Fantasy Land

To officially celebrate our 10th anniversary Eric and I went on a Caribbean cruise last week.  It was....amazing.  As I return to responsibilities, chaos and a noise level I just plain forgot about, I find my mind somewhere about right here.

And I'm thinking about what I'm going to order for supper tonight...how about something like this?

Oh wait...I have to cook tonight.  Mac and cheese anyone?

Do you miss me St. Lucia?

I miss you.

Don't worry, I'll be back.

Probably several times a day.

Until I wonder if you were just a fantasy to begin with.



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This week's verse:

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

Tea with the Queen

One of our favorite books to check out at the Library is this one:

(Actually, it not my favorite, it's gets quite annoying to read over and over but the girls LOVE it.)

The gist: 

Ruby gets an invitation in the mail to have tea with the Queen and in the end "the Queen" ends up being her grandma.

These are some pics from Grandma and I'm guessing this is why the girls love the book so much....

They get invited to have tea and to party with the Queen often.

All dressed up with Grandma for a Fancy Nancy event.

A Queen indeed.....does it get anymore special?

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This Week's Verse:

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Matthew 28:18-20

A "Yes" Day

A couple weeks ago I took Rylie for a day out.  We had plans to go school shopping and then see The Little Mermaid at the Music Theater.  She was so excited to have a day with mom all to herself.  Made me realize I should make an effort to do something with the girls individually more often.

I remember growing up I loved spending time alone with my mom.  (Still do actually!)  With 4 other siblings, these times were very few and far between though.  I remember feeling lucky to be the only one with braces because mom would take me to my appointments alone.  And then we'd get a chocolate shake afterward. My love for chocolate shakes has not waned in case you're wondering.

So Ry and I had a mommy date.  It kind of turned into a "yes" day.  And I loved having a positive day.


"Mom can we eat at Quizzies?" (This is what we call Quiznos in our house, it worked out well for me that my favorite place to eat is also hers....brainwashing - it works.)

"Mmmmm...sounds good, yes!"

"Mom can I have Root Beer to drink?"

"Sure."

"Can I pick out a toy while we're school shopping?"

"Ummm....maybe."  (We all know "maybes" turn into yeses")

"Ohhhh, this purple dress is so sparkly and pretty!"

"Well, it's on sale.  Let's get it!"

"Mom why are you letting me get what I want today?"

"Because today is my special Rylie day."

Unfortunately my memory card broke and I lost all my pics from our night out but here is a pic of Ry in her sparkly dress.

It feels good to say "yes" for once.  I feel like I'm all "no" and negative with her sometimes.  It was fun to get her away from the daily grind and see her excitement over having special time with me. Although we won't be able to afford too many dates like these, I see it's time to start pulling her away for a chocolate shake every now and then.

Why Go to Church?

What exactly is the reason we need to go to church? Many times in my life I've kind of struggled with this question. Of course, the first time being in high school, when nothing is fun and you'd rather be sleeping or hanging out with friends than doing anything else.  The only thing I looked forward to about church was playing MASH and Hangman in the back row with my cousin Sara.

This attitude followed me to college where my new found freedom was very liberating.  I often slept in and only went to church when my boyfriend's parents invited us for lunch afterward.  And I'm sure my future in-laws were very impressed with the devout girl their boy was bringing home.

After I got married we attended church on a fairly regular basis. It wasn't all that important to us to go but after growing up in the church, you just can't not go. So we did, although we didn't make any connections or get involved in any way.  We just were bodies in the pew...sometimes being moved by sermons but never moved enough to spurn us into any kind of change.

About 6 years ago, at 26 years old, a believer since I was 8...I finally grasped it.  Why we need church.  Or more importantly, why we need other believers.

We had just moved to a new town and started going to church there. Several people asked us to go to Sunday School and other activities but we did not want to go.  Mainly because we didn't want to be uncomfortable, thrown in with not wanting to get up any earlier than we had to.  But people were relentless in their efforts and we finally tried out Sunday School.

