Tiny Truth's Thursday....The cane....

There are times when your kids do stuff that just make you proud to be a mom...proud to be THEIR mom! We all know there are times that they do stuff we are like...."who's kid are you and who has been raising you for the last 8 years???" Well I had a genuinely special moment with my boy Charlie on Sunday night....and yes, I am going to take a few minutes and brag on him.

Charlie has always been a sensitive boy....he has cried for his friends who are sad....cried for his family who is hurting...cried for his favorite PSP game that is lost....cried 'cause he knew he was getting in trouble...he is just sensitive....and I love that about him. He is the kind of kid who is sensitive to others needs as well....and I saw it that cold Sunday night, demonstrated in a way that seriously almost brought me to tears....yep, I got welled up!

We had been at church for the evening service and Ric was meeting with a couple after the service....and well, that meeting lasted until 9:00. We had rode with him that night so we could not leave....so we waited. The kids listened to a teenager practice his trumpet....they did flips on the handrail in the breezeway...they played hide and seek.....they waited. They were tired...hungry....and ready to go.

We weren't the only ones waiting though...the couples two kids and their grandma were waiting on this meeting to end. When it was finally over I walked out in the hall and saw Mrs. Rachel(the grandma) getting up out of her chair. Charlie had been doing something crazy in the hallway when he saw Mrs. Rachel and he stopped what he was doing and he asked her with the sweetest little 8 year old boy voice I have ever heard....."Do you want me to go get your cane for you?". Her cane was leaning against the wall all the way across the room....so Charlie got it and gently handed it to Mrs. Rachel and then went about his business of doing something crazy up in the church house.

I was so proud of him that even in the midst of his carrying on....he saw a need in someone and wanted to help her. He wasn't afraid to ask her if she needed help....he just did it...and I love that about him! This sweet boy that I nurtured in my womb...as a babe...as a toddler...now as a young man truly got it. Don't get me wrong people...he can act just like every other 8 year old....but at that moment...for those 15 seconds I only focused on the act of kindness.

The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:12 to "put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering, bearing with one another "....I pray that as Charlie has put this into action...that I would do the same. That in the craziness of my life( and we all know it can get crazy ) that I would see needs of people around me. That I would be sensitive to others....and put on the things that the scripture speak of here.

Tiny Truth's for this Thursday:

- Never ride with my husband to church at night again....just sayin'

-That my kids can truly find a hand rail entertaining for hours

- That my kids can really be crazy

- That my kids can really be kind....and take the time to get a cane for sweet Mrs. Rachel

- That we should put on all those things that we are told to in Scripture...cause the Bible tells us to!

Snowmen don't have feet........

Most mornings at my house start off with me getting the two older kids up...dressed...and off to school by 7:20. Speaking of 7:20....I remember getting to school at 8:30...just sayin'. After the big kids are gone, it's just me and Shelby and Jesse.

After they eat they begin about their normal business....Jesse dumping blocks out and harassing our poor dog Hogan, and Shelby either wants to color..paint...or watch PBS kids. As of late she has started to navigate the computer pretty well and she loves to get on PBS kids and play games.

Yesterday morning she is on the computer playing a snowman game and she tells me

"MOM(this was said extremely dramatic), did you know that snowmen don't have feet?"

Me: "Yes Shelby, they don't have feet because they are made of snow".

Shelby: "But they have hands....and they move around like this(imagine her on her knees scooting across the floor)..so why don't they just have feet?"

Me: "I don't know Shelby....maybe next time we will give our snowman feet so he can walk instead of scoot since all the snowmen we make move around and all"

Shelby: "Sounds good to me Mom....a snowman needs feet"

A girl can dream....

Tiny Truth's Thursday.....I know someone famous....

I love to take Thursday's and write about a "tiny truth" that I have learned from my kids that week! A day to share what God teaches me through every day life...'cause He does that ya know! He teaches us BIG truth's through the simple things. This week was a little different for me because the truth I learned wasn't from one of my kids....God literally worked in my heart over this while I was blow drying my hair Sunday morning.

