Bits & Pieces

Our lives have been INSANE these past two weeks!  So insane that I completely missed out on Rachel's TST!  I am so sad!  TST is one of my favorites, and I even thought of a great story about the most evil ride at Disney.  Oh well, I guess I will just have to save it for next week (insert evil maniacal laugh here). 

I even spent a bunch of time one evening last week uploading a ton of photos for new posts, will every intention of filling in the story when I had some down time at work (shh, don't tell the boss/dad).  Yeah, we can all see how well that worked. 

My amazing, awesome, loving, super, incredible, fantastic, beautiful, lovely, wonderful sister got into town on Sunday morning.  Needless to say, I don't really remember anything about church on Sunday morning.  All I knew was that I wanted to get out to see her.  We got to hang out at my parents' house the rest of the day.  It has been so wonderful to catch up, reconnect, and just have fun.  3 1/2 years is just too long to go without seeing her.  It has been especially neat to watch Violet warm up to her.  This is the first time Violet has met her auntie. 

On to the sports section!   Katrina had her first tball game last week ( I promise a full post with photos shortly) and was stinkin cute.  She has another one tonight, and she will have a full cheering section with the grandparents and the auntie there too.  Jerome & I were adopted by another church's co-ed softball team since we were having a hard time getting our old team back together for the year.  We played our first game on Sunday, and lost 11-5.  I played left-center for the first time in about 5 years.  I normally play 2nd.  The outfield just looks too big for me.  I have also discovered that my "chasing children" muscles are not the same as my "softball" muscles.  Yes, I still hurt.  I have realized just how out of shape I am.  And Jerome had a fabulous men's game last night, although I think he may have broken his toe in the process.  We are not sure how it happened, probably a weird play he had running to third.  But it is swollen and hurts really bad.  He has been taking pain meds for it, which NEVER happens. 

We have been so incredibly blessed this past week & a half by our home group.  I must say, it is really humbling to admit just how much we were struggling, but then even more humbling to have people give us gifts and encouragement because God told them too.  I have always been the one to try to be there for everyone else.  It is really different to be on the receiving end of the blessing!  But, we are more grateful than words can express.

The girls are growing by leaps and bounds.  Last week, Papa got them all Hawaiian hats and, needless to say, they were a big hit!

I keep meaning to do an update post on each kiddo with some of the photos my amazing sis-in-love Kristin took of us a few months ago.  I will get to it, I promise.  These photos are too amazing not to share. 

Understand yet why I called this post Bits & Pieces?  Because it is!  Hopefully I will be back to full bloggy strength soon.  Love you all!

The Best Birthday Present EVER!!!!

I will be celebrating the 1st anniversary of my 29th birthday in a few weeks.  No, I am not turning 30.  I am a founding member of the Forever 29 Club.  I refuse to turn 30.  Katrina thinks it is hilarious.


Anyways, I have never been much of one for a big hullabaloo made over my birthday.  Jerome just about died last year when he conspired with my friends to throw me a surprise party.  He is lucky I did not kill him.  This year we are planning an open-house bonfire on my birthday weekend that will have NOTHING to do with my birthday.  I am planning creative revenge for those who try to sneek cards or presents to the bonfire.  I just don't like a fuss. 


But, I found out I am getting the best birthday present EVER today.  My big sis, Chris, is flying home from Atlanta tomorrow for a two-week vacation.  They have had a rough time the last two years, and her sweet hubby decided that she just needed to take some time with family.  I am just about giddy.  I cannot wait for church to be over tomorrow so I can see her. 


My sister is 10 years older than me.  She helped raise me.  She was there for me when I hated my parents.  I could talk to her about things I would never tell anyone else.  She is funny, witty, sensitive, caring, and loving.  She is everything you could ask for in a big sis. 


It has been 3 years since we have seen each other.  Katrina is the only one who remembers her.  Madison was just a baby - Violet wasn't even a thought.  My girls will finally get to meet and spend some quality time with their auntie.


AND SHE WILL BE HERE IN 12 HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!


I'm not excited at all... nope, not me...

Thankful Thursday... Overwhelmed

Disclaimer: Honestly, this post is more for me than anything.  I have so much in my mind that I just need to get out, to process.  It will probably be really long.  Feel free to click the little red x any time.



I don't even really know how to write this.  Usually, Thursdays are devoted to thankfulness, reminders of all we have in this world to be grateful for.  Today, my heart is overflowing to the point where I know I need to write, to get some of it out (my cheap therapy - welcome to the ride), but I don't even know where to start.


It has been an interesting past few years, to say the least.  Giving up a steady paycheck four years ago to pursue the gifting God has given my hubby has been a test of faith, to say the least.  Realizing that, in order to make ends meet while he built his business, I needed to go back to work was heart-wrenching. 

