I Got My Baby Back!

My child is finally back home after a week on tour. I can finally share pictures with everyone (yah!!!!!). Nicki and her choir went on a two state, four city tour this past week. They started in Atlanta (where they stayed for three days at the Hilton Atlanta), then on to Orlando (at the Doubletree Hotel), followed by Miami and back to Savannah GA before arriving home early this morning at 5 AM (and yes, I was up when she got home...LOL). Being the very well trained daughter that she is she has brought back lots of pictures to share (we downloaded them as soon as she got in). She is taking a power nap right now (they drove straight back after singing in Savannah on Sunday). Poor child has class this evening, so there is no rest for the weary. Thankfully she will be finishing up her junior year and next year (if all goes as plans) I will have my second graduate. Now to just get TJ and Marc back on track and in school.

A Mother's Love

You have to read this story. This is why all of the other stuff doesn't matter. If these stories don't change your life, or make you think about what is more important in life then there is nothing I can say to convince you how important it is to have a relationship with Christ. Would I be able to be this brave, maybe not. But God didn't say I would understand everything, he just said to trust in him.....no matter what.

What's Really Important

This is why all of that other "stuff" really doesn't matter one bit.

The Effects of Stress

So as a result of losing my hair I have come to a couple of conclusions ( I posted this on my scrapblog and decided to share it here) :

So what had happened was.........my hairdresser said it had to go. My hair has been breaking off and falling out apparently because of stress. This is what happens when you don't keep things in perspective! Hence, the plan to stay focused this year on the important stuff. Marc's illness taught me a lot. One that we were not taking care of our health, and two we were not taking time out for the important things. It doesn't mean we spend money we don't have on "stuff", or plan dream trips to Disney every year, or eat out "every" night with friends. It does mean spending quality time with the ones you love ( you never know when they may be gone ). Hanging out with your kids when you want to be up cleaning, or shutting the Internet or TV ( or Ipod in my case ) off when your spouse is trying to have a conversation. It also means giving back to your community and church ( and not just with your finances ). The "small" things really do make a difference.

I admit, I miss the time I spent chatting on-line with friends. I miss the shopping for scrap stuff just because it was posted on the two-peas website. I miss spending hours in the scraproom working on layouts when I should be cleaning. There are so many things I miss, but more than that I missed the time spent with my husband and children. I missed the friends here that we use to gather at homes with and just laugh and talk. I missed fellowshipping with my "church" family and weekends spent hanging out with my mom and sister. Heck, I miss walking into a clean room and sighing with relief.

Somewhere in the "business" of life we have forgotten some of the simple things that made life worth living ( even through difficult times ). Marc's illness changed all of that for me. When someone is sick is when you find out who your "real" friends are. I saw brother's who hate hospitals line up outside my husbands door waiting to get in ( at one point we had so many people out in the hall that the children and I had to leave in order to allow other's in ). I had sister's who not only prayed for me, but who showed up to bring me lunch, or just to give me a hug because they knew that was what I needed. I saw family members who had not spoken to each other in years pull together because their relative was in pain. The most memorable event for me that week was when six minister's and a deacon arrived at the hospital at 7 AM on a Sunday morning to circle around my husband and pray for him before surgery. Never again will I look at a hospital stay the same way. It not only affects the person who is in the hospital it takes a toll on those who have a love one in the bed. I have never been so mentally and physically drained in my entire life. When I looked in the mirror I felt as if I had aged ten years. I saw a fear in my children's eyes that had never been there before. I think they realized for the first time in their adult life that mom and dad may not always be there. I remember the first time when I realized my mom was not invincible. I think I grew up that day (and I was 42 at the time). I am slowly seeing those same type of changes in my children.