I have been coaching this one little boy on my basketball team for two years. He is the cutest little blond haired boy and such a sweetie. This Saturday was the first time I had seen his dad since last season. I got to talking to him and he told me that he hadn't been to any practices because he had been working in New Orleans. He proceeded to tell me that he works for Brad Pitt's organization that is rebuilding the Lower Ninth. I think my mouth was hanging open...and I muttered the words...."you know Brad Pitt..Pitt?" He laughed and told me yes and that he sees him often and has even met his kids. I did not ask about Angelina 'cause she's not important to me you know! I thought it was just the coolest thing that someone I knew, knew someone famous...superstar famous...Brad Pitt famous!!! I told all my friends that day about him knowing Brad(we are on a first name basis now since we have a friend in common)!

The next morning as I was drying my hair I was thinking about the whole scene. About how exciting it was to know that he knew someone "famous". I begin to think about how he went around all day telling everyone who he worked for and how excited he was about it...and how excited everyone he told was. Well, God got a hold of my heart and literally broke it about this whole situation.

I get so excited over someone knowing a famous person....when I know THE Famous One! I thought it was so cool that he worked for a famous person....when I work for THE Famous One! I thought about how different it would be if we as Christians were just as excited about telling people who we worked for....about telling people that we knew the most famous man to ever walk this earth...and that He was fully man and God! What if we got that excited about making Him known as we do about celebrity's. Can you imagine walking up and telling someone that "You are not going to believe who I know....Jesus...and let me tell you all about Him"!

What the world holds as famous and important should be different that what we as Christians do. As I was writing this this morning with my coffee cup beside me, I told Ric about what I was writing about. Shelby was sitting there with Fruity Pebbles in the corners of her mouth, and Ric asked her who Brad Pitt was. She looked at him and said "Who?" and then he asked "Do you love Brad Pitt?". She said "uhh..No". He asked her who Jesus was....she smiled and said "God"...."Do you love Jesus Shelby?" ...."yes Dad...I love Him". She truly knows who the Famous one is....I pray that I would never forget it...and daily be reminded to be just as excited about Christ as that man was about Brad Pitt! I pray that my life would show how famous He is!

You are the Lord
The famous one
Famous one
Great is your name
In all the earth
The heavens declare
You're glorious, glorious
Great is your fame
Beyond the earth

Tiny Truth's for this Thursday ~

~That Dylan's dad works for Brad Pitt and is proud of the work he does

~That I asked for an autograph picture...just keeping it real folks

~That God can move in our hearts....even when we are blow drying our hair

~That I know the Famous One and I should shout it out loud...and live it out loud

~That Shelby has no idea who Brad Pitt is...but she knows Jesus

Hope for Haiti.....

I know that the earthquake in Haiti has been on all of our hearts and minds over this past week. The pictures we have seen....the death....the sadness...the tragedy has almost been too much to bear. One night last week I ran across a blog that was promoting a blog called Hope for Haiti. I immediately went there and saw that it was a blog designed to raise money for the people of Haiti. Different companies were donating prizes to be raffled off....so the only natural thing for me to do was offer up a gift certificate to my company. I emailed back and forth with Jenny and worked forever to make a store button(I know, sad right...but I finally got it) and the raffle was up.

Jenny at Simply Delightful Designs had a burden for the people of Haiti and put that burden into action....something that is rarely seen! I believe God is blessing her efforts already and that He will continue too! Be part of that blessing!

I was excited to be a part of this...to make a difference, even if it is in a small way. You can make a difference too! All you have to do is go to Hope for Haiti and scroll through the awesome giveaways that are listed and whatever prize you would like to win...you buy a chance. Every dollar you donate gives you one chance to win...so if you donate $10 you get 10 chances! The winners will be drawn at the beginning of February so don't put it off....give! ALL of the proceeds will go to Compassion International and the Red Cross

You can also donate through the Georgia Baptist Convention to help their efforts in offering relief to Haiti!


If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18

Tiny Truth's Thursday....It's real right Mom...

For Christmas this year my kids got to go in the Secret Santa Shop at school and buy their family presents. I gave them $15 or $20...seriously can't remember....and told them to go pick out things for their family. They buy the item and the sweet ladies that work in the secret Santa shop wrap it up for them.


Christmas morning we opened the gifts and it was so cute to see what they had picked out for each person. They had gotten little toys for each other and then they got Ric and I a present. Ric got a great DAD coffee cup and a screwdriver. I got a MOM coffee cup and then I opened it...the gift from Charlie! Look what was in my precious little box.



