious! He had a great first day and his first few weeks have been wonderful. The big praise is that he seems to have made some improvements in his behavior. Benjamin became intimate friends with the timeout chair last year, and I think he has had to sit in it a little this year, but not nearly as frequently, fortunately! He reminds me on our drive to school each morning, "Momma, aren't you gonna give me the talk about my 'havior?" :) And yes, I do give him the same little pep talk every day! I love that he knows to expect it. Right now we're really working hard to learn how to treat our new puppy, Posy, appropriately. He tends to get overly aggressive with her and then it's just a slippery slope to nowhere good. We are trusting he'll learn good habits with her eventually. Lord help us to help him learn! So here are some pictures from that first day and then some pictures of Olivia from another school day afternoon. They're both growing up so quickly!

Labor Day Weekend sans kiddos

2011-09-06T09:34:00.002-04:00

Well, my very kind parents took our kids Friday and Saturday night so Stan and I could enjoy a weekend to ourselves. It was a very good and sweet time together. I took a few pictures when we ate lunch on Saturday and then some pictures of the outcome of all our teamwork in the garden. I'm attempting a fall garden this year. I've been told this is a great time to plant in this area, so I am hopeful that is accurate info. I've planted lots of lettuces, carrots, some beans, grape tomatoes, spinach, and flowers. We'll see what comes. I am trying a new planting strategy with deeper beds with walking trenches in between--hopefully allowing for some better root growth in the loose soil that is mounded up. Posy was quite excited after I had tilled the garden up and was raking out the weeds. She hopped in and rolled, jumped, dug and generally acted like she was at a bouncy house place. It was hysterical. We did have to get a little wire fence to try to discourage her from hopping into the garden. She easily cleared the fence and hopped right back in, so we'll have to train her, but she's seems to already be getting the idea that she's to stay out. Sunday after church Stan and I drove over to Albany and stayed the night with Mom and Dad and the kids. It was a bit dreary and rainy, but we were still able to enjoy some pool time. The kids even dragged poor Posy in one time, and she was none to happy about it! We had some fun time at the mall on Monday and a yummy cookout, thanks to Cocky's grill skills (Bison burgers! yumma!) We headed home late Monday afternoon full of gratitude for this wonderful weekend. We'll be home next weekend, then the weekend of the 17th (Will's birthday btw) we'll be at White Bluff UMC (the Atkinson's church) leading a choir day camp with CB's children's choir--very exciting stuff! Then we'll be home the weekend of the 24th, and then we'll head out of town again for the final weekend of September to see the Holland family in their new home town in SC! We're looking forward to seeing them and enjoying a visit with one another. September is a full and busy month, but we feel blessed and excited just thinking about all that lies ahead of us.

Tonight Stan begins facilitating a study at church. We're going to study Lee Strobel's latest book The Case for the Creator. I'm looking forward to it, but as he has been preparing for this study and he's talking to me about the questions we're going to discuss, I can tell it is going to keep my brain feeling quite challenged. Should be a good time! There are 15 folks signed up to participate in this study! How wonderful! I know people are intrigued by the study, but I have to brag on my husband and little and say I feel like the healthy turn-out is in part an expression of how people love and respect him in our church. Pray that the Lord will use this for the good in our lives and in the lives of those participating. Blessings on you, dear ones!

Our Budding Brass Player

2011-08-25T19:24:00.002-04:00

This was just such a sweet captured moment as Stan was helping Benjamin hoist his heavy trombone and make an effort to produce a sound. Benjamin was very proud as some very interesting splatty noises burst forth from the horn. Who knows? Maybe he'll follow in his daddy's footsteps and be a low brass guy. We are grateful that our kids love music. It's such an awesome gift from the Lord! These two guys have my heart. Precious moment.

Crooked River with the Rogowskis and Destradas

2011-08-24T14:35:00.003-04:00

This past Saturday afternoon/evening Mary and Stan were RV camping at Crooked River and invited us all to come eat dinner with them. It was a bit of a sweat-fest, but we had some good food and managed to not melt with the help of some water guns that Mary had brought for the kids (much to Olivia's joy!). I took the kids to a playground down from their campsite. It was close to the river front and so we enjoyed a little bit more of a breeze down there which was nice. The kids played for a while on the playground and then we walked up to the river front and I tried to take some pictures. It was so idealic. If I were a photographer, I probably could've caught some better pics! :) The kids were patient with me while I attempted to get some pretty ones. Camping in August isn't for the faint of heart! Mary and Stan are my camping heros!!

Children's Choir Day Camp

2011-08-24T14:02:00.002-04:00

We were so excited to have 27 kids participate in our first back to school children's choir day camp. We were there from 9-2, and we divided them into two groups. The older groups learned three songs: "Hey Man" (a Seeds Family Worship song that we sang with Stan on guitar and me and a few kids on drums), an arrangement of "In My Life, Lord Be Glorified" (we had three different groups, one playing hand chimes, one playing orph instruments, and one playing handbells--so pretty!) and then one other song that we just had piano accompaniment with called "I Will Praise You, O Lord With All My Heart". The younger group did two songs: one was a Steve Green song from his "Hide 'em In Your Heart" album for kids and the other was from the new curriculum for this year for children's choir. I'm sorry I can't remember their song titles, but it was very sweet. They used ribbons and simple handbells, too. We are praying that the Lord will use this ministry to build up strong holds against the devil! It is humbling and incredibly rewarding to help lead these groups. I'm looking forward to starting our official year of choir tonight at our first Wednesday night rehearsal!

We got a puppy!

2011-08-24T13:45:00.002-04:00

Well folks, we did it! We got ourselves a little puppy dog! Olivia had been wearing us down for a couple of years, and we finally caved under the pressure! :) Posy is our new little papillon mix we found at the Humane Society. We had been praying and searching for a few weeks when on whim we visited our local Humane Society. Low and behold, Posy was there waiting just for us! We felt like the Lord had worked it out for us and for her. She's four months old and weighs about 5lbs. She's feisty and fun to play with, but she is definitely testing our patience in regards to the house training efforts. She's doing pretty well, but we seem to have one accident a day. Some times we might go without any accidents, but that's a rarity. She was spayed last Tuesday, and this Friday she'll have her stitches removed. We are crate training her which has gone really well, praise the Lord. I am not a huge animal lover. Please don't hold that against me. I think they are amazing creations, but the messes, the smells, the expense, etc...those are all the little mental hurdles I have to just get over. Posy's cuteness helps make it all easier that's for sure! I am glad we have her. The kids are madly in love, and she has a special place in Stan's heart, too, it seems. :) So here are some of the pictures from our first few days with her. We've now had her for a couple weeks, and while there have been some frustrating aspects of adding a baby to the family, it has mostly been a joy and delight.

Olivia's First Day of 2nd Grade!

2011-08-24T13:36:00.002-04:00

I know many of you have seen this on facebook already, but here is our big 2nd grader! She has seemed to have a wonderful start to the school year, and we are very grateful for that. She is missing several of her closest buds who wound up in another class, but she's been so brave and has kept a positive attitude about it. She just keeps telling me, "Mom, I still get to play with them on the playground!" I think I was more concerned about it than she was! Benjamin will start back to Noah's Ark in a couple weeks, so you'll see his "first day" pics later on.

3rd and final Album from the Adams Family Reunion July 2011

2011-08-23T09:39:00.002-04:00

OK, so here it ends! Carrie Beth left with her boys and we were all blubbering. When sisters and moms have to say goodbye, it's always painful. We have a tradition of running along the hedge near the road and yelling and blowing kisses to people as they leave. I can say from experience that it makes me cry when I am the running waver and when I'm the one departing. How grateful I am for these precious ones who love me no matter what, who give me grace when I screw up, who lovingly pass along wisdom, tenderly listen to me, who take an interest in the details of my life, who sometimes speak tough words I need to hear, who pray fervently for me and my family, who see me at my low points, high points, and silly-absurd-corny points and accept me. I am rich.
The ice cream truck was a fun little serendipitous moment. Benjamin and I were on the front porch by ourselves and we heard the music. Benjamin said, "What's that?" I said, "It sounds like the icecream truck." Benjamin said, "What do you mean 'ice cream truck'?" I realized he'd never had this very suburban, American experience! I said, "Well, this guy drives a truck around neighborhoods, plays music loudly so kids will hear, and then we meet him at the curb and buy an icecream, and there's all different kinds!" As I spoke and described it, Benjamin's face looked like it might peel off his head, he was smiling bigger and bigger the whole time. :) He said, "You gotta be kiddin' me?!?" I said, laughing, "No! I'm not!" I told him I needed to go get my money, and the pictures below tell the rest of the story. Fun, innocent, sweet days!
Mom and Dad were amazing hosts to us all this summer. I would be remiss if I didn't brag on them a little bit. They love us, but I know we certainly can put a hurtin' on the power bill, water bill and grocery bill when all of us pile in. Not to mention to general craziness that ensues once we all arrive. Daddy sweetly took time off and was a full-time Cocky. He kept the kids laughing, and we "big kids" got to sit at his feet several mornings at breakfast as he shared about things the Lord is teaching him. He did dishes more often than he should've, and he often kept the laundry moving. Nonny worked so hard the whole time we were there--cooking, cleaning, cooking, cleaning, playing, being a full-time Nonny, and both she and Dad were so sweet to listen, love, and serve with such reckless abandon. Lord, give us all hearts like theirs--generous, hospitable hearts.

2nd Album from Adams Family Reunion July 2011

2011-08-22T22:07:00.002-04:00

OK, so maybe some of these didn't need to make the slideshow, but I'm weary, so I'm not probably being as selective as I should. Here's the 2nd installment as promised. There is indeed a 3rd to come! A lot of these pics are from our 2nd annual family day at Lake Blackshear. We always have a blast out on the lake! Abby was such a trooper and boldly took her newborn out on the boat with all of us crazy folk, and Georgia was just as sweet and cooperative as could be, praise the Lord!

Adams Family Reunion July 2011

2011-08-22T10:57:00.002-04:00

There's so much I could say about our time together in Albany this summer. It was fun! It was wild! It was hysterical! It was exhausting! It was enlightening! It was refreshing! It was at times poignant and precious! Here is the first of what may be three slide shows. I'm working on getting all of the pictures loaded. This is just such a time consuming task--loading them all, making comments on each picture, etc. I'll get it done eventually, but here is the first one. These pics show: lots of Georgia Kay Miller, the latest and greatest installment in our family! David's 9th bday, Mom and Dad's 40th anniversary dinner and the fun little dramatic presentation we gave them including the kiddos after we got home that night (we kids each wrote poems about each of their appointments they've had since they married and began their ministry--corny, sweet, funny, touching, and did I mention corny??), ladies day out to a precious tea room and some other random pics. Like I said, there's more to come!

Murrays Come to GA for a Visit

2011-08-22T09:37:00.002-04:00

This summer Stan's Grandma and Aunt June and Uncle Bob (Aunt June is Grandma's sister) along with Bob and June's daughter's Julie and Loretta all came for a visit to Georgia. The Sunday afternoon that we were supposed to go visit with everyone before they left wound up being the day after I was plastered with a nasty, horrible, no-good case of vertigo. Truly, it was absolutely terrible. It was worse than having the stomach flu. So, sadly, I didn't get to go with Stan and the kids when they spent some time over at Mary and Stan's visiting with the family who had come. Stan really enjoyed catching up with everyone. I had instructed him to take some pictures for me since I couldn't go, but he admitted he really forgot to take pictures 'till the end, so there aren't many here to see, but he got a few goods ones. These are some really sweet folks, and I hope that the next time they're in town I will be able to see them all. Fortunately Grandma was there for the week following, so we went by and visited her another night that week as you can see in the other pictures below. She's doing well and we're so glad she's very happy in the retirement community where she lives. Her hearing aids seemed to be working really well which is a bonus! :)

After the 4th

2011-08-21T16:03:00.002-04:00

After all of the intensity of the 4th, it was nice to enjoy some easy days with the Atkinsons at Mom and Dad's. Here are some pics from those days. As I'm posting these, I'm getting mewy, wishing for more days of summer!

July 4th, 2011

2011-08-21T15:42:00.002-04:00

We had a fun-filled day with lots of folks at Mom and Dad's for July 4th. We had several families join us for the day, the McClures, the Dickersons and the Morgans--all precious people. Grateful for the opportunity to celebrate with fabulous folks! We were also really glad to have Mimi and Poppy, Papaw, Aunt Betsy and Uncle Keith and J.D. join us. Lots of good eating, lots of swimming and lots of sky-gazing for the fireworks down by the river. Exhausting, but lovely day.

Happy 8th Birthday Caroline!

2011-08-02T13:18:00.002-04:00

We're thinking of our cousin Caroline this week as she begins her 8th year of life with all kinds of adventures stretching out before her in a new home and a new city! Caroline, we love you and we're praying for you as you begin to make Mt. Pleasant and Charleston, SC a wonderful new place to live. You add sparkle, laughter and fun wherever you go, and with your sweet spirit we know that you will likely find great new friends quickly and easily. You're such a smart gal with great creativity! Your teachers will be so blessed to have you join their classes and their school this fall. Our prayer for you is that you'll just continue to grow in your love for Jesus this year and that you will sense His presence with you as you transition from life as you knew it in Memphis to life in South Carolina. We're excited to see what great plans He has for you and your whole family in your new home town. We love you and want to wish you a very happy birthday!

Music and Worship Arts Conference at Lake Junaluska

2011-06-28T17:15:00.007-04:00

We had a such a rich and interesting experience at the Music and Worship Arts Conference at Lake Junaluska. The church graciously made it possible for Stan to attend this for the first time, and he really enjoyed the week. He was in the adult choir and attended lots and lots of sessions. Carrie Beth attended many sessions too, and she sat in on lots of children's rehearsals. Olivia and David participated in the children's music camp. David was in the drum class in the morning and Olivia was in the 1st-3rd grade choir in the morning. They both had phenomenal directors--so creative and just teeming with tons of great strategies and techniques. The week was bursting with great musical moments. We heard the Raleigh Ringers, a handbell choir like none I've ever heard before! We also got to hear the famous Junaluska Singers which is almost always a surefire wonderful concert-and this year was no disappointment, to be certain! The week came to a close on Thursday night. That afternoon we saw all of the children's perfomances--remarkable!!! Olivia and David both made us so proud. The adult choir blew me away! They were under the direction of Eric Nelson who is the director of choral music at Emory. It was like musical dessert buffet, and it got richer and richer as the evening went on. The middle school and high school choirs were also a delight. It was a neat experience. We're on the fence as to whether we'll attend again, and our reasons why could consume a whole other blog post, but over all it was a tremendously helpful, special experience. Friday was our free day, and we took a brief walk around part of the lake, made the mandatory visit to Mast General Store in downtown Waynesville to visit the Candy barrels, and then we hurried home to finish off the leftovers and then scooted back out to see Cars 2. Carrie Beth, Stan and I stayed up late Friday night trying to go over everything they had learned and discussing how we could/couldn't implement various ideas, etc. We left Saturday morning after a breakfast at Joey's, and we headed home full of excitement for how the Lord might use all of this new knowledge and experience in our own children's and adult choirs at home! Thank you, Lord for this fabulous week!