Marc and I are not able to get around to everyone who is sick or shut in. Right now his job just doesn't allow that luxury. But when we can we try to go and see those that we can. There are so many hurting folks in the world. We spend so much time worrying about what shoes we will wear with this outfit. How many bottles of Prima flowers can we collect to sit on a shelf with all of the other scrapbook "stuff" we just had to have. Searching for that dream house, when we already live in a mansion in comparison to some folks (have you ever seen the average home in Rwanda?) We even spend time on the Internet fighting over who should be president based on difference in color, gender, or religion, etc (while thousands of men and women are dying...each from different ethnic backgrounds, religious affiliations, and political views). In the end what does it all matter ( especially if we don't learn to have love for one another) ?

Maybe if we spent less time gathering stuff to fill our homes, or fighting over what makes each of us different...then maybe we would see what makes us alike. God created each and everyone of us for a purpose. He loved us enough that he sent his son here to die for us. I can't imagine the pain that Jesus went through but I do see the pain of so many in the world that do not have half of the stuff I have. My hairdresser said something very interesting yesterday while I was sitting in the chair. She was talking about Russell Simmons and his ex-wife Kimora Simmons. She had seen a show about their home in LA. And how they had several homes around the world, filled with lots of beautiful stuff. You name it they had it. And I am sure that they are very happy with the stuff that they have. But my hairdresser made a very profound statement...she said with all of that stuff, they still ended up getting divorced.

I am learning that I feel the least stress when I am concentrated on something or someone else besides myself. When I made it all about "me" I felt disconnected, unfulfilled and found myself filling up that hole with lots of "clutter". Many of you know that I have high blood pressure. What you don't realize is that the week that Marc was in the hospital (even the first few weeks that he was home) my blood pressure rates were the lowest they have ever been! As long as my focus was on him I was fine. The moment he got better and I had more time to think, my bp went up! Hence where I am today.

Now I am not saying I am giving up scrapping ( just maybe if I spend less time on-line I might actually get some pages done). I am saying that my life is becoming more prioritized. So I may be spending less time on-line chatting. I have accepted the fact that God has placed a calling on my life and that of my family (granted they are not all there yet...pray for them). And because of that I have to be more selective with how I spend my time.

I'm not shutting down my scrapbook blog ( and this doesn't effect my personal blog). Its just not as important to me any more to be in a scrapbook magazine ( I have not read one in months), or to have a bazillion people respond to my post, or even be on a DT (I never thought I would say that). Some of the scrapbook messageboards that I loved I know longer feel a need to go to anymore ( I am not talking about Scrap Etc, or LIITD ). It's a bittersweet chapter in my life, but I think Melody said it best............." I am very happy about where this has brought me to. Where my spirit is, where my soul is, where my heart is, where I am". Melody was soo right.......God is cool, and I don't believe for one moment that what she said is a coincidence (or that I read Melody's blog this morning just as I was about to write this post), or the fact that we picked the same word for the year. I do know I needed to be redirected (thanks Melody, actually thanks goes to God). It won't take me another ten years to "get" it ( besides I may not have any hair left if I did that ).

Frankly folks.....I'm too blessed to be stressed!!!!!!!!

P.S: If you read this entire thing (warts and all, misspellings, or grammatical errors......that was for my mom who will read this and then pick it apart...lol. Love you mom ) then I want to thank you.

Look Alike

Here is my new hair-do. Who do you think I look like? Marc is not to keen on it ( but apparently my hair has been falling out from stress, so it had to go). Most of my family members will know immediately who my look-a-like is (LOL). Its very shocking to look in the mirror and see my cousin Michelle looking back at me. Its growing on me. Maybe after I add a little make-up I will see "me". I can't recall a time when my hair has been this short! It will take some getting use to.

Answered Prayers

Nicki came into our world full of confidence (Nicki was born premature and weighed in at less then 4 pound, just slightly larger then her father when he was born). Its as if she knew that there was a big world out there calling her name). The first time we took a family portrait Nicki was only a few weeks old, but she looked directly at the camera. She has always been my "baby" but she was also my most independent child. Everything her older siblings did, Nicki had to do. When they went off to school she cried because she wanted to go to school to. Most of the time people mistake her for being the older sibling. She has a way of bossing her siblings around that for whatever reason causes them to follow. In high school her teachers labeled her the social butterfly. Its been the same in college.