Oh yes people. Look at the sparkle...Look at the shine! Do you see the size of this beauty....hold on and I'll show you a true to scale picture!






Yes, it's huge...I know...but I wear it. I wear it because my sweet little boy gave it to me. He picked it out just for me. Because he paid $5.50 for it. Because he thought it was so pretty and that "I just knew you would love it Mommy".....and he thinks it's real. Yep, he has asked me about 10 times if it's a real "diamond". Do I tell him that it's fake....I tried to soften it up by saying that it was a really nice "stone" and he said..."it's not a stone Mom...it's a diamond"! So there you have it my friends.


What kinda truth can I get from this situation you ask. Well, this ring isn't "worth" much in the world's eyes. They probably wonder why I am wearing a ring out of a gum ball machine...and yes I got several comments and stares at church this week! But it is worth something to me....and more importantly to Charlie. Not because of it's value monetarily, but it's true value.

I may not be worth much to the world. I don't have a whole lot to offer...don't have a lot of money. I am nothing "special" to 99.99% of the population......but I am worth something to God. He saw fit to save me...to change my life....I was important enough for Him to go to the cross and die a cruel death. So while I may not have a whole lot of value in the world's eyes.....I am someone because He knows my name! And I will take that "value" over anything!

The best part about this story of this precious ring....Charlie asked me Sunday night again if the ring was a real diamond...and then he told me this "At lease mine is bigger than the one Daddy gave you!" True that!

Tiny Truth's for this Thursday:

~ Kids buy the funniest things

~The Secret Santa Shop is extremely over priced...$5.50 people

~ True Value is in the eye of the beholder

~ I have worth...because of who I am in Christ

~I am thankful He found worth in me

~When Charlie gets married his fiance' is going to get a huge diamond...I just know it!

Road Trip......

About a year and a half ago my dad and his best friend RA (his real name is Rucker and that is what I love to call him) took a road trip. Not just any old road trip though....they did it on their Harley's! Now we are talking about my Dad....who never had a motorcycle the 25 years I lived in their home...and the man who bought his beautiful Harley for this here trip. And people, I am not talking about going from Virginia to North Carolina type of road trip....no, not them. They drove their bikes around the entire outskirts of the United States.

They started in Virginia(where they live) and drove down the East Coast and across and so on. They touched every state that is an outlying state of the Country. They were gone a little less than six weeks and had the time of their lives. Seriously, who can say they did something like that? I just thought it was the coolest thing ever. He saw some of the most beautiful sights....all sitting on his bike...with the wind whipping by his face.

I remember talking with him on his Birthday...he turned 60 on his trip(how cool is my dad???) and him telling me all the neat stuff he had seen but how much he missed being home. When he got home...my family threw him a big welcome home shin dig with a cake and all...my Mom was so happy to have him home! I talked to him that day(since I couldn't be at the party...(boo for living 8 hours away) and asked him all about his trip. He told me this "I had a lot of time to think on that bike...and I tell you this, after seeing this country...there is no way you can deny there is a God!"

I thought of that statement and how true it is...but how sad it is that we see it every day and fail to see His splendor. May you this day see it...in the countryside...in your child's face...in the everyday things.

His Majesty the King is in this Place...

Christmas in pictures....finally......

I finally got my Christmas pictures uploaded from the laptop and wanted to share some of them with you. We went to my parents house and had the greatest time. They had over a foot of snow the weekend before we went up there and it was still on the ground ....the whole time we were there!! The first thing the kids wanted to do when they woke up on Christmas Eve was to go outside and play in the snow....and that is what they did. Shelby and Jesse have never seen that much snow....they loved it to say the least and would have stayed in it all day if we let them.

This was the first snowman they made......Shelby gave him a carrot mouth!

My two snow angels

Throwing snowballs

Seriously....could they come any cuter???

Jesse loved the snow....

She is so precious.....

And then she took off running......

Me and the girls on Christmas Eve after church

The kids sleeping Christmas morning....they were all so sweet and peaceful!

Waiting to come down Christmas morning.....

The stockings waiting for them....on the sofa with care.....