Quick Visit with the Ryans

2011-06-28T17:06:00.005-04:00

How blessed we were that our precious friends, John and Pat Ryan opened their home to us so graciously during our weekend in Atlanta. They saved us some money by putting us up for the weekend and more importantly gave us the opportunity to visit and catch up with them--it had been far too long!! They are such special people, servants of the Lord, and we were so glad to have time with them. Sunday morning before we scooted along the highway to get to Stan's conference at Lake Junaluska, Miss Pat had a marvelously yummy breakfast for us, and Noah and Christina and their three boys, Parker, Davis and Emerson came before they left for church. What a treat to get to see them, too! Christina is expecting their fourth child, another BOY!! She looks gorgeous and their boys were adorable! Thank you, Lord, for these kind of forever friends who are like family to us! We are grateful the Lord put us in their lives and them in ours! Carrie Beth and Brad and their two boys got in to Atlanta on Saturday night, too. They stayed with the Ryans also which was great fun, and then Brad drove home to Savannah the next morning as we took Carrie Beth, who was also attending the same conference as Stan, and her two boys to Lake J with us.

Mary & Stan sr.'s 60th Birthday Bash in the ATL!

2011-06-28T16:41:00.008-04:00

Mary and Stan both turn 60 this year, so all the Rogowski sibs and their families gathered in Atlanta for a time of celebration. We met up in front of the Georgia Aquarium and walked through Centennial Park over to the CNN center for lunch. Later on we made our way through the Georgia Aquarium with the whole gang--Aunt Karen, Uncle Nick and their two, Nicholas and Caroline, Aunt Theresa, Uncle Jason and their two Logan and Ethan, Grammy and Papa and us, too! How great to have everyone together again! We saw many remarkable creations of God as we snaked our way through the aquarium. Benjamin's favorite was the giant octopus. Olivia said she liked the otters the best! I got to follow Caroline and Olivia around a good bit and they were so cute holding hands and giggling excitedly much of the time. Nicholas was such a trooper as he wasn't feeling well, but he carried on bravely through the busy aquarium! We left the aquarium and had an unfortunate fender bender as we were trying to find our way to the hotel. Praise God no one was hurt and the damage was minimal, but those experiences are always so unsettling! We found the hotel and we all made quick work of getting into our swim suits and sliding into the pool to cool down. After some fun swim time, Karen, Theresa and Grammy sweetly went out and got us some take-out dinner and brought it back to the hotel where we were able to all enjoy a relaxing meal together. The weather was looking a bit iffy, but we forged ahead with our evening plan to go to the Laser Light Show at Stone Mountain. And we were so glad we stuck it out, because the weather cleared and we enjoyed an awesome show late into the summer evening. At the end of the evening we all piled into our cars, a little muddy, sweaty and weary, but we had happy hearts after a super-fun day with people we love dearly. Happy Birthday Stan and Mary! We pray you felt honored through the day of fun together and that you know how much we love and value you both. We are grateful for your lives!
I made a goof with my camera and failed to consider the fact that I'd been using it all week long at VBS and that the battery needed to be charged, so unfortunately I didn't get any pics past the aquarium. Grrr. Totally frustrating. Mary purchased a group photo of us all that I can't wait to look at again! Loved it! So sorry I didn't get pics at the hotel or at Stone Mountain. Here are the ones I managed to snap before my battery bit the dust. My favorite pic of the day is the one I got of Mary smiling really big! I LOVE that one! Beautiful lady!

Well, Howdy-Do, Miss Georgia Kay Miller!

2011-06-28T16:31:00.005-04:00

My precious little sister, Abby Miller, had her third baby and first little girl on May 8th! She is absolutely beautiful as you can see in the pictures here. We were so glad to get to see her for just a quick visit the last weekend in May as Abby and Andy passed through Albany on their way to a conference in Atlanta. After our quick visit with them, they left the boys with us at Mom and Dad's and we got to keep them while they conferenced in ATL. Mom and Dad also had to zip out of town on Sunday as they had to go to Annual Conference, so Uncle Stan and I got extra fun time with Andy IV and Titus! It was a sweet visit but much too short! We look forward to our time towards the end of July when we all get together for a little longer!

Olivia's 1st Tennis Camp

2011-06-28T16:04:00.005-04:00

Olivia participated in the Camden County Highschool's Tennis Camp in May. It happened to be a boiling week with temperatures soaring near and beyond 100 each day. Fortunately she was there only from 9 until noon. I don't know how the older kids who stayed all day stood the heat! We were really proud of her hard work and how she really gave it her all. Tennis was a sport Stan and I enjoyed so much during highschool, and we hope she might learn to love it too. We've been to the courts as a family once since her camp ended, and it was fun being able to hit it around a little all together. There is a fair amount of chasing balls, but we managed to volley it back and forth a little bit!

Can Nicholas Really be 11 Years Old??

2011-06-09T10:35:00.002-04:00

Olivia thought it was pretty cool to be the subject of her Aunt Karen and Uncle Nicholas's blog post last month as the birthday girl, so here we are chiming in a few days late, but we are thinking of our nephew, Nicholas, this week as he is celebrating his 11th birthday. This seems impossible!! Seems like just a few years ago he was that tiny little guy with the whispy, light blonde hair sticking up from his head! We are grateful that the Lord created you, Nicholas. We are so proud of the young man you have become. We enjoy reading about your great accomplishments in school and in sports. When we're together, you're always so sweet and patient and loving with Benjamin as he tries to tag along with you. He mentions you quite often as he passes your picture on our frig. each day. So we included a picture that shows how sweetly you played with him last August when we were at Jekyll with y'all for that day. We trust that the Lord has great plans for your life, Nicholas! Uncle Stan and I want to "speak" this blessing over your life: "Nicholas, may God out of His Glorious riches, strengthen you with His power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith. Amen!" We're praying especially for you, Caroline and your mom and dad as y'all prepare for this move to Charleston. We're praying that the Lord is going ahead of each of you and preparing the way for this time of change. We're praying for great new friends, schools, teachers, a wonderful new church family, the perfect new home for your family, and a loving community to surround you and welcome you all warmly. We love you and celebrate your life!
Love, Aunt Adrienne, Uncle Stan, Benjamin and Olivia

Campsite Fun with the Rogowskis and Destradas!

2011-05-26T10:35:00.005-04:00

I can't get Photobucket to post the slideshow of our pictures we took when we spent the afternoon at Mary and Stan and Theresa and Jason's campsites this past weekend, so I just decided to load the pictures the old fashioned way. We had a great time at Flamingo Lake with the Rogowskis and Destradas. There was a really awesome lake that had a wonderful beach area. There was a dock that the kids got to jump off of, and the boys seemed to particularly like that. Our nephew, Logan, stayed busy searching for fish. Benjamin and our nephew, Ethan, kept busy jumping into their daddies' arms. Olivia and I enjoyed cooling off in the beautiful lake. Uncle Jason came to the rescue when Liv lost part of her snorkle. I still don't know how he found that tiny, clear, plastic ring! Amazing! :) After some time at the beach area (which I forgot to bring my camera down for, bummer), we went back to their campsites. Papa had been grilling burgers and dogs, and Mary and Theresa had all the trimmings ready for us to enjoy. Dinner was followed by some relaxing time by the lake. Their RV's were right by the lake, so we had a really nice view as the sun was beginning to sink. Then we went down to the playground and the kids played, swung on the swings, played hide-n-seek and got wonderfully hot, sandy and sweaty. We went back to the campsite and enjoyed fellowshipping until around 8pm, and then we headed home. As you can see in the pictures, it was a fun day, and we're grateful for our family.

Our Olivia is 7 Years Old!!

2011-05-16T16:27:00.002-04:00

What a fun weekend we had! I enjoyed taking cupcakes to lunch for Olivia at school on Friday. Then Saturday morning she and I chatted while she gobbled up her breakfast in bed (a request she made!) :) We invited 6 class mates to spend the day with us at the Aquatic Center to celebrate. Five of them were able to come for cake and party time, and then 4 of them were able to hang around for the fun in the sun! We were very grateful that the good weather held out for us until the last 20 minutes when the SKY FELL OUT!! :) We were double drenched, but the day was great! After we got home, dried off and ate a little, we drove to the airport, picked up Nonny who was on her way home via the JAX airport after her stay with the Miller family. She was there assisting and cheering them all on as they welcomed their newest addition, Georgia Kay Miller on May 8th! When we got home Carrie Beth and her boys arrived for the night, and we enjoyed a second celebration with them. I know that driving all that way for one night was a loving sacrifice, and we soooo appreciate it, Carrie Beth! Sunday morning was a sweet time as our children's choirs sang a few songs from the musical they presented last Wednesday (I'll try to do a post about that whole experience sometime later) during the church services. We walked over to the old little white chapel after church and took some photos. Mom has such fond memories of her days in the church as a little girl with Poppy preaching, so that was fun to be able to walk down memory lane with her a little. We sent Mom and CB and the boys on their way home after lunch, and then we went and spent some time over at Grammy and Papas. I'm totally frustrated with myself that I left my camera at home, because I chose not to take my purse since Stan was driving. I always keep it in there so I can try to be ready to snap shots, but I realized when I got there that I'd left it behind. Papa took a few pictures of the sweet gifts they gave her as she opened them, so hopefully we'll get to see those sometime. They got her a precious new outfit, a Littlest Pet Shop toy, and a big pretend makeup kit. The thing she loved the best from Grammy and Papa, though, were these precious little fake fingernails!! She insisted on wearing them to school today, and I can only imagine how silly she looked trying to do simple tasks throughout the day with those claws on!! She came home, and said, "I've got sand all underneath my nails!! Can I please take them off??" I said, "Yes, of course, silly!" :)
It was a very special weekend, and we are grateful for all of the sweet friends and family who have made it a special time for her and us, too! Olivia also felt like a celebrity when Aunt Karen and Uncle Nick posted a birthday greeting to her on their family blog with a picture of Olivia on it. Thanks, Holland crew, for this loving gesture!!

Daisy Scouts Bridging Ceremony May 6, 2011

2011-05-10T20:40:00.002-04:00

Olivia is now officially a Brownie! We attended a sweet ceremony that had some fun and goofy moments as well as some serious ceremonial moments. They had one Brownie troop of girls talking about how to make a good batch of Brownies, and then after they finished, Olivia's Daisy troop came out of a make believe oven as new "brownies" ! :) Pretty cute! I hope this next year of scouting will be as sweet and fun as her first year. We are very grateful for Kim Huyer, her troop leader, and we're sad to be saying goodbye to her, but the two ladies who will lead her Brownie troop are very kind ladies, and we look forward to getting to know them better in this next year.
Side note: it is really hard for those girls to hold up their right hand with their three fingers up and then shake hands with their left hand!! They have to do that when they get pinned, and there were a couple of hysterical moments where girls kept thrusting a three fingered hand into the hand of the person shaking hands. I'm getting hysterial just thinking about how ridiculous it got a time or two.
Second side note: we sang our blessing at the end to the tune of the Addams Family TV theme song--felt fitting (as I grew up hearing that song sung to me repeatedly as an Adams child) and mildly awkward with parents and grandparents attempting to sing along. :) Funny!

Field Day 2011

2011-05-06T10:01:00.002-04:00

I was so glad it worked out for me to be able to participate in the afternoon half of Olivia's field day at school! I had a lot of fun! I even played Twister with the kids. Supposedly there are pictures of that, but they're probably better left unseen! :) I'm very grateful for Olivia's school, her teachers, her friends, her precious principal. We are blessed!

Wild Adventures April 30, 2011

2011-05-04T10:00:00.002-04:00

Stan sweetly included us in his 7th grade band trip to Wild Adventures this year, and the kids were ecstatic to be able to tag along, of course! We rode in a school bus to Valdosta which is always a bit of an adventure--plenty of interesting odors, lots of noise, and a fair amount of heat on the ride home. It was still a very very fun day. We were also pleasantly surprised to run into good friends of ours, the Hickox family! They are our precious friends from Baxley. This was particularly funny, because when we were at Disney World in November, we also ran into them! We're following one another around! It was great to see them and visit a bit. We enjoyed the water park inside Wild Adventures. I joked and told Stan that Olivia and I definitely had a "wild adventure" when we attempted to shower and get dressed at the end of the day. I felt like I should've been given a badge of courage when I came out of that showerhouse! I know many of you have been in similar situations--the curtain wouldn't close properly, the water wouldn't drain completely, there was no where to put your dry clothes except for a trashcan lid that was just almost out of reach from behind the shower curtain. I could go on, but you ladies know how these kinds of experiences go when you're trying to get you and your child bathed and out of there quickly. Crazeballs!! We had lovely weather all day, and we were wiped out on the ride home.

Hallelujah! We Serve a Risen Savior!

2011-04-26T10:14:00.002-04:00

Dear Friends and Family,
It has been an exciting Holy Week! We had parties, egg hunts, our adult choir Tenebrae service, lots of daily services at the church, a sunrise service and a full morning of worship on Easter morning. Here are a few pictures from all of the activities and services. The Lord has graciously carried us through this hectic time and we pray we've honored and delighted Him in all of our efforts. Easter morning had some bumps in the road (having to leave the house with all of us at 5:30 to set up the sound for the sunrise service only to discover that someone else had already brought sound equipment and had it set up when we got there, dealing with some high school musicians who weren't as reverent as we expected them to be during the worship services, etc). But we praise His Holy Name! He was so good to us this week. The tenebrae service on Friday night was very moving, and we really felt like the Lord blessed our voices and the instrumentalists who accompanied us (what a great little orchestra!), and somehow He made it all so much better than we even hoped it could be. To God be the Glory!! We pray you all had sweet days of remembrance and worship in this last week.
And now--onto our last few weeks of preparations for our children's musical which takes place May 11th. Stan's spring band concerts are next week, and school is out for summer beginning May 19th! We're on that wonderful and wild slippery slope to the end. Hugs to you all!