This last year has been really hard.  We have seen deal after deal fall through - financing during a recession just plain sucks.  He has lost clients & deals because he refuses to compromise.  We fell really far behind.  I never thought it would come to this.  There have been many evenings spent in tears, asking God if we were still on the right path, if we were still really following His will.  And, every time, the next day Jerome would have a new prospect, or a new listing.  God kept bringing people into our path that we knew would, someday, result in a sale.  And so we trusted. 



During all of this, God has been doing some major renovation to my heart.  I have been a perfectionist as long as I can remember.  I struggled and yearned for the affirmation of other people.  It is much easier to believe that God will heal, provide, and protect other people, not me.  I struggle to trust Him in even the little things, believing the lies that I am not worthy of this trust.  Fighting this battle in my heart and in my mind while putting on the mask I thought I had to wear was exhausting.  I could not let people see my struggles.  People turned to us, asked for our help.  We have been leaders in our church!  I shouldn't be still fighting this battle.  Shame and pride kept my heart locked up, held me captive to my fears.  If people only knew just how bad it was, in our home and in my heart, they would run.  We would overwhelm them.  Everyone else had their own struggles - we just needed to suck it up and deal.  We didn't want to be those people - the ones who suck the life out of others. 


But God and I have been having a lot of chats lately.  About my loneliness, about how I keep people at arm's length by refusing to open up to them.  About how the deep, intimate relationships I crave more than anything are hindered by my refusal to let them see my humanness, my imperfections.  About how I plead with Him to help us, to show me that He cares enough about me to answer my prayers, but wallow in unbelief that He will actually come through for me.


This week, I forced myself to open up to some dear friends.  To lay it all out.  Everything.  I puked on them (not literally). It was liberating to be able to say, "Do you really want to know exactly how I am doing?" - to be able to tell someone everything.  And I did.  And the love I felt afterwards was overwhelming.  These friends did not reject me, did not point out my faults, my sins.  They loved me.  They spoke words of encouragement that blessed me beyond anything. 


And then something incredible happened.  God prompted some people in our lives to bless us in a real, tangible way.  Sorry if that was a vague description, but I know they would want me to honor their privacy.  It was as if God was whispering in my ear, "See?  You asked Me for this.  Specifically.  And while you struggled to believe that I would do it, you still asked, holding onto that tiny bit of faith.  And I moved their hearts to show you just how much I love you."


That is why I am overwhelmed, because my heart is overflowing.  I have felt the freedom that comes with being truly real with someone.  I have seen the grace and love that comes with true friendship.  I have seen God move on my behalf.  This week has been overwhelming, and I am so thankful for it.


Thanks for letting me puke.  I need to go get some paper towels now.

True Story Tuesday - Is it Raining?

Our week was/is insane.  Just to prove the point, here's the evening schedule:

Saturday: birthday party
Sunday: Mother's Day
Monday: Girl's Book Club (alternatively titled: Dads' Night to Solo Parent)
Tuesday: 1st Men's Softball Game
Wednesday:  Katrina's First T-Ball Game (woohoo!)
Thursday:  T-Ball Fundraiser Spagetti Dinner (can't forget to make the pies...)
Friday: Home Group @ our house - Game night
Saturday:  uhh...do we really have a free night?


All that to say, my posts may be few and far between this week, but I finally remembered a great story from my past that I could not pass up for today.





Join Rachel & Mr. Daddy over at Once Upon A Miracle for more *mostly* true stories!

When I was about 13, my parents and I took a trip to Niagara Falls.  Well, actually, my dad won a trip to Montreal through work.  We decided to take a side trip to Niagara because, well, we were on that side of the country anyways! 


We stayed at this amazing hotel that was right on the falls.  Literally.  You could feel the mist when you walked out onto the balcony, and hear the roar of the water throughout the night. 


Needless to say, Dad and I spent a lot of time on that balcony watching the water.  Mainly because we were impatiently waiting for Mom to get herself ready, but that's another story.

Why put on makeup when you are going to a giant waterfall and all the makeup is going to disappear anyways?

Ahem.  I digress.


Anyways, one morning, we noticed that the row of newspaper boxes was directly underneath our balcony.  And, being the good little rednecks that we are, we made a game.  It was a really fun game.  Want to know what it was called?


Who can spit on the newspaper box?

Remember, I was, and still am, Daddy's girl.  I set out to do anything Dad could.  Other than the peeing while standing.  Still haven't been able to figure that one out...


Ahem.  Again.