We eventually got over feeling uncomfortable and got "plugged in," going to Sunday School on a regular basis and getting involved in different areas.  We felt a sense of belonging and support that we didn't realize we had been missing all those years. And we began to grow.  I quickly saw how little I really knew about my faith and I longed to know more.  I soaked everything up like a sponge over the next several years just trying to make up for lost time.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago.  Eric and I were back to playing hangman in the back row.  Feeling burned out of church functions, church responsibilities, church problems, church church church. Blah.  What had once been a great environment of growth had shifted, in my mind, to an environment of never ending responsibilities and stressors.  I'm sure everyone goes through a little church burn out now and then.  But, I felt myself again asking the question of why do we need to go to church?  Life would be a lot easier without it sometimes.

I got a good reminder of why when Graham was born.

Community.

I had such a huge network of believers to tap on the shoulder to pray, I don't think I even used them all. My church, my friends churches, my Bible study girls, my blog faithfuls... And I felt an unexplainable amount of peace and contentment that only comes from a multitude of believers praying at the same time.

I may be a little worn out with church but what I need is a shift in priorities, some time spent in prayer about it, and maybe a smidge better attitude.  Not to question my community with believers or to consider sleeping in a bit more.

We need community with other believers.  Period.  We were created for community.  We need others for growth, to challenge and teach us.  We need them to pray for us.  We need their support and encouraging words.  And we are called to do the same for them. 

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25

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Graham got to go home today!  He did so well with recovery, his surgery was only 7 days ago.  Praise the Lord!  He will have several check up's over the next few months and years but if all looks well he will live like a "normal" little boy. Thanks to the community of believers that lifted him up in prayer.

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This week's verse:

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

Philippians 2:1-2

Off to School and Graham Update

Amidst the roller coaster of emotions that I've been experiencing because of Graham (see update below), my firstborn started Kindergarten.  Not sure I had any tears left for this, but I'm also not sure I would've cried them anyway.  She was all sparkles and sunshine. 

I was a little worried she wouldn't talk about her day with me, but that was an unfounded fear. Here's the short version:

How'd your day go Ry?

"I made a friend today!"

"Mrs. Beren's looked so pretty."

"We have to wear red tomorrow, do I have anything with red on it?"

"I sat by Wyatt and Seth, Savannah and Leah were next to them and Lindsey was..."

"A boy got sent home today because he was naughty!" (we threatened her that they would send her home if she didn't obey the teacher...pretty sure no one got sent home.)

"We had centers, I played in the kitchen today."

"Our classroom has a bathroom in it!"

"I had to get three drinks during recess."

Are you ready to go back tomorrow?

"Ya Mom, but I hope Daddy don't cry again."

For the record, I'm sure Eric would like me to point out that he just said that he "wanted to cry" because his girl was getting too big.....so I will point it out, although it wouldn't surprise me if Rylie saw something I didn't. :)

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Graham had open heart surgery 2 days ago.  The surgery went very well and now Ann and Drew are experiencing the ups and downs of recovery.  One step forward and two steps back.  I feel like I've been walking around with my heart in my throat since his birth and I'm just the Aunt/sister.  I received this email from Ann this morning:

"Thank you so much for all of your prayers. I would not be able to get through this without them. My update as of 6 this morning. Graham had a wonderful night. They are going to try to get him off his oxygen this morning, which is the first step to him getting stronger. He is withdrawing from his strong pain meds, which is normal, but I don't like it. He shivers and shakes a little; heart breaking to see. My prayer for today is for his body to breathe perfectly on its own and for the withdraws to stop immediately. Again, your prayers are keeping me going. I had a really bad day yesterday of questioning, crying and exhaustion. God gave me rest last night and strength for another day at the NICU. I'm praying they'll start tube feeding him by tonight and maybe by tomorrow I can hold him again.

I love you all and would ask that you would forward this to anyone who would be willing to pray for our family."

Ann