Benjamin's 4th Birthday Weekend Fun

2011-04-13T08:33:00.002-04:00

Benjamin is four years old! Hard to believe! This little guy is wonderfully creative, endlessly energetic, rough and tumble aggressive, addictingly cuddle-icious, never forgets anything, has ears like sonars, talks all the time--especially when he's getting super-duper tired (and then it gets faster and more furious!), can assume any personality--loves dress-up, challenges us quite regularly--is still trying to decide if he really wants to learn to listen and obey but we're beginning to feel like he might be yielding (hallelujah!), is a passionate singer and air guitar player, enjoys being the boss, and he brings us great joy and tons of laughter. He just asked the Lord into his heart to be his Savior two days ago, and right after he prayed the prayer to accept Jesus, he threw his head back and said, "Kowabunga Dude! I asked Jesus into my heart!!" (in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fashion). Love this little rascal, and we rejoice that he has asked Jesus into his life, and now, as my sister Abby said, we pray for him as he begins this life-long journey of yielding more and more to his Savior. Love you, Benjamin!

Garden Progress April 12,2011

2011-04-12T16:31:00.002-04:00

Things are coming along well so far in the garden! We've been grateful for some great rains we've had in the last couple of weeks. I forgot to take pictures of my pepper plants, but I have about 12 of those little guys that are trying to come along fairly well. I hope they produce! I wasn't quite so careful in my planting this year, and you can tell! The corn, particularly is a bit willy-nilly and wild, but I'm just going to let it be what it is and hope for the best. I am hoping to get out there and weed this morning, because as you can see in several of the pictures, the weeds are also coming along nicely! :/ :)

Texas Trip Spring Break 2011

2011-04-05T09:28:00.003-04:00

I wish I had more time to write about everything that we loved about our fun trip to visit the Miller family over our spring break!! It was just so marvelous!
-great visit with Uncle Will (we stayed with him both on the way out there and on our way home)
-we toured Texas stadium (sorry I didn't take my camera that day, but it was ENORMOUS!)
-we went to Fort Worth Zoo--it was freezing that day--upper 40s, but it was still a really neat zoo to visit, and we went to Panera afterwards for coffee and goodies!
-Stan enjoyed helping lead the Arlington Corp after school band activities for three days
-Abby took us to a really cool park near their home
-we shopped a couple of times (the metroplex area has tons of amazing shopping!!)
-we went to Six Flags over Texas on Friday night--exhausting but fun
-we went to the Rain Forest Cafe on Saturday night--a bit overstimulating but always an adventure
-eating, playing, talking with the Miller family--a delight
-seeing Abby and Andy serving the Lord with gladness in their wonderful Corp in Arlington--we're so proud of them and grateful for the Kingdom work they're so committed to there!
-singing a duet with Abby Sunday morning was a really special moment
-hearing Andy's awesome sermon Sunday was a true treat--let's all be a chuckwagon--drawing people to the food of LIFE that Christ offers us all!
As I said, there's so much more I could tell about, but I just don't have time to write it all! It was a precious time that we will chrerish memories from for a very long time. So very grateful that the Lord helped work it all out so we could go.
Here's the link to my Texas photo album. I had troubles getting the slideshow to load properly, so go and see yourself! I give up! I already spent too much time trying to get the slideshow created properly, and then when I looked at it, it only had like 5 photos in it! Ach! Who knows what happened, but I don't have time to figure it out, so here's the link to the album:
http://s661.photobucket.com/albums/uu335/sarogowski/

Tampa trip

2011-03-27T08:27:00.002-04:00

We had a great time hitching a ride with Stan's middle school band as they went to Tampa, Florida for a performance and a visit to a water park and Busch Gardens. We loved the water park and Busch Gardens was incredible!! The animals are amazing, and the kids loved the whole experience. We got back late Saturday night and then went to church in the morning and left after church to drive to Montgomery and then on to Arlington, TX the next day. It was kind of a wild way to begin our spring break, but it was a lot of fun.

Garden Update

2011-03-07T09:05:00.002-05:00

Last week Benjamin and I spent one day tilling, and one day spreading peat moss and organic fertilizer, and then we planted. I went a little simpler this year and planted lots of small plants instead of just all seeds like last year. I planted tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, green, yellow, red and orange bell peppers, and then the rest was done by seed--sweet corn, green beans, peas and sunflowers and zinnias. I did a small container of cherry tomatoes and a small container of herbs. I'm hopeful I'll have some success. I'm starting a good bit earlier than I did last year, so hopefully that will help, too!
Benjamin was a real trooper. The gnats were pretty bad one morning when we were working, so he disappeared inside the house and then came back out dressed in quite a get-up! He was covered head to toe as you'll see in the pics. I don't think a gnat could've bit him if they tried!
So here are a couple of pictures of what things look like in progress. I really hope to be able to show you pictures as things grow! Lord, bless these efforts!

Stop! Tiller Time!

2011-03-01T08:40:00.002-05:00

Ahhh yes. It's that wonderful time of year again when we pull the tiller out and break the ground up in our little garden plot in the back yard and begin trying to coax it into producing food for us. I'm hoping our second year will be even more fruitful (or should I say vegetableful?). Last year we had pretty good success with green beans and corn. Our squash and zuchinni never did much, sadly. This year, though, I'm interested in doing lots of corn and beans and hopefully peppers and cucumbers, too. I think I'll do tomatoes and herbs in smaller containers. I'm looking forward to seeing if there are any improvements in my second year. I'll try to keep some photos posted of the progress. It's looking pretty rough out there right now. Yesterday I raked three wheel barrow's full of leaves out of it--its winter blanket. :) Pretty sure it's warm enough now to get ready for planting, though, so we'll be working at tilling today if the weather will hold out for us. It's a very overcast day with a cool breeze--perfect gardening weather (as long as the sand gnats don't descend!).

Trip to Montgomery to visit with Will

2011-02-21T22:38:00.002-05:00

Will treated us royally this weekend! We left Albany on Saturday morning and arrived there in time for a splendid picnic lunch down by the river. We spent Saturday afternoon touring his marvelous church, Frazer Memorial UMC, and then we just had a relaxed evening of legos and Wii playing. Will had made his marvelous chili for supper. Sunday morning was a marvelous time of sharing in worship at Frazer. I'm just so completely impressed and proud of all that Will is doing in ministry there. It is an amazing morning of worship! We had lunch at a terrific barbecue place, napped a little and then we got to experience Will's ultimate frisbee church gathering at Shakespeare park--a truly sublime location, and the weather was spectacular! This morning (Monday) we drove home and were sad to say goodbye, but we really hope to get to go over there again this summer. It was a sweet time of fellowship, and I'm just sorry we haven't gotten over there as a whole family before now.

Daddy/Daughter Dance Feb 2011

2011-02-21T22:17:00.002-05:00

We had so much fun going to Albany on Thursday night and staying through Saturday morning. Stan took Olivia and Dad took me to the AFUMC Daddy/Daughter dance on Friday night, and we had a blast! What a sweet time! I'm a rich, rich woman!

The Atkinson Boys Came for a Weekend Visit

2011-02-13T19:19:00.004-05:00

Great weekend with the nephews! Love those Atkinson boys. I wish Abby and Andy were closer so we could have those little boogers over to stay with us, too! Someday, maybe! We had such a fun time. Friday night we had spaghetti with meatballs and watched the movie Alpha & Omega. Saturday morning we watched cartoons (a word that my kids hardly know, actually--cartoons used to be those shows that ONLY came on on Saturday morning), we ate eggs sausage and banana muffins, and the kids bounced on the trampoline and would periodically run in to warm up in front of the fire and then head back out. Before lunch we took a ride in the neighborhood on bikes and bigwheels. Jonathan was impressing us all with his newly learned training-wheel-free bike riding skills! Lunch was grilled cheese, apples, Sun Chips and chicken noodle soup--yummy! The afternoon was lots of lego building, sword fighting and eventually a trip to the park. We left the park and went to Uncle Stan's band room where we had quite a rockin' good time--lots of drum beating and horn blowing and boogying. When we got home it was time to go to Aunt Adrienne's Barber Shop. David & Jonathan and Uncle Stan all had their ears lowered and they all looked great! Saturday night we all made our way to IHOP for pancakes (and cheeseburgers for a couple of the kids who wanted to opt out of the pancakes--they're nuts!). It was splendidly sticky by the time we left with our crew. We hit the bath and read Officer Buckle and Gloria, a Bible story and then hit the hay. The kids and I went to the early service (I didn't make it in time to sing in the choir, but it was nice to sit with all four of them in the congregation.) David and Olivia had Sunday school with Mrs. Stein and Jonathan and David went to Miss Janet's class. Since it was the day before Valentine's day, they were showered with sweet cards and candy and special treats by these wonderful teachers. We zoomed home for a simple lunch of pb&j, strawberries and more Sun Chips. The kids got in a good last jump session on the trampoline while I cleaned up, and then we were on our way to Darien again to meet up with Aunt Carrie Beth.

Fave moments from the weekend:

1. Seeing Jonathan get so comfortable that he did a ballet dance for me in the kitchen --complete with arabesque and lots of spins and pizazz! :)

2. Hearing the kids singing "Ring Around the Rosies" while running in circles on the trampoline (how much longer will they do this?--so sweet!)

3. Seeing all four of their little pajamied bodies cuddled together for cartoons Saturday morning.

4. Me pretending I was the plane's captain on the drive home from Darien to Kingsland and then back again today--this is totally a Don Adams' special, and the kids love it.

5. Olivia begging me to make up one of my "Bippy & Jippy" stories (something I've done on and off for years with her--just spur-of-the-moment made up stories about these two bunnies who are sisters) on our way back to Darien today. My story got so convoluted and ridiculous that it lasted about 20 full minutes which helped make the drive go by pretty quickly. My personal favorite part of this Bippy and Jippy tale--Beebo and Bobo, their cousins, came to visit, and they went to this special secret bunny club park. At this secret park there was a huge slide that had loops and curves and went on forever, but the best part was that they landed in a pit of marshmallows. And have you ever seen bunnies with cheeks full of marshmallows?? Its ridiculously cute. Let me tell you, and Bippy and Jippy were stuffing their cheeks, and suddenly they got tickled. They began laughing so hard that their mouths became marshmallow machine guns--popping all of the marshmallows that had been crammed inside. Yeah. It was a pretty awesome moment in the story. There was more frivolity, and as always in my B & J stories, there was a moral. Beebo and Bobo had to learn a hard lesson.

6. Walking hand in hand with Stan in our neighborhood and watching these four kids zooming and laughing and squealing ahead of us on their bikes and big wheels.

There's more I could say, but I'll end here. It was a sweet time. Grateful to have these opportunities--precious days.

And we didn't take a single picture. We were too busy having fun and living it up. :)

the gym

2011-01-26T10:47:00.002-05:00

To be talking about something as trivial as the behavior of people at the gym is utterly ridiculous, I know. There are people dying for their faith in Somalia, and I'm writing descriptions of folks in my gym. I'm trying to keep a healthy perspective here, folks, but just give me a minute.

These are two things I struggle being gracious in my spirit about at the gym:

Sweaty McSweatsalot: the guy who forgot to bring his sweat towel who is running on the treadmill next to me, and sweat is continually being slung from his elbows onto ME!!
Karaoke Karol: the gal who is on the stair climber two machines down from me who is singing so loudly that the lady in between us gets off, borrows her daughters iPod, returns and dramatically puts on the earphones, and the singing climber naively says, "Am I singing too loudly?" The iPod lady tells her, "No. I just wanted to listen to some of MY music." Youch. Does this stop American Idol on the stair climber? Nope. Wow.

OK, but here are a couple of things I love:

Obe Wan Kenobi the Marathoner: the 75 year old guy who runs on the treadmill for 40 minutes, never once opening his eyes, and he has a very distinctive, audible breathing pattern that involves bull-frog, puffy cheeks. The Force is strong with this one. :)
Grandma & Grandpa Powerlifters: the elderly couple who sweetly help each other through each of the weight machines, wiping one another's brows, giving whispered encouragement and direction.

I love the way the Lord made us all so different. I love characters. Why does our society push for such conformity? I'm listening to Leeland's song "Let it Out Now"---love the lyrics from the chorus:

Everyone has their sound

Let it out now, let it out now!

There's nothing wrong

With living loud!

So let it out now, let it out now!

May you go and live out loud--your own sound-- today, friends! Join the rest of us weirdos! :)

Christmas 2010

2011-01-23T15:42:00.002-05:00

So here they are. My Christmas pics. They're only a month late, but hey! They've finally made it here! We had a great time celebrating the birth of our Savior with family. And now it's nearly the end of January! Wowzers! Where did this month go? Olivia and Benjamin are already talking nonstop about the summertime and how they can't wait for it to get here. I, myself, am trying to enjoy every cool weather day we have. They're few and far between down here in southeast, GA. I'm grateful for weather that occasionally justifies the use of our fireplace, my snuggie and a warm cup of decaf coffee at night. Don't rush this away, kids! I'll be ready for springtime soon, but I like my south Georgia winter, too! :)

Thanksgiving '10

2010-12-09T15:12:00.003-05:00

Thanksgiving was in Perry this year. Sweet times with family. We even had a special guest all the way from India, Nimmy Gabriel, a friend of Mom and Dad's they met while in Statesboro. We had a nice visit, and we were glad to be able to stay long enough to help Nonny begin her Christmas decorating. We set up her manger scene and we went and cut down a tree together at the Busy Elves Tree Farm. Thanksgiving is always a tease, making us eager for Christmas!

Disney Trip before Thanksgiving

2010-12-09T14:22:00.003-05:00

We had such a fun time going to Disney World the week before Thanksgiving. Stan and I had earned two free tickets through volunteering, and then Stan's parents generously gave the kids tickets to Disney as an early Christmas gift. We left on a Sunday afternoon and spent Sunday evening at Downtown Disney, and Monday we were at the Magic Kingdom all day. It was exhausting and Stan and I were battling a mild stomach bug, but the Lord blessed the time and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I told Stan that I do believe Disney trips are in the same category as childbirth. It's amazing and spectacular but also fairly painful and costly, and somehow in just a short amount of time all the pain is forgotten, and you somehow want to do it all over again! :) It was great, and we were so grateful to Stan and Mary for their generosity that made it a reality. They also gave us gas money--really sweet. The kids are already asking when we can go back!