So, we are happily spitting and giggling, admiring our launches of bodily fluids as they dropped to the earth.  For those of you who would like to know, the US News box was worth 5 points.  The local paper was worth 3.  And the local version of the Thrifty Nickel was worth 1.  In case you want to play later.


Dad was ahead in the count, of course, but I was determined to stage the comeback to end all comebacks and earn the championship.  Seriously, we are that competitive about everything.  Even spit.  So I dug as deep into my little 13 year old flem-producing regions would allow, and hocked the loogie to end all loogies.  It floated perfectly through the air.  Right on target.  The wind died miraculously just as I spit, allowing my flem to travel in the God-given straight path direct toward victory.


And then we saw the hand.


And then the arm.


And then this fabulously bald head, creeping towards the box.


You know those really horrible wrecks you drive by, or the disasters you see on TV?  The ones so horrific that you just can't turn away?  Yup, that was Dad & I.  Choking back laughs and hitting each other and trying to stay silent as the flem projectile locked in on its target.


And nailed that fabulously bald head.


We avoided eye contact with any bald man we saw for the rest of the trip. 


Mom was so horrified she didn't talk to us for at least two hours.


But I won.

Tales from the Neb

Children are resilient.  When Violet was 10 weeks old, we took her to Paris for a family vacation.  Nuts, I know.  While we were there, she contracted a horrible case of RSV (a really nasty respiratory virus, for anyone who does not know).  Her lungs have been compromised ever since.

Every cold, every bad allergy season, it goes right to her lungs.  She gets horribly congested, has a hard time breathing, and battles fatigue.  Last year, she was hospitalized for pneumonia because her little body just could not fight on its own. 

Poor kid has been miserable this year.  There are many days we simply cannot let her outside because the wind, dust, and allergens are too bad.  She has spent the last two months with a constantly running nose, congested lungs, and lovely cough.  But she is so tough.  She fights to keep going.  It is hard to tell she is sick unless you ask her - she wants to keep up with the big kids.

One part of our daily routine is the nebulizer.  Any parent of a kid with lung problems is intimately familiar with this piece of medical equipment.  Praise the Lord we chose to buy one when Katrina was a baby and contracted RSV.  It has gotten a lot of use over the years.

Violet does great with the neb.  She will tell us if she feels like she needs a breathing treatment.  She sits on the couch and holds it herself.

But the effects can be interesting.  Neb treatments open up her lungs rapidly, flooding her little body with oxygen.  All of a sudden, she can breathe.  And it makes her super hyper.

She talks about a mile a minute.  Nonstop.  We have learned to let her stay up for a little bit after her treatments, otherwise she will just lay in bed and talk to her stuffed animals for an hour.  She also gets twitchy.

She has a hard time sitting still.

And thinks she is the baby Shawn Johnson.

I know that in the grand scheme of things, our little girls health problem is minimal, no big deal.  It is not life-altering, just routine-altering.  It is not the end of the world, just a part of the day.  But I must say, we could all, as adults, learn a bit about perseverance, patience, uncomplaining attitudes from kids.  Like I said before, they are resilient.

Happy Mother's Day

I have really great mamas.  Both my mom and my mom-in-love are amazing.  They are the type of women who give, sacrifice, and love, no matter what. 

As much as I never wanted to admit it, I am so much like my mom.  I look like her, I sound like her, I even act like her.  And now, I take it as a compliment when people tell me how similar we are.  Because if, someday, I can be half as amazing as her, I will consider it an accomplishment.

My mom-in-love has been the glue holding our family together.  She is patient, hard-working, forgiving, and kind.  She was a rock when the rest of my world was a hurricane.  And she raised my husband to be the amazing man he is today.

Happy Mother's Day to my mamas!  I love you!

Just a pretty day

It has been a good day.  The girls let us sleep in past 6:45 (a miracle in itself for Madison).  We had friends stay the night, so we lounged around all morning, doing nothing.

The kids spent most of the day outside.  They picked these for me for Mothers Day.

While the girls napped, JJ & I worked in the yard.  He mowed, I hauled tree limbs.  We are planning a bonfire Memorial Day weekend (feel free to stop by in you are in town), and I am pretty sure we have enough dead trees for a few fires.  :)

After naps, we went to a friends house for a birthday party. 

Anytime our crew gets together, there are a few children around.

And, yet again we proved that it takes multiple men to cook meat.

Violet enjoyed some quality time in the great outdoors, escaping the control of Big Sister.

And Madison got some quality time with her friend.

Now the girls are sound asleep in their beds.  All is peaceful.  My arms are scratched from wrist to shoulder from all the trees.  My legs hurt from hauling giant tree limbs all over our land.  But it has been a good day.  A pretty day.