Most of the time she is pretty confident. She loves to travel (something we planted in all of our children). In just the last year she has traveled on her own to Washington DC, New York, Maryland and parts of Virgina. This week she is on a week long tour. For the most part she has been enjoying herself but this morning when I talked to my her she just wanted to come home (now keep in mind she has 6 more days to go). In a earlier post I told you that she hates planes. This morning she told me that if she could get on a plane she would come home! There are several reasons, I think the biggest one has to do with the fact that my girl is growing up. Most of the young people in the choir are younger then her, and for many its probably their first time away from home alone, or maybe even there first time visiting that particular area. Most are freshman and Nicki is a junior. Most of the places they are visiting Nicki has already visited many times. Not to mention the fact that they are traveling by bus on a week long tour to four different cities, in two different states. There was a lot of noise in the background and some of the kids were getting out of hand and Nicki had had enough. And those that know her know it would not have been pretty (God is still working on her). She is a lot like her dad in so many ways. She doesn't have a lot of tolerance for foolishness ( which is funny when you think about it because they are two of the biggest clowns in the family. But they both believe there is a time and place for everything). So when I talked to my daughter and she wanted to come home after dreaming about this week for so long, I knew I needed to do something drastic.

Long story short I called, in a few prayer partners. During Marc's illness and in the weeks following while speaking at our home church I felt the need to call on several women who I knew I could call in time of prayer to get me through the coming months and maybe even years. I emailed a few asking for prayer for Nicki and I called two who I knew had the same phone service as Nicki who could pray with her right then and there. I little while ago I got a email from Kelli who said she could also call. I literally sat down and started crying. I felt such relief knowing that God was dispatching angels to oversea on my child's behalf. I had experienced something similar a few months ago when I asked for the same thing on behalf of my son. And just as before he answered my prayers. Isn't God just amazing? My child is many, many miles away and there is not a whole lot I can do to help except pray. Sometimes our children are outside of our reach (sometimes because they are geographically out of our reach, but sometimes they are outside of our reach spiritual), and the only person that can help is our God. The lesson I learned today is that it doesn't matter to our Father where we are, or who we are......he can reach us when others can't. And he can do it by any means necessary (even if its through Sprint...LOL).

Traveling Grace

Well Nicki is on the road again. Her choir is on a week long tour. I have talked to her several times and so far so good. She has been able to spend some free time with family, but I will have to do some re-training when she returns home. The girl has been on the road for three days and she has not taken any pictures! She knows that's a no no (especially when she has a mother that scraps). She promised me she would take pics today. Please pray for traveling grace for her and the other young people on the tour. I have the feeling these kids will be very tired when they return home (its a pretty intense schedule). The one thing I am learning about my child is that as much as she wants to get into the entertainment field she is going to have to overcome a few obstacles ( not in the talent department though...she can dance, act and sing). Nicki has learned that she is not a bus tour kind of gal, and she hates planes. I'm thinking this might be a big problem for someone who wants to be a "star".

Prayer Time

Abe and his family are departing for Iowa so that Abe can have surgery. Kelli, the girls and Abe will be gone for a while so please pray for traveling grace and for a resolution with Abe's insurance (long story). Kelli is asking that we specifically pray for his treatments during that time. Thank you so much for your continued prayers for my friend and her entire family.

While you are focused on prayer please keep this family in your prayers also. I do have a praise report though....Marcus bestfriend has returned home safe and sound from overseas.

Who are you serving?