Abby's Visit to GA

2010-11-17T09:19:00.002-05:00

What a fun time we had this past weekend! Abby and Titus and Andy flew in on Thursday morning last week, and we enjoyed a leisurely day with them since it was a school holiday, Veterans' Day. After we got home and ate some lunch, we put Titus down for a nap, and all of us rested a bit. Later that afternoon, we went to the park. Aunt Abby and Stan kept the kiddos at the park while I put in my last run before the race. Then when I got back to the park, Abby and I walked a while together while Stan watched the kids a little longer. We fixed shrimp and linguini and marinara sauce for supper. Late that night Nonny and Uncle Will arrived, so we had a very full house come Friday morning. We got Olivia off to school, I got Benjamin to preschool, and then I had a dentist appointment. After that we went to McDonalds for lunch where the kids had a great time playing in the play area. Then we hurried over to Mamie Lou Gross Elementary School for a special ceremony where Olivia was recognized as the "Terrific Kid" for this quarter in her class! Yeah Olivia! The ceremony was a little lengthy but really sweet. The first graders even won the "Spirit Award" for cheering the loudest. :) After that, we all hopped in the cars and headed to Albany. We got there around 5:30 I believe, and Carrie Beth, David and Jonathan were there waiting on us, and Mom had called ahead to them and given CB directions to get dinner going. We had a yummy meal on the cozily lit back porch, but it soon became too cool, and it was time to bed everybody down. On Saturday morning Nonny had made a "Grits Bar" for breakfast, and I was sorry to have to miss it since I was running in the Albany 15K Chili Run. I hear it was scrumptious. I was pretty nervous about the race, because my knee had been beginning to give me problems the week before the race. I was afraid I would have to completely stop and drop out of the race because the knee pain might get too bad. God got me through it, though! And it honestly felt like a miracle. I knew I could do the distance, but I was so worried with how much pain my knee had been giving me, but it really wasn't too bad. It didn't begin bothering me until mile 4, and then even after that, it wasn't a severe pain. I had to stop 4 times to walk for 30 seconds to relieve some of the pain a little but I still finished in 1:21--a minute faster than last year, giving me 2nd place in my age group. Next year, I'll be in the 35-39 year old group, so I'm hoping that since I"ll be one of the younger ones in that category that maybe I'll do even better! :) I was the old geezer in my age group this year. :) The really frustrating thing in this race was that these two women who were in their 40s kept just ahead of me the whole time. I just couldn't keep up with them. I thought to myself, "Maybe I'll get faster in my 40s, too!" :) Saturday afternoon was a blur--lots of icing my knee and resting. We did go outside and play in the yard a good bit with the kiddos while Carrie Beth and Abby enjoyed a little shopping venture. My knee told me, "I do not want to walk around stores today, please!" So I stayed behind and enjoyed watching them tree climb, ride bigwheels and play baseball. Sweet, lovely afternoon. That evening Dad came home for good from his Kairos adventure. He'd been working a Kairos all weekend, but finally we got him to ourselves a little. Stan had to leave to get back to Kingsland for the church services on Sunday, and Will also left Saturday night because of needing to be home in Montgomery to be at his church on Sunday, so it was Dad and us ladies and lots of grandkids! We spent much of Saturday evening going through some of Muzzy and Papaw's old things that Mom and Dad are trying to sort through and distribute to all of us. We enjoyed hearing some sweet stories from Dad as we opened up each storage container and pulled out items many of which triggered an interesting memory. It's still hard to believe she's gone. We all miss her and are sad she got called home earlier than we would've liked. Sunday morning was wild and wooly as we all got the kiddos ready for church. We were running late for Sunday school, as usual, and then Mom realized that she'd left something important at home, so I dropped everyone off and went back to get it. I had forgotten to bring my black tights that I had planned to wear with my dress, so Mom gave me a pair of unopened pantyhose that had belonged to Muzzy. You would've thought they'd be fine, right? Nope. They kept slinkin' down on me! So I had to go buy some tights at Kmart, and unfortunately by the time I got back, Sunday school had ended. I did get to enjoy the 11:00 service, and Daddy preached a wonderful sermon which inspired us all to remember our first love--Christ. Sunday afternoon Mom had made a mini Thanksgiving feast since Abby won't be here next week. It was delicious, and Lisa (the youth pastor's wife) and her daughter Kayla came to join us since Joel, her husband and their son were out of town. We enjoyed a great meal, and soon we were packing and out the door to go home. Mom drove me, Olivia, Benjamin and Abby and her boys home to Kingsland since Stan had to leave Saturday night. Well, what was supposed to be 3.5hr drive home became a 5.5hr drive home because Olivia got sick. She threw up, big time, twice in Mom's brand new van. It was pretty muchly a worse case scenario kind of deal. We had to stop at a Wal-Mart in Tifton and buy supplies to attempt to clean it up, but at that point we were still 2.5 hours from home. Right before we got to Waycross (an hour from home), she let it fly again, bless her heart. It was pure misery. Truly. God graciously got us through that and carried the vomit van home to Kingsland. We all slid into bed around 11pm, and we all prayed that if it was a virus that we could be spared! Fortunately no one has yet contracted it. PTL! Monday morning was spent in taking Mom's van to a detailer where a guy named Chuck worked some major magic! Amazing. I don't know how he did it. Just so glad it was all restored to its clean state--no more odor! :) Mom left Monday afternoon, and Abby and I took the kids outside for a fun, dirty afternoon playtime. Stan had to be in Waycross for a band event Monday night, so it was just us and the kids that evening. We had a pork loin roast, mashed potatoes and green beans and corn! yum! Tuesday morning we got up, got Olivia to school and then we zoomed off for the beach in Fernandina. We had a wonderful quick visit to the seaside. It has been two years since Abby has been to the beach, and Titus had never been until yesterday. It was such a fun time. Then we came home, tried to de-sand them, ate lunch and headed to the airport. It was very hard to say goodbye not knowing exactly when we'll see them next, but it was such a precious visit. I'm so glad I got so much time with them. It was truly a treat. I know it's such an exhausting experience flying with those two little guys, and I appreciate Abby being willing to make it all happen! It was a fun weekend, and now here I sit on a Wednesday morning feeling a bit like it should be Monday. Didn't the week stand still for me while I was busy having fun? :) I guess not, huh? Got to get busy planning for Wednesday night children's choir, and I probably should get some laundry going. Back to the routine! Life is rich!

Photoshop fun

2010-11-04T09:44:00.002-04:00

One of Benjamin's preschool classmate's fathers, Mr. Troy, saw Benjamin in his costume and said, "I think I could make a really cool picture for you if you have him pose for me against this wall." So we stood Benjamin up next to this blank wall, and Mr. Troy told him to stretch his arms up high and look at the ceiling. Then Troy took the picture, and fiddled with it, and he came back the next day Benjamin had school with this photo! Isn't this hysterical? :) Benjamin absolutely adores it, and I giggle every time I look at it!

I was just reading this morning in the closing chapters of Deuteronomy where Moses is blessing the tribes, and when he gets to Benjamin's tribe, this is what he says, “Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.” It's only when we settle in and rest between the shoulders of our Creator that we can plug into the true "super power"! I pray that this little guy will grow to be a man who knows how much the Lord loves him and may the Lord use Benjamin mightily as he learns to reach up and cling to the shoulders of the real super hero, Christ the Lord!

trick-or-treating fun 2010

2010-10-30T21:09:00.002-04:00

Well we missed trick-or-treating with the Atkinson crew this year, but we had a fun night of trick-or-treating in Stan and Mary's subdivision. Mary sweetly walked around with us (even with terrible sand gnats!!) and the kids had a blast. We enjoyed seeing their glee as they ran from house to house excitedly. :) Sweet days! Tomorrow night there is a community wide festival hosted by the Kingsland Methodist and Baptist churches and the City of Kingsland, so we'll be going to that as well, and Sunday night we'll have to do the great candy purge! (After Daddy and I enjoy just a little of it and save just a little for them!)

Daisy Scout Weekend Adventures Oct 2010

2010-10-18T14:30:00.002-04:00

A week ago, we spent the weekend doing lots of activities with Olivia's Daisy Scout troop. We went to the Okeefenokee Swamp (not a personal fave), and then I went on an overnight campout with Olivia in one of the scout's backyard. These are sweet, fleeting days--even if they involve swamps and tent-camping. ;) Here are some pictures from our weekend adventures. We are very blessed to have a great troop leader, Miss Kim! We praise God for her leadership and the thought and care that she puts into all of her preparations. Truly a blessing.

Stan Made This For My Birthday!!

2010-10-03T21:05:00.002-04:00

A number of months ago I read a post on a blog about how this woman had created herself a special place of prayer in her home--a little mini altar of sorts. My mom did most of her praying at our breakfast table. Dad did most of his at his church office. While there is nothing wrong with either of these locations, when I saw this blogger's place of prayer, it really got the wheels spinning in my heart and mind. I thought on it for a while and then I told Stan about how I felt like maybe this was something I was interested in doing in our home. I remember visiting the home of one of Mom and Dad's college professors. I believe it was Miss Guelick (sp??), the lady who went to Europe with Mom and Dad. She had a room that was specifically designated as her room for prayer and meditation. That memory of that special space in her home has always stuck with me, and when I saw this lady's blog talking about this same notion, I felt like the Lord was saying, "Yes! Let's do this!" That was back during the leisurely days of summer, and I allowed the busyness of the school year to push that dream aside, but my sweet husband hadn't forgotten this dream of my heart. For the last couple of months he's been secretly building a prayer bench kneeler for me, and he presented it to me this weekend as my birthday gift! I was incredibly humbled by this gracious and loving and thoughtful gift. It is the best birthday gift I've ever been given! I know we can meet the Lord without being on our knees and without a kneeler bench, but I look forward to many days of meeting with Him there on my prayer bench. Oh, Lord, keep me faithful! I just praise the Lord for my precious husband who gave of himself so lovingly to build something that will allow for some sweet times of intimacy with my Savior. (So can we say pressure is on for next March 8th--his birthday!!!) :)

Visit to see Papaw in his new place at Magnolia Manor

2010-09-15T08:42:00.002-04:00

We were so glad to be able to go visit with Papaw briefly over the Labor Day weekend. He has recently moved into an apartment in the assisted living facility at Magnolia Manor in Americus, and he seems to be doing pretty well with it all. He's having normal struggles with adjusting to the change, but while we were there, he really was in very good spirits and didn't gripe or fuss a bit, bless his heart! I hope he'll continue to enjoy his time there, and we would all really love it if Mimi and Poppy would move there too, but we know that would be a huge change for them as they've come to love being in Perry. We hope eventually they might make their home there, because the spirit there is so pleasant compared to where they are. Anyway, it was a sweet visit, and I'm very glad we got to spend a little time with him.

Benjamin's back to Noah's Ark for his 2nd year!

2010-09-15T08:34:00.002-04:00

Benjamin began preschool for the year on the Wednesday after Labor Day, and boy was he ready!! And boy was mamma ready! :) It's been a great beginning, and we feel so blessed by the ministry of Noah's Ark. This preschool really sees themselves as an extension of the ministry of their church, and I absolutely love the kinds of experiences my kids have had there! There's lots of love, lots of playing, lots of pretending, lots of messy crafts, lots of singing, lots of learning to be a good friend, lots of learning to be respectful, and every bit is wrapped in prayer and patient loving care. Benjamin is in Mrs. Melody's Merry Mice class, and he's as happy as a clam going every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I've started going one morning a week to help out in Olivia's classroom at her school while Benjamin is at Noah's Ark, and I've been very grateful to have that opportunity to be plugged in there in her room and see what is going on and try to be helpful to her teacher. Anyway, he's had a great start, and here are the pics to prove it! :)

The Holland Family Came for a Visit!

2010-09-02T15:38:00.002-04:00

We had a very nice visit with the Holland family recently. Karen had a friend who got married on St. Simons Island, so it was a great excuse to bring the family down for a visit. The kids always enjoy playing together so much, and it's nice to be able to catch up on what's going on in their lives. Benjamin now insists that we keep Nicholas and Caroline's school pictures down low where he can reach them on the refrigerator. He comes by and picks them up and talks to them from time to time. :) Pretty sweet. We had a full weekend together, and we appreciate them making the trip down to see us all. Family is a precious gift!

First Days of School for Olivia 2010

2010-08-14T08:41:00.003-04:00

What a fun first two days Olivia has had in 1st grade! She's in Mrs. Trevathan's class, and she loves her! There are several classmates from last year who are also in her class which is a wonderful treat. I've been very impressed by how interested Mrs. Trevathan is in really knowing her students. Her years of experience seem to be a blessing. I hope that this year I'll be able to go in and assist more than I did last year. Benjamin will be in preschool 3 mornings a week instead of 2 like last year. You can see him below in one of the pictures. He's in Olivia's classroom, and I'm not sure if he's looking exhilerated because he's hoping he gets to stay or if it's because he knows we're leaving Olivia! ;) Mrs. Trevathan doesn't have a paraprofessional to help her, so she's hoping to have lots of parental assistance. Teachers are under such pressure right now. Bless them! (Bless my precious teacher husband!) We're full of gratitude to the Lord for what appears to be a great start to the school year.

A Visit from the Atkinson Cousins

2010-08-09T13:57:00.002-04:00

We enjoyed a really fun time with the Atkinson boys this past week. CB and Brad had kept our two for three nights, and then we kept their 2 for three nights, and it was really a helpful, fun thing all around. Just wish the Millers were closer so we could do this for them once and a while. Here are some pics of our adventures.

More Pictures from our 2 week stay in Albany

2010-07-21T11:17:00.002-04:00

Well, it truly was a fun 2 weeks at Mom and Dad's. We are a special family--we love each other deeply. Like every family, we have our less than stellar moments--some of them down-right stinky, but God's grace runs through our family like a sweet cord binding us together. I had such a fun time getting to spend more time with Titus and AndyIV while their parents were away on a trip. Mom and Dad were extremely gracious hosts to us for such a long stay. I laughed a lot, gained weight from all the good food, swam usually twice a day, got a little tan, loved every precious second I got on the porches, was spiritually encouraged and challenged, got to hear my marvelous Dad preach, stayed up late and got up early because I hate to miss a second with these precious people! The list goes on and on. They were sweet days. Thank you Lord for our family!