Jesse digging in his stocking....

Can you tell he loves apples???? He ate it right away!

Mom and Dad's tree with all the grankids gifts under it....my parents are awesome!

The kid's Santa stuff........

This Dora doll is the coolest thing ever....

Can you tell that Shelbs was excited??

Jesse's train table and basketball goal...

Shelby and her Alana doll....

Check out this before and after.....this was last year...

What a difference a year makes.......

Let's all look crazy........

Charlie and Shelby are still doing crazy faces.......

We had such a great time......the best of all was just getting to be with my family. Spend time with my awesome nephew's and niece's. Drinking coffee with my mom, sister, and sister-in-law! Playing in the snow.....eating good food.....laughing....just loving! I love our family! It was a blessed time....my kids loved every second of it...and I will take that any day of the week!

Tiny Truth's Thursday…..she falls down..she gets up…

While we were in Virginia for the Holidays we got to do a lot of fun stuff. One of the last days we were there was New Years Eve and we decided to take all four kids and go to the roller skating rink for some good 'ole fun. Back in the day…like middle school days….skating was my favorite thing to do so I was stoked to go with the kiddo's. Charlie and Addie have been several times….but Shelby….she was a rookie.

We get her skates on and she is doing pretty good on the carpet area…since you can't roll there and all. When we hit the rink it was just comical….she had no control over her legs at all and just kept falling….over and over again. She just kept smiling though and giving me that look of "am I doing good Mommy?". Ric and I would take turns dragging her around the rink while she just kept trying. Her cute little side ponytail was now falling down….she had literally fallen down 123 times…but she kept skating and loved every second of it.

My mom had come with us and had been playing with Jesse so we could both skate and then she had to leave to cook dinner. I took Jesse over to the indoor playground, which he had a ball on, and as I was watching him play, I looked out on the rink and saw Ric and Shelby skating. They were in the middle of the floor and she was learning how to stand up on her own when she fell. Ric was bent over teaching her how to do it….and she did it. She picked herself up off that wood roller rink and stood herself up and she skated…about five feet and then fell. She repeated the above, with Ric cheering her on the whole time, until she skated all the way to the side of the rink all by herself where she jumped victoriously into her Daddy's arms. It was precious and a proud moment for this Momma. Not because she learned to skate…but that she didn't give up on it….and she worked through the 123 falls and she got it!

I got all welled up in that little playground watching my youngest daughter give her best effort. She is a fighter…not a quitter. I have known that all her life, but to see it play out the way it did in front of my eyes was priceless. And yes, I got all redneck and yelled across the whole skating rink "You did it Shelby"!

Shelby showed me that day that sometimes things are hard, especially when you are learning something new, but to keep getting up…even if you fall 123 times. Why? Because in the end, you will not only have your redneck momma hollering for you in front of 200 people, but you will succeed…you will get it. SO many times in life we get discouraged…beaten down….we fall. Sometimes we want to stay there…we don't want to get up. I know this because I have been there in life. I encourage you today to remember Shelby if you are in that place, to remember those bruised little knees and messed up hair….to remember how she worked so hard to figure it out…and that she got it! She could have easily unlaced those uncomfortable skates and given up after the first try…but she didn't and she was able to unlace those skates at the end….a skater! I hope that it will encourage you to keep getting up…to not give up…to not give in!

I can tell you all this because I know a God who always is there to help me get back up. A God that encourages me through His word….A God that promises to never leave me nor forsake me….A God who I trust. I heard Jonathan Falwell preach the Sunday I was in Virginia and he shared with us his dad's(Dr. Jerry Falwell's) favorite verse. The verse he put below his autograph….and I needed to hear it. Philippians 1:6 ~ "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete [it] until the day of Jesus Christ" . So today I will be encouraged because He is still working on me….He is not giving up on me…even when I fall. I pray that through His strength and His strength alone that when I do…that I would get up…just like little Shelby Jean!

Tiny Truth's for this Thursday~

~That roller skating is so much fun

~That I love to see my kids have fun

~That Shelby's ponytail was not tight enough

~That my husband is so cute when he teaches our kids

~That Shelby is a fighter and doesn't give up

~That through God's strength…we shouldn't either

~That I am glad He is still working on me