So I have to tell you this ( I shared it with a friend earlier). I decided today would be the day I fasted from TV and not food (for those of you who don't know, Wednesday is fast day at our church while we seek to find a new pastor). I figured it wouldn't look good for the future Pastor's wife to not fast and pray (lol). I also plan to hit a couple of areas in the house that are in need of some TLC, so I am limiting my internet time also (thank goodness for an ipod because I plan to listen to some podcast messages while I work. Did you know that Rick Warren is a funny man?). Anyway, its been eye opening because I have reached for the remote several times, without thought! Just out of habit. I'm thinking I am on to something. This is harder then fasting from food! So lesson learned for me is to really determine who I put my treasure in. God or "things", "work", or other distractions like TV/Internet/etc! Dare I say chocolate!!!!!!!!!!!! (that one was for my friend Sheila). I do believe studying Beth Moore ( I mean Daniel) hath made me smart. Actually, God made me that way its just taken me this long to listen.

Our Sleepover

We had the best time last night. I didn't go to sleep until 5 AM! I know most people would not get the concept of four grown women having a sleepover, but there is nothing better for the soul then good laughter, great food, and the company of bestfriends.

Where God is Leading Me......Just a bit of Rambling.

Note: This is probably more for my own thoughts then for those of you who usually drop by to see what is happening in the families life.

This has been a good week. I am still working on the balancing life out thing and staying focused on what is important. Quisha is on spring break this week and after our long Easter weekend ordeal we decided to chill for a few days. It was the best decision I have made in a long time. I think we were all getting caught up in church stuff, and it was starting to take a toll. The smell of spring is in the air and the weather has really warmed up so I have been taking advantage of this and doing a little spring cleaning. The conclusion I have come to is that we have way to much stuff ( I am thinking a garage sale would be a good thing right about now.......of course that would require having a free Saturday). Even my thoughts on how to spend my birthday (which is coming up in a few weeks ) has changed from the way it use to be. I decided I wanted to pamper myself ( well actually I have asked the family to pamper me....hehe). And I want to spend the day relaxing somewhere else besides my usual stomping grounds. So the plan is to hit Williamsburg for the day and just enjoy some family time. I'm thinking 2008 will become a year of cleansing for me (freeing myself from clutter in all forms).

I'm also spending more time researching Children's Church Ministry which I believe is the direction God is leading me into. Which if most of you know me is really funny, because the least favorite time of my life as a mom was when the children were toddler and elementary age. I have always been drawn to teens and young adults (and I still am), hence the reason I am still in Youth Ministry 6 years later after leaving my old church. My husband probably saw this way before me, because he tells people all of the time that I have a heart for children and women. And every time he would say it I would become scared because I felt that meant God was looking for something big from me (I should have been looking at how big God is instead) and I just wanted to be the "minister's wife", wear the cute suits and clothing and just smile. Well if you think about it Children's Ministry means stepping away from all of that. You can't be effective as a leader (another one of those scary words) in Children's ministry wearing a suit, cute hat and shoes. The one thing I am learning by seeking out advice from others in youth/children's ministry is that you can't do it by yourself. You really have to develop a team of people who are willing to work together and really get down and dirty in ministry. So even though I may not be the person who will connect directly with the children maybe my role is to guide others into their own gift ( I'm thinking I did not take seriously the results from my gifted test which included administration...another one of those scary words).

The other message I am getting from researching is that you should never be afraid of asking others in the same boat as you for help. There is a lot of great research out there, including podcast (I have become a podcast freak....there are some amazing free resources out there if you dig deep). Not to mention on-line resources like Group Publishing (they have some awesome curriculum), YSpecialities and Simple Youth Ministries, just to name a few. Taking the time to read Purpose Driven Life and Purpose Driven church has impacted my life in a lot of ways. I am finding that I am spending less time watching TV ( probably a result of being in Beth Moore's Bible Study) and more time studying and researching. The book of Daniel has really opened my eyes to living in a Babylon Society. Its amazing how different the world looks when you become desensitized by the sin around you. I didn't realize how much the world around me was influencing me, especially ignoring signs of integrity. Its been very eye opening and being around other women outside of my usual comfort zone has been inspiring. I find myself thirsting for even more info (dare I say knowledge), as if God has opened up a hole in me that needs to be filled in order for me to function. The one thing I know for sure is that I am really curious about where God is leading me.