Lake Blackshear--the most fun I've had in a while!

2010-07-07T09:10:00.002-04:00

We spent the day yesterday on Lake Blackshear. We rented a pontoon boat and a sea doo, and we had the time of our lives! Soooo much fun! It was truly a joy-filled day. So many rich moments. Wonderful memories that will last a lifetime. Lord thank you for these wonderful days of family vacation.

VBS 2010

2010-07-01T21:05:00.003-04:00

This year at VBS, I had the awesome privilege of leading the opening and closing sessions which are called things like "Sing and Splash Play" and "Floating Finale" since we were doing the High Seas Expedition this year. I loved it! Lots of singing and dancing. Meeting our daily "Bible Buddies" and learning our daily "Bible Points". Remembering to "Watch for God" and talk about our "God Sightings". I had a blast! Brother Dale, our new pastor, also helped out every day by performing a brief skit with me. He acted as "Sailor Jack" and he did a wonderful job. Sailor Jack was a bit of a hippy sailor who always said things like, "Whoa, man! Groovy, man!" etc. :) The kids really looked forward to seeing his silly antics each day. The Floating Finale was usually a little more complicated and involved some sort of interesting activity or experiment with the whole group. One day we used air cannons to blow cups off one another's heads. Another day we created a storm--it grew from just sprinkles to full blown thunder and lightning. Another day we were surprised by a sillly game of "What kind of ball is under this blanket?" Miss Tina, our children's coordinator, was hiding beneath one of the tables with her head sticking up like another ball, so when I pulled back the blanket, she surprised everyone. On Thursday I enlisted the help of some of our youth volunteers who acted out the death of Jesus on the cross, and with God's grace and mercy I led the whole group in a sinner's prayer. That was probably my most memorable moment. Hearing all of those little voices whispering the prayer with their heads bowed. Truly a miracle that they were focused and quiet enough to participate in that! Lord bless that moment and draw those precious children into a life-long relationship with you! On Friday we brought forward blankets that the kids worked on in arts and crafts and laid them on the altar as an offering to the Lord. We'll be sending them to children in Africa and spreading God's love to them. It was a fun-filled week. Exhausting? Yes, absolutely. But spiritually invigorating as well! Here are some pictures. We actually have a lot more, because we took pictures every day and made slide shows for the kid to see as they were coming in for the floating finale. Most of those pics are on a computer at the church, so I'll have to get them somehow so I can include some of them here. Olivia and Benjamin had a fun time and were sad to see the week end. Thank you Lord for a special, fun week.

Reward Time

2010-07-01T20:45:00.002-04:00

Well folks, we've reached a major milestone in this house. Nobody is doing their B.M. in a diaper anymore!! We have been praying and praying for this day to come, and hallelujah, it has come! There is no rhyme or reason about why he finally gave up and surrendered to it. Truly a mystery. I said on a Tuesday a couple weeks ago, "Mommy's tired of changing your stinky diapers. You're too big to do this anymore. Why don't we try sitting on the potty tomorrow?" (I've said these same exact words millions of times before with no positive results.) The next night when Stan was at choir practice, Benjamin said, "I need to do my B.M." I said, "Remember? We're going to try sitting on the potty today." He cried pitifully for about 3 minutes and then suddenly he stopped and said, "OK, let's go." We went into the bathroom, and I put him up on the porcelin throne, and he said, "I need some pwivacy. Cyose da door, pwease." I obeyed his request thinking, "Yeah, this isn't happening." A few minutes later, he said, "I'm done." I go in and see the amazing result, and I screamed so loud that I terrified him. Olivia came running in and she and I cheered and cheered for him, and he sat there on the potty with his chin in his hands, elbows resting on his knees, and eyes rolling with embarassment. When we finished, he said, "Mommy, do not cheer for me tomorrow when I do my B.M." :) Yes sir! Whatever you say, sir! We had promised him a guitar that I had found at a consignment shop for cheap, so he was elated to get that, but Daddy had also (in a moment of desperation) promised him this set of "Armor of God" that he'd seen at a Christian book store, so that was the first thing we did the next morning--went to Jacksonville and got the armor! As you can see, this is one happy knight for Christ! Praise the Lord and help me, Lord, to trust you with these crazy aspects of parenting that are out of my control.

Blueberry Picking

2010-07-01T20:40:00.002-04:00

Kendra Blackerby, a sweet friend I met through Olivia's dance class, invited us to come pick blueberries at her father's blueberry farm, and we took her up on her offer. It was a beautiful drive out to the blueberry farm--way out from Woodbine truly in the middle of nowhere. She gave us perfect directions, and we picked through two rows of berry bushes. It was kind of one of those family experiences when I as the Momma wound up saying things like, "We're out here to have fun, by golly, so lose the stinky attitudes and let's pick some berries!!" Stan and I had a great time! Olivia was bothered by the dragonflies which were in abundance. We tried to explain that they were completely harmless. They were beautiful, too! There were several different types and I enjoyed seeing their beautiful wings. Benjamin was kind of in and out. He was fairly gungho at the onset, and then as the row stretched on and on, he lost his excitement and began to moan and beg to be pulled in the cart. I kept trying to motivate them by saying things like, "This is such a blessing! We're getting tons of free blueberries! Think of all the smoothies and cobblers we'll enjoy!" They both perked up as we neared the end of the second row and they saw our buckets filling up. It was so kind of Kendra to invite us, and we have, indeed, enjoying them and have been thinking of the Blackerbys each time we indulge in a cool, fresh smoothie!

Braids

2010-07-01T20:31:00.002-04:00

Olivia loves for me to do this from time to time. She begs me to braid her whole head of hair. What she really dreams of is having me braid it all AND put those cool, brightly colored beads in her hair so her hair will go "click! click!" when she swings her braids around. (What she doesn't know is that those beads can hurt when you swing them around! I remember some of my black friends in elementary school whacking themselves in the eye! Youch!) Anyway, I gave in and did it for her recently, and she was thrilled. When it was time to go to bed, I tried to convince her to leave them in. It had taken Mommy a long time to do it, and I was hoping to get a little more time out of all that effort. She, however, discovered that it wasn't very comfy to sleep with them in, so I took them all out, and she thought her hair was sooo cool looking! :) Reminded me a bit of my 7th grade perm. Fun times!

Beach Breakfast June 2010

2010-07-01T20:22:00.002-04:00

We've enjoyed going to the beach for breakfast one other time as a family, so we decided to enjoy it another time. Someday we'll make it in time for the sunrise. We got there just shortly after it had risen. We had egg and cheese sliders, granola bars and apples and oranges. Very yummy! Then we played until almost 11. It was such a fun morning full of boogie boarding, sand castle building, shell seeking, and we even ran into an old friend from high school. Shannon Emory was here visting her parents and she and her kids and her sister and her children were enjoying a day at the beach. Very nice to catch up with her and our children had a great time playing together. We have to make this happen at least once more if not more often before school lets in again. So much fun!

Rascals are the True Test

2010-06-21T15:16:00.003-04:00

"The test of love is in how one relates not to saints and scholars but to rascals."
------ Abraham Joshua Heschel, in *A Passion for Truth*
I discovered this quote recently and felt it somehow applicable this week as I'm working at VBS. :) OK, most of these kids are not rascals, and today, the first day, I really didn't witness much rascally behavior, but I imagine as they all get more comfortable and relaxed, that we might witness a little more "rascaliness". If and when we do, Lord, may we pass the test! :)

New Blog I'm Really Enjoying

2010-06-09T16:22:00.002-04:00

I've discovered a new blog called inspiredtoaction.com,and I've enjoyed several of her posts. Like any blog, you take what works for you and then work at not allowing yourself to over-analyze the parts that you might not jive with as much (her plan of getting up at 5:30 every day to complete her exercising, devos, and daily planning before the kids wake up--I can't figure out how this works. Do her kids sleep 'till 8? During the school year, my kids are up between 6 and 6:30 and we have to be dressed and eating breakfast by 7. Is she having really short exercise/devos? Her plan of going to Starbucks every single Saturday from 5:30-10:30 to plan her week. Do her kids never have Saturday morning activities? Maybe she just shortens her planning sessions when they have activities.) I really love her entries on the importance of daily, weekly and yearly retreating. Her post on how to create a mission statement as a mother was great, and I'm in the process of working on my own mission statement as a mother now. I am inspired (guess her blog title works) by her discussions regarding personal and family goal setting, and I absolutely adore the way she views the role of mother as such a high calling and how she approaches her role as mother as a profession. Much of what she writes is wonderfully encouraging and affirming to me as a mother. Her latest post is no acception: http://inspiredtoaction.com/2010/06/focused-motherhood-play-your-position/ I'm attempting to "play my position" as best as I can with the Lord's help. Just thought I'd post about her blog in case some of you otha mothas wanted to check it out, too. Bless you all, good people!

How Olivia Spends her Nap time/Quiet time

2010-05-31T15:01:00.002-04:00

Olivia who is now 6 really doesn't do much napping anymore unless she is super duper pooped or if she's not feeling well, but during the summer time we're trying to have a quiet time each afternoon while Benjamin takes his nap (and sometimes Mommy and Daddy, too!). We have found Olivia doing all kinds of interesting things at the end of her quiet time. Today she dug out all of her markers from her art cart (the only reason she has a zillion of them is because many of them are remnants from my teaching days) and she organized them in color groups. She was very proud of herself and I thought she did a nice job, although we did have a little disagreement about where certain colors should be grouped. Where do you put teal? In the greens or blues? Olivia says most definitely blues. I said I was uncertain, but that I lean towards putting it with the greens.

A Visit to Grammy & Papa's Campsite

2010-05-31T09:23:00.002-04:00

We snuck over to Waycross last night for a quick visit at Grammy and Papa's weekend campsite over at Laura Walker State Park. Mary and Stan sr. had sweetly fixed us a delicious dinner of BBQ chicken, corn on the cob and salad, and we had a great time joining them for the evening. They have a pop up camper and the kids thought that was just about the coolest thing they'd ever seen. Olivia seemed to really appreciate the air conditioner inside the camper! Who could blame her? It was a muggy evening. We had a time trying to keep Olivia and Benjamin from opening and closing the camper door every two seconds. We hope Grammy and Papa didn't eat flies all night long because of that! :) Olivia and Benjamin have loved playing with Bear, the new puppy. Mary said the vet told her he's probably part lab, part Rotweiller, but he really seems to have such a sweet disposition. They're working hard to train him, but he is definitely still a goofy little puppy at times. Eventually it cooled down and we had a nice little breeze. Grammy and Papa and their new puppy Bear took us on a walk to one of the fun play ground areas there, and we walked down to see the lake. There were lots of people there boating, skiing, jetskiing and picnicing lake-side. We came back to their campsite and I roasted marshmallows. I managed to torch only two of them. :) It was really nice for Mary and Stan to invite us over to get a little taste of camp life. So here's a slide show with some of the pictures we took while there. I love the one with Benjamin up on the yellow piece of play equipment and they're both smiling to beat the band. One other picture that I think is hysterical is the one that Olivia took of us four adults sitting on the picnic table. Stan jr and I are like book ends to my sweet in-laws and Stan sr. is cutting his eyes over at me like I just goosed him or something! :) I promise I didn't! :) It was a fun day, and after a quick bath and books, and prayer, they were zonked in just seconds! Fun times!

Garden Growth

2010-05-31T07:59:00.003-04:00

So here are a few pictures showing the most recent growth. As predicted, they enjoyed gulping down all that rain water yesterday. I seem to only have 4 successful different vegetables growing right now. I believe I messed up planting the cucumbers and squash. I've made a second attempt on the cucumbers. We'll see what comes of it. I'm thinking of just planting herbs where the squash were supposed to be. We'll see. The little jellybean tomatoes never even made an appearance--either I planted them wrong or they weren't great seeds. Who knows. Next year I'll start tomatoes much sooner. The corn, beans, okra and peppers are coming in nicely, though. I had all but given up on my pepper plants, so I was thrilled to finally see some tiny little plants shoot up. I spoke with the extension office guy again to ask him about my squash and cucumbers. He talked my ear off about lots that wasn't really helpful, bless his heart, and I did get the clear feeling that he doesn't really like it when gardeners attempt to go organic. Bummer. I might try to seek advice elsewhere. Here are the pictures of the most recent growth above. They're in this order: pepper, beans, corn and okra!

Olivia Sang in Church This Morning

2010-05-30T10:42:00.002-04:00

What a blessing to see your children assisting in leading people in worship. We were very proud of Olivia this morning as she sang a solo in the services. Stan did a lovely job accompanying her on the acoustic guitar. You'll hear in the video when Benjamin decides that the solo should've been a duet. :) We had a rough morning with Benjamin, but we just persevere as parents, trusting the Lord will give us strength, patience, courage and plenty of love to do what's right. It's a rainy Sunday here in Kingsland, and I'm sure my little garden plants are saying, "Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!" I pray that each one of you is enjoying your Sabbath.

And it begins!

2010-05-17T19:16:00.004-04:00

I went out this evening to take a load to the compost pile, and low and behold, what did my eyes see??? The garden had little sprouts! The corn, okra and beans are all coming in beautifully! How exciting! They're tiny and who knows what will come, but it is exciting nonetheless. Here are some pictures of the little baby plants growing.

A Marvelous Weekend!