Easter Service

Before heading over to the other church to hear Marc preach we went to our church to drop off the Easter Bags for the children and to see Quisha dance in the morning service.

Marc

So Marc's first Easter Sunday sermon kind of got lost in the midst of Cori getting sick (Mom and the girls left before his sermon was halfway done). And even though I stayed behind my mind was in another place. He did a great job though, and I just wanted him to know how very proud I am of him.

Luxury Hospital

So if you are ever sick this is the hospital to stay at! Ceramic tile bathroom, flat screen TV, and granite counter tops. They even had marble floors in the hospital room! Its sad when the bathroom in the hospital looks better then yours (lol). Can't imagine what the hospital bill will be!

Cori

So Easter Sunday didn't go as planned. She is doing OK, just needed some rest (they are keeping her overnight for observation). We told her from now on if she wants us to spend Easter with her she should just say so.

Dress Sale Buddies

Cass asked us to join them for lunch on Saturday. For the first time in about four years all of the Dress Sale Buddies were together. It was so much fun having Cass and the family in town. I miss them all ready.

Lock In

We had a Youth Lock In Friday Night after our Good Friday Service. It was great fun (if you call filling 150 Easter Bags fun). The girls were volunteers but by around 2 AM they were done. Marc and I stayed up the entire night. Of course this meant he crashed Saturday morning until around 11:30 AM. No such thing for me, the phone rung off the hook so I gave up and got up. Cass called and said the Dress Sale buddies would be getting together for lunch. After lunch I spent the rest of the day running around with Quisha and Nicki looking for Easter clothes.

Then and Now

Bama is in the House!!!! Wow, look how our girls have grown! Cass and the family are in town this week for Spring break. I found a picture of the girls together from 2004 and compared it to today, my how times have changed. Its funny how our family can get together as if we have never been apart. Our girls have grown up together and are as close as sisters. Cass and I still can talk (and shop if giving the chance) like nobodies business. I am so grateful the friendships that I have. I should have a few more pics up in the coming days (the girls have several on their camera from the dinner we had together Wednesday night). We even ran into some friends at the restaurant, so stay tuned.

We have a Lock In tonight after Good Friday Services (Uncle John is preaching so it shouldn't be long....LOL). I doubt I will get much sleep over the next few days so it should be interesting to see how I look on Easter Sunday. By the way this will be the first time Marc will bring the Easter Sunday message (and as a Pastor...go figure)!

Baby Abe and Kelli are Home

I got an email from Kelli this morning that she and Baby Abe are home! What a blessing. She also sent pictures (isn't he the cutest thing?). I know in my heart that God has a special plan for Baby Abe and his family. Kelli and Mike have had to overcome so many obstacles over the years. I know that there have been times when they have asked the question why them. But I also know that Abe could not have been born into a more loving family. Whenever the odds have been stacked against them the have always been able to remain faithful to God's words and it has shown in their life and in the life of their children.

I know that for Kelli the hardest part has probably been to not doubt her faith in God, but I also believe that God knew that this time would come and that they were chosen to take care of this precious child. I ask that you continue to pray for the Hopkins family as they adjust to even more changes in their family dynamics. Please pray for the girls as they adjust to Abe, and please pray for strength for Mike and Kelli as they deal with whatever medical difficulties they encounter with Abe. Many of us know the power of prayer and this is a time for prayer. Most of all today is a time for celebration.....we thank God for his grace and mercy.

Ground Zero

Walking Tour

Good Morning America Studios

David Letterman Show

Broadway (The Color Purple)

Central Park

Nicki's Spring Break in New York

Nicki spent her spring break in New York visiting friends. She had quite an adventure. Hopefully I can get some of her New York sight seeing pictures up in the next couple of days (she went to ground zero and said it was really moving....which if you know Nicki is saying a lot. Rarely does my child cry, something she got from her dad.....so if it moved her then its got to be intense). I am glad she had the experience but so very glad my baby is back home (sad I know, but hey even my mom said it was time to come home after my two weeks in Hawaii a few years back...LOL).