2010-05-17T08:42:00.002-04:00

Olivia turned 6 years old on Friday!! My goodness is that possible?? We had a marvelous weekend. On Friday she enjoyed a special birthday snack time at school and got to wear a cowgirl hat all day (something her teacher does for the birthday girl/boy), and on Saturday we had a long, exhausting but fun day as it was the day of her dance recital. Olivia and I had to be there (UNF in Jax) by 11:30, and after they had their dress rehearsal, we had an extended break until we had to be back at 4:30 to be ready for the recital at 5:30. We ate lunch with one of Olivia's classmate's Kennison (Olivia said while looking at her dance pictures last night, "Kennison is my best dance friend!")and her sweet momma, Kendra. The girls played on the playground at Chickfila, and we were there long enough for some other kid to throw up in one of the tunnels, the workers to clean it up, and for the girls to go back on the playground after it had been cleaned and aired out!! OK, yeah, so that was just a little gross, but we were desperate. Kendra and I were actually able to enjoy some adult conversation (thank you Lord for kind, Christian friends) and the girls had a good time, too! Carrie Beth, David and Jonathan rode to Kingsland Saturday afternoon and then rode down to UNF with Stan and Benjamin for the recital. All of them were such tremendously good sports as it was a very long evening full of lots of little/big girls dancing on stage, and Olivia decided since this was her last dance recital that she wanted to stick it out 'till the bitter end. We got to watch the big, big girls do their finale dance which included rain on the stage! Pretty neat! We were all much relieved to make it to McDonalds afterwards where we enjoyed a late night supper before heading home. We got back to the house, got the kids in bed eventually and then Carrie Beth and I began assembling Olivia's birthday cake. Carrie Beth made the cake (all natural ingredients) and we stacked it all up so that it would sort of resemble a castle. Then we added the construction paper turrets and straws with construction paper flags, grass, and doors/windows. It was all Carrie Beth's idea as she had seen this cake on someone's website (We won't go into how the blogger who wrote about creating this cake totally acted like a 7 year old could make this cake--umm, no.) I loved the outcome, and Olivia was ecstatic. Was it sheer perfection? No, but it was sure cute and made with TONS of love! :) Plus it tasted fabulous! Sunday morning we all enjoyed worshipping together at SMUMC and then we came home to make lunch (homemade chicken nuggets, organic oven fries, and salad). The favorite of the meal was the Alexia spicy sweet potato fries. Oh my goodness gracious they were good! Then Grammy and Papa came for the birthday celebration time. We had yummy cake and Olivia opened gift after gift and she was overwhelmed by it all! Although she loved each one, the gift she was most thrilled about was her roller skates! She has been skating all over the house ever since she opened them. This morning after she got dressed for school, she didn't put on her crocs, she put on her rollerskates and skated to the breakfast table! :) Pretty funny. We played a rousing game of Pony-Opoly last night which Grammy and Papa gave her, and we've had so much fun with the Toobers and Zots given to us by Aunt Carrie Beth, Uncle Brad and David and Jonathan. I think Uncle Stan has enjoyed those as much as the kids--see the pic of his guitar? :) One of the silly gifts Olivia received from us was a dress-up blond wig. Olivia likes playing dress-up, and we knew she would think this was fun. I have plans for this wig. Our friends, the John Ryan family, took a picture of everybody in their family wearing John's glasses--they're huge and a bit outdated (he regularly wears only contacts), but anyway, these pictures are hysterical with everybody sporting these enormous glasses--even the little babies and toddlers. So yep. This summer...get ready Adams family. Everybody's getting their mugshot with this wig on. Everybody from Dad to baby Titus. Should be terminally cute, as Dad says. :) OK, so back to this weekend. I meant also to mention that at the end of last week we received a huge box from Nonny and Cocky. Mom and Dad, thanks for all of the wonderful, generous gifts!! Benjamin even got a little treat to unwrap and your sweet things you sent for me were such treats! Olivia has loved the doll whom she has named Faith. Faith eats most meals with us now and holds hands with us when we pray. Thanks for thinking of us, and we know you both would've loved to have been here this weekend for all the special moments, but we understand it just couldn't happen this go round. We're proud of all you're doing in ministry! It was a really fun weekend, and as you can see in some of the pics below, I was a little punchy by Sunday evening and I had a face-making session with the camera that kind of expressed my loopiness. I am a facemaker--it's something I've always enjoyed. Is it totally goofy and maybe a bit immature? Sure. I can admit that. Am I proud when I catch Olivia secretly making silly faces at herself in her bathroom mirror? Absolutely! :) Thank you Lord, for the little silly joys like facemaking and for the humongous joys like a spectacular weekend celebrating with family.

Benjamin's Splash Day 2010

2010-05-17T08:29:00.002-04:00

Benjamin had a wonderful time at his splash day at Noah's Ark last week. It is basically a little boy's heaven! Muddy water in the kiddie pools (St. Mary's river water that the fire trucks pipe in for us) and slip-n-slides, and a fire truck that comes and sprays everybody. Just doesn't get much better than that! We are very grateful for Noah's Ark and what a blessing it's been in our lives. Benjamin has loved being in Miss Karen's class this year, and we look forward to his second year next August! His end of the year program will be tomorrow night, and I can hardly believe he has completed his 2 year old preschool year!

The Veggies are all Planted

2010-05-10T17:45:00.002-04:00

I'm excited to announce that all of our veggies are planted! Stan helped me this afternoon as I finished it off. So here's what we're attempting to grow: okra, silver queen corn, bush beans, cucumbers, summer squash, all colors of bell peppers, and grape tomatoes. I left a little room so that we can hopefully add a few pumpkins in the next month or so. We are still yet to get our annual flowers in the ground. That will hopefully happen before the end of the week. Now we are praying earnestly that the Lord will bless our efforts and provide an abundant crop! :)

Garden Progress

2010-05-10T14:18:00.005-04:00

So we've made some significant progress in our garden. Here are some of the highlights so far. We're having a good time getting dirty and forming blisters on our hands. We're hoping to finish the planting today. We started last night, but the sand gnats almost carried us off, so we had to surrender and run inside. I'll try to continue posting pictures as things progress. We've tilled it, added organic peat moss and organic fertilizer. We're hoping to do this organically. (Which I'm finding I have a lot to learn about.) I can't seem to figure out how to get these pictures in order. Very frustrating. I also don't know why this is all underlined!!! What is up with that? :)

2010-05-10T14:10:00.001-04:00

Recent Status Updates

2010-05-03T21:44:00.002-04:00

is about to go running and my running partner insists on wearing his hook and carrying his dagger in the stroller. It was all I could do to get him to leave the eye patch at home.
is home from Publix. My apologies to the folks in the produce department as Benjamin ran circles and repeatedly yelled, "Koo-kumba" (cucumber). I'm sure I owe apologies to folks in other depts. of the store, but I'll just let this one apology cover them all.
Olivia has her ballet pictures this morning. This will be our last ballet year for a while. She's wanting to take piano lessons next year (yeah!), and we can't afford both right now. Benjamin is already digging in his dirt holes in the back yard. I'm hoping he won't require a bath before we leave for pictures.
going to attempt to consign some stuff today. We'll see. Sometimes this is successful, others, not. A little extra cash for the last week of the month would be nice.
finally getting around to catching up with J.O.'s Food Revolution via hulu, and I love what he is working towards! Inspiring and hope-bringing. Wish he would come to Camden County schools. Olivia takes her lunch, and watching this makes me even more pleased with that decision.
it's just one of those days, moms, when nap time can't seem to get here quickly enough. Lord, be my strength.
looking forward to a nice long, leisurely run while Benjamin is at Noah's Ark this morning.
Benjamin winked tonight at the dinner table for the first time. He's been working on it for weeks, so he was enormously proud of himself. Pretty darn cute.
ad a nice 4.5mi run this afternoon. It was a bit warmer than I would've liked, but I can't complain, because we really have had a nice extended spring down here.
watching An American in Paris with the fam. Gene Kelly is remarkable in this film. "I've got rhythm..." "Our love is here to stay" "Swonderful, Smarvelous..." Really enjoying this.
hail the conquering hero! I am Mamma, hear me roar!! Ahhh-ee-yah-ee-yah-ee-yahhhhhhh!! (clearing of throat) Olivia's room is now clean. I will no longer fear a late night emergency room visit made necessary by a traumatic fall she could've made whilst on her way from bed to potty. (index finger to tongue, index finger to bum, accompanied by sizzling sound)
looking forward to a nice long, leisurely run while Benjamin is at Noah's Ark this morning.
just tried a new yummy frozen confection, and everyone must try these things!! Del Monte's Fruit Chillers are delicious. They're near the canned fruits in the grocery store. 55 calories per tube, no high fructose corn syrup, 11 g sugar (could be worse), 1 lb of fruit in every box. Nice job DM! They're so smooth and sorbet-ish. Warning, they're habit-forming. :)
doing dishes with Tower of Power backing me up. Pretty good stuff.
is looking forward to a picnic lunch with friends and kiddos.
Stan is at Wild Adventures today with his 7th graders. We're missing him.
most produce grown in the U.S. travels an average of 1500 miles before it's sold. The way we eat has an enormous impact on the health of the planet. By choosing to eat lower on the food chain, and focusing on local and organic produce, we can curb global warming and air pollution, avoid toxic pesticides, support local farmers and enjoy fresh, tasty food.
is looking forward to brown bagging it with Olivia at school today.
is balancin' the books
is loving the sound of the gentle rain tonight. I wish it would do this for the next three days. We need it so badly!
very glad I got 4 miles in before I head for my deep tissue massage! All ready to be relaxed. ahhhhh.
delicious dinner--grilled lean pork, steamed asparagus and rice. mmmmmm.
"Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life--gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed with a sigh of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation." MUFHH
I'm so glad someone introduced my brother to The Pomplamoose so that I could be introduced to them, too! If you enjoy creative musicians, you're in for a real treat. They have a zillion covertunes that are sure to make you smile and say, "Man, that's cool!" Enjoy--surf youtube and see several of their others. Very fun!
is doin' the kitchen/dining room floors. It's Thursday.
is going to dive into vegetable gardening. Carrie Beth, you're my inspiration, sis! I know I'm a little late getting started, but with our long lasting summer weather, I'm guessing I've got plenty of time for a harvest or two. Can't get much more local than your back yard. Also gonna plant flowers for clipping! Yeah! Looking forward to doing a little flower arranging eventually. Bless my efforts, Lord.
is trying to explain to my 3 year old that on Saturdays we don't get dressed the minute our feet hit the floor. Getting to stay in our jammies is an awesome rarity. Let us enjoy it! His response? "I'm ready get my cwose on now." :/
make me a praising person, Lord. For I know when I worship You, I gain understanding, my life is transformed, and I receive power to life Your way. Give me a heart that longs to do Your will and may I enjoy the peace that can only come from living in total obedience to your commands.
soooo...my garden plot is tilled...the 1st time. Did it all by myself! Loved it! I'm guessing it will take at least two more times through it to get it cleared of all the grass and weeds. It's a nice chunk--18X24. Tonight I'm going to start my garden journal. Monday I'll take a soil sample to the extension office to have it tested. Trying to do this right. Thank you Lord for this adventuresome diversion!
just made my first grocery trip since watching Food, Inc. Not nearly the kind of savings I was growing accustomed to, but I'm feeling better about what's going in the cart and into our bodies. Taking knowledge and implementing it can be costly. I will have to learn how to give and take with my new convictions. All I can do is all I can do. Hopefully my garden will help a few months down the road.
good morning everybody! It's gonna be a warm one, but it is beautiful! I'm feeling both convicted and encouraged re-reading Joseph's story this morning. What faith he had! Sometimes faith shows itself best by our waiting. Oh lord, if at times I'm disappointed in life and in people, grant me the faith to hold steady!
it's been a full and good day at the Rogowskis. Just a fairly normal Monday. Cookin' dins right now. Then later on I'll be retilling the plot. Needs a second round for sure. Took my soil sample in this morning. We'll see!

Lunch with Olivia

2010-04-27T12:59:00.002-04:00

Today I ate lunch with Olivia at school, and I learned a few things:

Stetson plans on marrying Isabeau.
The lunchroom gets very loud, but don't worry because there is a large black woman who gets on the microphone and says with her neck rollin' around, "5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Excuuuuuuse me? I know you children are not makin' this kind of noise in here! I cannot believe what I just saw! I saw two students rollin' around on the floor. Is that acceptable, students? (students yell "No!") I also cannot believe I saw someone yelling to another student two tables over! Can you whisper to someone two tables away, students? (students yell "No!) Take some pride in your behavior, students. (Those of you who know me well are picturing me re-enacting this moment)
Jamie Oliver was right. Parents are not packing their kids' lunches with much care. I really do not say this to be condescending, because I've sent some unhealthy things in the past myself. I'm trying to improve. I was shocked, though, that Olivia was the only kid with fruit and veggie in her sack lunch. Kid sitting across from me had a balogna sandwich on white bread, large bag of Doritos, a packet of fruit chews, a package of cheetos things (they're like little tiny balls), 2 juice boxes, and a little Debbie cake. 3 other kids were eating the lunchables which I have been guilty of falling to child pressure and purchasing a couple times for Olivia (she begs me to get those crazy things!) Parents, we've got to do better!
Kindergarten teachers must really love summer time when they can eat a lunch without having to open 20 milk cartons or capri suns or ketchup, mayo and mustard packets. God bless them.
Ice packs in certain shapes (i.e.a football like Olivia's) are intriguing to everyone at the lunchtable. Moms, wash those ice packs every single night. Lots of licked fingers are touching those ice packs.
There's always a little boy at the table who wants to show you his chewed-up food in his mouth. I gave him the squinting eyes and shaking head for that gross moment.
There's some exchanging and sharing between the sack lunchers. I really hope that Olivia does turn down the large bag of cheetos balls offered to her by a sweet little boy even when I am not there.
Parents who come to eat with their kids are like rockstars. I know, I know. I'll enjoy my star status while I can. These sweet days are fleeting. The kids kept gawking at me and giggling. Funny.
Kindergartners are just a cute mess. I love the little girl whose ponytail fell out and she obviously attempted to put it back in herself. She only got about 10% of her hair back up in the ponytail holder. The rest hung by the sides of her cute little face.
Someone's going to spill their milk. Every single day. Someone will do it. Just wait for it.
I loved seeing Olivia at school, and she loved seeing me there and telling me what I was supposed to be doing.
Olivia will be a crier--you know one of those people who cries easily at many things. Her mother and father are both criers. She cried when it was time for me to go. Bless her little heart. She was embarrassed, so she buried her head in my shoulder as we sat on the little circular seats and we hugged goodbye. To make her laugh, I pulled my visitor tag off of my shirt and stuck it to my forehead. Soon she was giggling and wiping her tears. She lined up with her classmates and I headed home.

Thank you, Lord for these sweet moments. All good things are from You, and I praise Your Holy Name for school lunch dates with my Olivia.

Some of my Mom's Writing

2010-04-22T09:02:00.002-04:00

My Mom, Brenda Adams, wrote this wonderful piece, and I just had to share it with my blog readers (you know, all of you millions). This piece makes me so proud to be her daughter--for so many reasons. It's written so beautifully. The word pictures are a treat for the reader's eye. Her voice is so clear throughout; you get a sense of who she is and her personality. But most of all, I love her comparison of her experience at The Masters to what we long for in Heaven--THE Master Himself! I hope you'll enjoy this piece. So grateful that this is what flows out of the heart of my mom!

My Impressions of The Masters

We had the privilege of being given tickets to the Augusta Nationals Golf Tournament. It was a first time for both of us or as Don said to someone there, “I am a Masters’ virgin!”
It was a very intriguing experience, not just because of The Masters itself but also because of my reaction to it. This gut response that I had to it caught me off guard! I should probably say that I have never had the desire to go The Masters; I do not know if this lack of interest came just from the fact that watching golf on TV was akin to watching paint dry for me or...if I never thought of having the opportunity so just naturally dismissed it from my mind. But, whatever the reason my lack of expectations may have set me up for the response that I had. I would like to believe otherwise.:)
I guess that I should also explain one of my long held convictions and that is that this earth even at its most beautiful is a prototype or reflection or pale copy of much of what Heaven will be for us someday! I got this idea from C.S. Lewis who in turn seemed to have gotten it from Plato. Lewis promoted it through his writings such as The Great Divorce and The Narnia Series. At the end of the Narnia series in The Last Battle there is a quote that expresses it well. Lord Digory is speaking:
“... our own world, England and all, is only a shadow or copy of something in Aslan’s real world. You need not mourn over Narnia, Lucy. All of the old Narnia that mattered, all the dear creatures, have been drawn into the real Narnia through the door. And of course it is different; as different as a real thing is from a shadow or as waking life is from a dream.’ His voice stirred everyone like a trumpet as he spoke these words; but when he added under his breath ‘It’s all in Plato, all in Plato; bless me, what do they teach them at these schools!’ the older ones laughed.”
This thought so captured my attention when I was younger that I have found it very much a blessing to have it all through out my life since. And I frankly find myself almost looking for these pieces of fore knowledge, preveniences or even Glimpses of Glory! In short, on my better days, I am looking for Heaven!
For example, why do I simply love parades and become emotional even at the Shrine Day Parade in Butler GA?! The concept of having a parade everyday in Disney World has pleased and delighted all who have the opportunity to go! It certainly did me! I know, I know, maybe I am just an emotional sap but at the same time there is something deep within me that is touched. I believe that it is some thing in me put there before the dawn of time that is a glimpse of the glory and joy to be for those who will meet in our true home, Heaven, where there will surely be a parade every day!
It is with this conviction that I approached the gates to The Masters, which is without much argument, the most famous golf event in the world. As we entered the gates, I had an immediate feeling of excitement accompanied with a feeling of attraction or drawing or pulling toward something. Could it be that the deep feelings of being attracted to it, drawn to it have to do with our natural yearnings for Heaven?
The sweet people who were hosting us also had their 8 year old grandson with them. He went to a designated gate for children where he was given gifts and special attention! What a concept! He was asked who he was pulling for in a manner indicating to him that he mattered!

We had been fore warned to leave our cameras, cell phones and pedometers at home or in the car! How interesting to think that in Heaven we won’t need cell phones! We will all be together! We won’t need cameras because we will have the real images before us! And we won’t need to count our steps!
As we moved in through the gates, I was immediately struck by how well everything was handled and by the way the people looked and acted. They were dressed comfortably but also modestly, not to impress but to enjoy their time.
We soon realized that we hadn’t come prepared for the day! We had both forgotten our hats and sunglasses! (Actually, we had remembered them but they had gotten left in our car and we ended up traveling with the family who hosted us.) So we went and selected a hat for Don and a sun visor for me and sunglasses for each of us. We selected them not thinking so much about the price as about how well they would help us through the day. We both felt like we looked good!

Will Heaven be like this?
“Southern”, courteous, gracious, kind, mannerly?
Will there be new hats, sunglasses because of the glare of HIS PRESENCE, will we even have new and beautiful bodies?!
Will it be green rolling countryside with beautiful dogwoods and azaleas,
with large crowds of people moving peaceably about?
Will there be No Waiting! ( I was amazed that there were no lines at the women’s restrooms, and lines at the Men’s Room! HaHa :)!)
Will it be running into family and friends from a life time, reminiscing, discovering how God led and guided them in their faith journeys, all the “God-incidences” that have happened! We so enjoyed visiting and talking with Bill and Betty Hatcher and Denny Key!
Will there be people there that we will be surprised about? (Dad is pretty sure he saw Rudy Guiliano!)
Will it be sweet iced tea, pink lemonade, egg salad and pimento cheese on white bread?
Will it be the “Amen Corner” where those who love to shout, dance, clap and wave their hands will be totally free to do so?
And then there was the actual reason for being there...the golf!
But in Heaven... THE MASTER!
Will it be moments of complete silence as millions upon millions are awestruck in
HIS PRESENCE and then...
Times of thunderous roars of adulation and praise, as with one voice we praise HIM!

2010-04-15T14:39:00.002-04:00

We had a wonderful time last weekend going to Carrie Beth and Brad's to stay the night and then go see Peter Pan the next morning. The ballet was wonderfully exciting and it surprisingly kept even the boys riveted. Our afternoon was simply perfect as we had a leisurely picnic at Forsyth Park in Savannah. The weather was glorious! A true spring day, and we were so grateful for the Atkinson's sweet hospitality--even with Benjamin having pink eye and still getting over his strep throat. Aunt Carrie Beth cooked us a great breakfast and had balloons and a present for tbe birthday boy, and that night after we got back from our outing, she made a marvelous dinner before sending us on our way. Sweet times. Just wish Abby and Will could've been there.

FB updates

2010-04-11T15:55:00.002-04:00

challenging thoughts from MUFHH "Tolerating a wrong attitude toward another person causes you to follow the spirit of the devil, no matter how saintly you are. One carnal judgment of another person only serves the purposes of hell in you." "The deadliest attitude of the Pharisees that we exhibit today is not hypocrisy but that which comes from unconsciously living a lie."
enjoyed hearing a great sermon this morning from Dadd-O. So many great illustrations as well as the inclusion of Orianthi's song "According to You". It was also fun being in Mom's SS class. She's doing a great job and giving such careful preparation for her class lessons. So proud of how Dad and Mom are pouring themselves out as a fragrant offering for the Lord's great Kingdom purposes.is at Mom and Dad's. Yeah! the kids woke me up at 5:20. Boooo! I'm going for a run. Yeah! The yeahs outweigh the boos! Yeah!
eagerly awaiting my phone appointment with my bestie from the westie (Kristin Ebright Pattison from AZ) today at 1pm--been much too long since we caught up ear to ear.
has had a particularly awesome day because my mom and dad zipped into town after Dad finished a J.Wesley gig on SSI. We had dinner together and the kids were just about ecstatic about their surprise visit--as was I. Benajmin said as they drove off, "That Cocky--he funny, Momma!" :) Yes, Cocky is funny. :)
loves that when I'm rounding a corner a little quickly in my van I can sing the General Lee's Dixie horn, and as soon as I finish singing it my kids both yell, "Yeeehaw!" Seriously cute and fun!
Dear God, thanks for waking up one morning and thinking, "I'm gonna make an awesome one today! I'm gonna make a Stanley Kenneth Rogowski, Jr. and he will grow to be a man after my own heart, and he'll adore music, and one day he'll be a wonderful husband and daddy! He'll lift my name up high and draw people to me!" Happy Birthday Stan! I love you dearly!
really nice time tonight for our Dins with the Ins. The kids get so wound up with their Grammy and Papa here--they just are so excited to visit with them that they get a little rambunctious. The meal turned out pretty yummy-oven baked chicken, green beans, home made macaroni & cheese (recipe from Jan Karon's ckbk), rolls and iced brownies w/ice cream. Happy early birthday to my precious husband!
did the grocery trip tonight--spent 61, saved 70! And I had the most awesome checker-outer-girl, a lovely Miss Helen Clark! It's been a nice, leisurely Saturday with a long nap and everything! I'm already looking forward to our Dins with the Ins tomorrow night. Should be a good time with a little b-day celebration for the husby
The Rogowski Barber Shop is closing soon--I've done three heads this morning. If you need a trim come by before I get around to mopping! :)
I bought a new toilet brush today, and Benajmin is enjoying playing with this virgin toilet brush. I told him to enjoy it while he can, because soon it will be off limits. Don't worry, moms, I store it in the laundry room up in my cleaning caddy/bucket thingy, so he won't be able to get to it again...hopefully.
really beautiful morning run! PTL! Only bummer is that my black running pants are neon green on the front because of all the pollen. I saw it billowing out of the pine trees like green smoke when the wind blew! Nuts! One allergy headache, comin' up! :)
Olivia & I made her leprechaun trap which she chose to be a hotel for leprechauns. It's a shoebox wrapped in St. Pat's Day shamrock napkins with 2 silver/green checked sponges on the inside acting as a bed w/a tap light next to the "bed". Shamrock garland surround the "roof" of the hotel, and leprechaun stickers perform the job as "wallpaper" inside the hotel. We'll put some money on the hotel bed to tempt him. :)
the over-ripe bananas finally wound up in banana bread tonight. Mmmmmmm.
Stan did his volunteer day last weekend for the Disney Give a Day Get a Day promotion, and I'll do mine this weekend. We'll have 2 free tickets to Disney World after our little bit of volunteer time. I'm so grateful for this and am looking forward to a quick, frugal Disney trip sometime in our not-to-distant future! :)
is feeling mischevious...in a good way. :)
s ready to feel all better. I've had a stomach virus since Sunday night, and now we're all praying it won't get passed around the house--just in time for spring break.
finally seeming to come out of this nightmarish stomach virus. On the mend. Feeling a bit wimpy still, but on the mend, praise the Lord!
today we saw some geese eating in a field by Olivia's school, and Benjamin said, "Da momma goose say, 'Hafta eat your salad fust if ya wantcha desert!'" Think Benajmin's heard his momma goose say that a time or two? :)
is feeling a bit blue as my mom and dad are about to drive off with Olivia and it will just be Benjamin and me here tonight since Stan isn't home yet from his 8th grade band trip.
sometimes getting out of town is so hard! I can do this! I can do this!!
here at Mom and Dad's in Albany for a few days. Ahhhh.
call me tacky and cheesey, but I love seeing a dogwood in full bloom with tons of bright plastic eggs hanging from its lowest branches by fishing wire. :) Those two symbols, the dogwood and the eggs remind me of Christ's death on the cross and how He gave us new life through his sacrifice!! Hallelujah!
is enjoying my last day of spring break with my mom and dad in Albany. Egg Hunt and picnic coming up soon and then Mom will drive me and the kiddos to Tifton to meet Stan who'll take us home. He sweetly encouraged us to stay an extra couple days when he had to head home to be there for the Maundy Thursday service.
needs to stop looking through all my old iPhoto albums--Easter last year, Easter year before--where did my babies go?? They'll always be my babies, but goodness gracious how they've grown! Benjamin has a fever tonight, so I'm praying he'll be feeling better in the morning. No one should have to be sick on Easter! Hoping to celebrate with my church family in the AM. Death where is thy sting???
He is risen indeed!! Hallelujah! I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today! I know that He is living whatever men may say. I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer, and just the time I need Him, He's always near! He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!!!
doesn't like seeing my little guy suffer through sickness. He was a real trooper tonight as we took Stan's parents out to eat since it is their anniversary and my MIL's birthday. He sat bundled in a blanket in the highchair. Poor little guy.
We managed to get a few pictures this morning even though Benjamin has been sick much of the day. I was disappointed to not get a family picture together at the church this year, but sometimes sickness trumps the family photo op. Hallelujah! Christ Is Alive!!
We just got back from a wonderful week-long visit at my parents' home in Albany. It was so much fun! Hated to see it end. So grateful for so many precious moments. And so very grateful for two loving, generous parents.
His agony was the basis for the simplicity of our salvation...Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human being has been provided with a way of access into the very presence of God. -O.Chambers MUFHH 4/5
is sick again with stomach crud, and my little Benjamin is still sick. Taking him to the doc today.
just amended my "about me" section on facebook only to realize that the last time I'd written it I had a 16 month old and a 4 year old!! Good heavens how time flies! Benjamin will be 3 this Friday, and Olivia will be 6 in another month.
so my little guy is still getting over strep throat and this morning he wakes up with a bright pink eyeball that is watering continually. This little guy is definitely sick of being sick. He just started weeping when I told him we'd have to put drops in that eye. Bring healing and wholeness, Lord.
taxes done! Can someone peel me off the ground? As an English teacher from another life, working with numbers for this extended period of time has been like a slow melt of my brain. Now we sit and wait for Uncle Sam plop some cash in our bank account. Thank you Lord! This will be almost enough to pay off our only remaining credit card debt! :)
is enjoying being at Carrie Beth and Brad's home today. We're celebrating Benjamin's 3rd birthday (whether he recovering from strep and has pink eye in both eyes or not!!!) by going to see Peter Pan the musical performed in Savannah today! By golly, this will be a fun day, because I'm worn out with the no-good-sick-day...
is looking forward to a nice day with the fam. Think we're going to try to go to the Fernandina's Farmer's Market on our way down to Jax where we'll take Van-go in for an oil change and try to scour a few stores for some little girls' clearance deals. Olivia is bursting out of her clothes! Grant us favor in our endeavors and give us discernment, Lord.
What a day. No, we didn't get it all done, but that's OK. We made progress and had some fun which was an accomplishment since our little fella had a flip out session this afternoon. We were the ones leaving Wal-Mart with a screaming child. I love this little rascal, and I appreciate my Mom speaking encouraging words after we survived the battle. He will be a strong, good man for the Lord!
I know the Lord meets us where ever we gather and call on him, but I have a hankering for corporate worship in Hughes Auditorium. Maybe it's 'cause my cousin Elisabeth Key keeps talking about missing Asbury!! :)
is thoroughly enjoying the breeze coming through the windows of our home. The whining weed eater noises, not so much, but the breeze, yes. :)

2010-04-06T14:30:00.004-04:00

Dear Lord,
seems I've had lots on my mind lately
and I just wanted to thank you
thank you for sending me family who
listen
sometimes for very
very long times
but most of all
I thank you for hearing me
and knowing me
loving me
and growing me
and wooing me

to come

to always come

with everything
with every thought
every feeling
even angry ones
and fearful ones

and then being so faithful
so true
so amazingly just as you always say you'll be
and even when I come like a screaming baby
you swaddle me patiently
and I find myself wrapped in that peace
peace that really does pass all understanding

thank you, Jesus

Quick Visit with Ansley

2010-04-04T21:08:00.003-04:00

These are the two pictures I got from my quick visit with Ansley. I can't believe I didn't get pictures of her other two precious kiddos, but this is her newest addition, Harrison. Isn't he adorable? Ansley, you're a beauty, inside and out, girl! Bless ya!

School Egg Hunts 2010

2010-04-04T21:02:00.003-04:00

Here are the pictures from Benjamin's Easter egg hunt at Noah's Ark and there are some pictures of Olivia when she arrived home from school the day of her school egg hunt. I, unfortunately, couldn't make it to hers, but she seemed to survive without me, and she looked pretty darn cute, too! I always love how the kids respond when they see the Easter Bunny at Noah's Ark. Some are petrified and others are mesmerized. Benjamin was very intrigued and curious. He said afterwards, "Momma, why da Easter Bunny was a girl?" Somehow at the ripe old age of almost 3, he has determined that the correct sex of the Easter Bunny is male. Go figure. :) I was in the throws of a nasty stomach virus on this particular day, and I call it a Lenten Miracle that I made it through that morning at Noah's Ark without exploding. :)

Spring Break 2010 in Albany

2010-04-04T20:51:00.003-04:00

What an awesome week we had in Albany for Spring Break this year. It was Holy Week, and we felt like we were at Campmeeting somewhere, because we ate most of our meals at church! That was a nice relief for sweet Nonny who regularly turns into chef extraordinaire when we all come to see her. It was a really fun, sweet visit and it even included a surprise visit from Uncle Will. We just wished that the Millers could've come, too! I might try to write more later about this week. Much to share and remember!

Miller Visit to Albany GA March 2010

2010-04-04T20:50:00.002-04:00

We were glad to be able to get a quick visit with the Miller family when they came to GA in March. I, unfortunately, came down with a stomach virus when they arrived, so my time with them was limited, but I was glad to see them for the brief time I got to do so. The kids were thrilled to have time with Andy and Titus, too! Sorry there aren't more pictures, but I spent most of this visit upstairs in the bedroom. :(

2010-04-04T20:49:00.001-04:00

Talking with a Friend

2010-03-12T08:25:00.002-05:00

I am so grateful for the precious hour of talking time I was able to enjoy with my dear friend, Kristin yesterday afternoon. Talking with Kristin always does several things to me.
It lifts my spirits. We do a fair amount of laughing at one another, at funny things our kid have done, at bizarre experiences her mother has had as a Christian counselor (I would love to tell this story, but not sure if it would be appropriate! But OMW!! So funny!), or at memories from college days.
It inspires me. Kristin is the mom to two precious little girls, Alaina and Sasha. Alaina is autistic, and Kristin's acceptance of this difficult situation as part of her calling in life, her honesty concerning the day to day struggles of it, and how she leans hard into her Savior through it all is nothing less than inspiring to me.
It spurs me on to greater surrender to Christ. Even though there is already such a strong depth of faith and life in Christ that is apparent in who she is, I can hear in her words a hunger for more and more intimacy with her Savior. Isn't it wonderful how the Holy Spirit makes that hunger contagious? When I hear my sister in Christ just chompin' at the bit for more of Him and hungering to make Him known more to others, suddenly my mouth is watering for more, too!
So thanks, Kristin, for making me laugh, inspiring me, and spurring me on to greater things with my life in Christ! I just wish we were closer so we could see one another once and a while. It's been much too long! Bless you, friend.

More Facebook Status Updates for you NonFBers

2010-03-03T19:12:00.000-05:00

I really enjoyed the ice dancing couples, but did anyone else catch that several of them were brother-sister teams? It's one thing to have a dance with your brother at someone's wedding or something, but to straddle your brother's hips while wearing short Daisy-Duke style shorts and a cropped top....I love you, Will, but it just ain't happenin'. Hate to crush both of our Olympic dreams so brutally, but...

spent $76.62 saved $80.08 which felt like a particularly big accomplishment as I had Benjamin with me! :)

the birds are a-talkin' this mornin'! Spring's a comin'!

my star status just quadrupled--My dad included something from my blog on the front of his church newsletter. :) What a neat surprise!

getting ready to head to Valdosta to be with Stan and some of his band students at the district clinic. Should be a fun, frugal diversion. I just wish Mom and Dad still lived there (just for times like these--not that I want Dad to be a D.S. again!). Olivia says we can go by and say hello to "their house".

is home after a fun quick trip to the 'dosta with my precious husby and kiddos.

for all of you who are regular Focus on the Family radio/podcast listeners, if you are yet to listen to the broadcast today, get your hankie ready! It's Dr. Dobson's goodbye as chairman of the board, and he reads a love letter to his wife Shirley that will have you ringing yourself out like a washcloth! Tender!

hard headed son who is terrified of doing #2 in the potty + hard headed momma who struggles to understand this irrational fear = less than stellar moments in my life as mom. When do I clock out today? I'm done. Lord forgive me and help me be better tomorrow.

happy birthday Dr. Seuss! Olivia, my 5 year old, went to school so excited about celebrating his birthday today, and when I walked her into her classroom, her teacher had red and white hats for each of them and was drawing cat whiskers on each of their faces! So cute in a room full of 5 year olds!

feels like I've been a recovering messy much of my life, but there are times when the messy wins out, and it seems to be one of those weeks. I'm working on getting back on top, but it's a bit of a climb to the top of mount messy this week.

has been crunching numbers this morning, planning our next attack on debt--student loans better watch their back! Startin' in October, they're goin' down!

in the spirit of Aunt Betsy, I'm 'bout to have to pull over in the "spankin' lane"! it has just been one of those nights! After Benjamin kicked Olivia in the leg (this was 3rd incident of the evening) he and I had a meeting of the minds (and my hand had to meet his hiney) and I eventually asked him to LOOK his sister in the FACE and tell her he was sorry for kicking her. I was feeling pretty tense and less than joyous at this point, and he said in all seriousness, "Oyivia, I sawee I kick you in da face." Olivia said, "You didn't kick me in the face! You're supposed to look me in the face!!" This interchange just made me double over in laughter, and my sweet daughter said, "Oh good, Momma found her joy again!" Praise the Lord for the joy He brings us--even in the spankin' lane!

Fun Weekend--and it's only Saturday night!

2010-02-27T21:03:00.002-05:00

I have just returned from a fun quick trip to Valdosta. Olivia and Benjamin and I followed Stan and some of his middle school band kids over there as they attended the district band clinic. We were needing some sort of little adventure as a family, and this was the perfect remedy for that need. Some of the highlights include:

seeing the kids act like we were taking them to Disney World when we drove up to the hotel
watching them play office in the hotel room--they discovered that they could hear one another on the two phones in the room and somehow this was almost blow-your-mind-exciting! :) (btw-Benjamin played the part of the male boss, and Olivia played the part of the female secretary--how do they slip into these stereotypical roles at 2 and 5?)
being back in Valdosta--this was both a high and a low since Mom and Dad don't live there anymore, but we enjoyed talking about all of our wonderfully sweet memories from their years there
going to two awesome parks and watching the kids laugh and run and play until they were utterly exhausted
eating in the school cafeteria together as a family (OK, truth be told, this was also a highlight and a lowlight :)
shopping in TJMax this morning and finding a couple of things on super-duper clearance! (Can I just say, I love that store?? Seriously folks, deal potentials out the wazoo!)
getting to hear the VHS jazz band perform last night--this was a wonderful little surprise performance! They are quite a swinging group, and I adore live jazz, so I soaked it in like a thirsty sponge. They even had a couple of vocalists to perform with them on a few numbers. My fave of the night: Etta James' "At Last". In my dreams I would sing like Etta James or like Natalie Cole or Diana Krall...That's another story. They ended by playing an arrangement of MJ's "Thriller". Must say that I thought I wouldn't like it, but it was great! Just needed some dancers on that one--also would've like to have done that! :o)
getting to visit with my dear friend, Ansley Hickox and see her precious family!! This was also a totally unexpected blessing, and we had such a sweet quick visit! Ansley, I miss you! So glad we got to catch up a bit. Your family is beautiful, and you are too! You're doing a wonderful job as wife and mother. I've always admired your walk with your Savior and how apparent your love for Him is. Bless you, sweet gal! I am concerned about your eye sight, however, as you said you think my skin looks so good and it hasn't changed since we left Baxley!! Girl, you somehow missed all my crowsfeet and many other skin issues, but thanks for the kind words anyway! :) I love that you had sweet potato spit-up on your jacket--this is REAL life as a mom, isn't it??
seeing my kids playing with their wonderful Daddy on the school campus during some of the rehearsal sessions. Mommas, you know what I mean. There is just something that warms the cockles of your heart (that was for you, Dad) when you see your husband delighting in your children. It is a warm fuzzy that trumps most all other warm fuzzies. A few weeks ago they all went grocery shopping with me on a Sunday night. As we were leaving Publix, Stan walked in front of me as I pushed the cart, and he held their hands as we walked to the van. They started skipping and giggling--all three of them, and I thought I was going to smile so big that my face was going to turn inside out! Thank you, Lord, for a husband who loves me and our children so dearly, so passionately, so apparently, so joyously!
riding home tonight from Valdosta, I heard a song on the radio that I imagine many of you are familiar with. It's an older song by Lonestar, and as I heard the lyrics being sung, I felt like they sort of expressed what my last bullet was saying. Anyway, I'm so grateful for a fun quick getaway. Here are these sweet lyrics. Enjoy!

The only ground I ever owned was sticking to my shoes
Now I look at my front porch and this panoramic view
I can sit and watch the fields fill up
With rays of glowing sun
Or watch the moon lay on the fences
Like that's where it was hung
My blessings are in front of me
It's not about the land
I'll never beat the view
From my front porch looking in

There's a carrot top who can barely walk
With a sippy cup of milk
A little blue eyed blonde with shoes on wrong
'Cause she likes to dress herself
And the most beautiful girl holding both of them
And the view I love the most
Is my front porch looking in, yeah

I've traveled here and everywhere
Following my job
I've seen the paintings from the air
Brushed by the hand of God
The mountains and the canyons reach from sea to shining sea
But I can't wait to get back home
To the one he made for me
It's anywhere I'll ever go and everywhere I've been
Nothing takes my breath away
Like my front porch looking in

There's a carrot top who can barely walk
With a sippy cup of milk
A little blue eyed blonde with shoes on wrong
'Cause she likes to dress herself
And the most beautiful girl holding both of them
Yeah the view I love the most
Is my front porch looking in

I see what beautiful is about
When I'm looking in
Not when I'm looking out

There's a carrot top who can barely walk
With a sippy cup of milk
A little blue eyed blonde with shoes on wrong
'Cause she likes to dress herself
And the most beautiful girl holding both of them
Yeah the view I love the most

Oh, the view I love the most
Is my front porch looking in
Yeah
Oh, there's a carrot top who can barely walk
(From my front porch looking in)
A little blue eyed blonde with shoes on wrong, yeah
And the most beautiful girl
(Beautiful girl
From my front porch looking in)
Holding both of them

Do The Next Thing

2010-02-18T14:06:00.004-05:00

Today as I was mopping in the kitchen, I was listening to one of Donna Otto's podcasts. She's the founder of an organization called Homemakers By Choice, and I have personally benefitted greatly from being able to listen to these podcasts. I've found many of them to be encouraging and convicting, insightful and hysterical at times. Her ministry is based in a church out in Scottsdale, AZ, and I'm always wishing I could attend one of their retreats and meet up with my bestie from the westie, Kristin Pattison. Anyway, as I was finishing mopping, she was finishing her message, and she read this poem. I am amazed at the way the Lord so often allows us to hear certain messages at certain times--just as we're needing them or just as we're ready for them. Since I've stepped away from my Mary Kay business, I am wondering what he has as my "next thing", but this poem comforts me. I feel certain He will guide me and keep me as I look up to Him to guide me into that "next thing". I feel ready to step into whatever that may be. I think that this poem felt particularly sentimental to me because my grandfather, Poppy (Billy Key), uses poetry often in his preaching. There are some of his more famously used ones that many of us can quote large portions of. Poetry has a way of ministering to our hearts and minds through it's succinct, vivid artistry. I'm grateful for poetry, and I pray this one might encourage you today as it did me. Bless you all!

A poem quoted by Elisabeth Elliot in her book The Shaping of a Christian Family
Do The Next Thing

"At an old English parsonage down by the sea,
there came in the twilight a message to me.
Its quaint Saxon legend deeply engraven
that, as it seems to me, teaching from heaven.
And all through the hours the quiet words ring,
like a low inspiration, 'Do the next thing.'
Many a questioning, many a fear,
many a doubt hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from heaven,
time, opportunity, guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrow, child of the King,
trust that with Jesus, do the next thing.
Do it immediately, do it with prayer,
do it reliantly, casting all care.
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand,
who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on omnipotence, safe 'neath His wing,
leave all resultings, do the next thing.
Looking to Jesus, ever serener,
working or suffering be thy demeanor,
in His dear presence, the rest of His calm,
the light of His countenance, be thy psalm.
Do the next thing."
As I was searching for this poem on-line. I found another person's blog post with his own reflections on it. I found it intriguing and thought I would repost it here:
Here is a poem which contains much wisdom for Christian living in general and is very helpful for pastoral ministry as well. I found it in Elisabeth Elliot’s The Shaping of a Christian Family (pg.178-179). Elisabeth Elliot’s writings have meant a lot to me along the way, and I have often heard her discuss her “do the next thing” philosophy. I did not realize until recently that her language came from this poem which her mother had. There is much simple wisdom here. Do you find yourself on Monday feeling your soul is scorched, terribly aware of your inadequacies, fearful of what is to come? Since God is still in heaven and His steadfast Word declares His love for you, just carry on and do the next thing. Take the next step of obedience. Do you worry how your children will turn out, what the future will hold for your church, how the finances will look at the end of the month? Resist the allure of self pity, and just take the next step of obedience. We are typically given enough grace just for the next step. Fret not about what lies around the bend. Perform faithfully the next step, and we will make it home safely in the end.

Lenten Season

2010-02-18T10:40:00.002-05:00

We're all glad to see the onset of the Lenten Season around here. Easter is such a wonderfully exciting and renewing time.