This Mama's heart is full...

We all know which of our children are apt to obey and which ones are likely to not obey. So this afternoon when Chase responded poorly to his daddy, it broke my heart. He was promptly called back to the room where we were. His daddy and I were discussing how he needed to be punished.

But before we could even address him, he walked in and said, "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that. Will you please forgive me?" And he walked over to Randy and hugged him. He did this with a little quiver to his lips. His eyes were large, as if he was ready for a horrible demise.

Randy hugged him back and told him how important it was that he NEVER spoke like that to him again. He explained that it was disrespectful.

We could tell he was very contrite. He walked out of the room and we just looked at each other. What a surprise that he so quickly responded to his sin.

A little while goes by and I saw Chase walking by - he looked as if he had been crying. His cheeks were still wet with tears. I so badly just wanted to hug him. I called him to me and held him on my lap. I asked him if he was ok, and this was his reply: "Mommy, I prayed and asked Jesus to forgive me while I was in my bedroom."

Oh my. I'm not sure how I held the tears from just spilling out of my eyes. But I wanted to really drive home the beautiful picture of forgiveness that he could now experience. I told him that this is exactly what Jesus wanted of his children - to ask forgiveness of those we have harmed, and then to confess our sins to Him.

As I talked to him some more about it, he said, "I remember the story of David. God even forgave him for killing someone." Wow! He gets it. But I wanted to make sure he understood the picture of how our sins are gone - as far as the east is from the west - when God forgives us. It was so amazing to see the relief on his face. So amazing to have that confirmation in my own heart that he is a child of God.

So my heart is full tonight. I'm thankful that God allows me to be his Mommy. I'm more aware now of how much I need to continue to pray for my kiddos. What an awesome responsibility.

A Day with the cousins!

When the kids were little, Trisha and I got together several times a week. Because we homeschooled we had such an adjustable schedule. Then a few years ago we both had to go to work and put our kids in school.

We realize now how spoiled we were then. I miss those times so much. So now we take advantage of all holidays and days off so we can get together again.

We ate a picnic lunch at Coolidge Park, rode the carousel and then walked across the Walnut Street bridge.

The weather could not have been any better. It was great seeing Emily again. She's now living with her dad in MD, and had come back for her Spring break.

I just don't think you are ever too old to enjoy a carousel!

The only down side was that Bailey got a sunburn on her little shoulders. See that cute top she has on? Cute, yes. But it didn't cover her shoulders. And she was the one that mentioned that we might need sunscreen. I was too lazy to find it. Bad mommy! I'll not forget next time!

How does your garden grow?

Gardening?? Me?? That's a scary thought. But when the church offered plots to use I was eager to give it a shot. So the girls and I headed out and started working.

It was quite a bit of work. The earth was already tilled, but we had to really rake it and get a lot of weeds out.

Bailey and Sydney really enjoyed helping. They are learning right along with me. (All I can say is look how limber this girl is!)

This is our cucumber hill. We also planted zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, carrots, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, okra, watermelon and strawberries.

Bailey's favorite part was watering the garden. She's a great helper!

Now I can't wait to see if anything actually grows!! Fingers crossed.

S'mores & Salamanders

Visiting Randy's parents in Bluff City is one of my favorite places to go and relax. On this recent trip, the kids begged to do a cookout again (particularly for the s'mores). MaMa was prepared as always and had all the ingredients ready to go. All it took was for PaPa to build a fire.

I rarely get IN the pictures since I'm the one taking them. But this time, Bailey began playing with the camera and caught me trying to cook my marshmallow just right.

I just don't like pictures of myself. It's a bad issue of self esteem I guess. I almost didn't publish this picture of Chase and I. We were being silly. He came and sat on my lap and we took a self portrait. You can tell how tired I was after a long day, my hair was windblown and I just really don't like my glasses. But I want to always remember this time with Chase - he still WANTS to sit on my lap, and he's still at a size where he won't kill my legs!! LOL!

Randy had his work cut out for him trying to help Chase keep his marshmallows OFF the ground.

Almost the whole weekend, the kids spent their time at the pond catching these lovelies. Usually they are brown and black. But this time they found a gorgeous orange one. It would make the perfect mascot for UT. GO VOLS!

The Crafting Continues...

Did you know you can run fabric through your printer? I had no idea! I came across this awesome website that shows how to do it.

She made a pillow with a line from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (when Darcy is confessing his love to Elizabeth). I fell in love! I was so excited to try. So here is my version:

It involved a lot of piecing together, which was hard. And I wish now I had made the cover a little smaller so the fabric was tighter, but at least I'll know for next time.

Family Ties

My heart is full tonight thinking about what a wonderful weekend we just had. It was filled with family, good food and lots of laughs. It doesn't happen enough if you ask me.

When Amy called saying they were coming in for a quick visit(she wasn't kidding - they were here less than 24 hours!), my mind started spinning making plans. Her sweet family would stay with us and we would have a cookout when they got here so all the sisters could see each other.

It was so fun getting everyone together. Although Mom, Dad and Phillip and his family couldn't be here, it was still a much needed "partial" reunion!

These girls were inseparable. They giggled and played and stayed up way past bedtime.

These girls primped and texted and also stayed up way past bedtime!

And Amy and I, well, we caught up as much as we could in just a few fleeting hours.

Trisha and her family came over Saturday night for a cookout. I can't believe we fed 20 people, but we did and it was a blast!

Bailey, Simone and Savannah are all just a few months apart and LOVE getting to play together. I love that they are so close. I never did experience that with my cousins. I hope they grow up staying as close as they are now.

Jay and Amy...after a long drive here. So good to see those faces again!

Dave and Betsy also came over. She hadn't seen Amy in 2 years. There was a lot of catching up to do.

The guys corner - lots of sports/theology/politics talk going on.

Jesse is so tall that I am honestly shocked. He's just about taller than Randy and he's only 15 years old. He wears size 13 shoe!!! So he and the little boys (and little girls) played basketball a lot. They loved shooting the basket and Jesse would stand near the net and help knock it in. Fun!

And Jared - I could just EAT.HIM.UP! I was so sad to see them leave. But I am more determined than ever to not let life get in the way of a quick trip now and then to spend time with the people I love and who love me in return - unconditionally.

Home Decorating

I think I have the bug - the decorating/crafting bug. It's hit hard, ya'll. Inspiration has just overcome me and I had to act on it. What fun it's been!

When we first moved into this house, our kitchen windows were bare. It was seriously feeling like a fishbowl in the evening. So curtains in that room were a priority. I found this fabric at Wal-Mart and guess what? They were shower curtains! Worked just great. They've been up for the 2 years we've lived here but I've always felt like something was missing. Finally I remembered that my friend, Lynda Strickland mentioned that it would be cute to add some ball fringe to the bottom. It only took me 2 years, but here it is...

The fringe made all the difference in the world. Leave it to Lynda. She has the best ideas!

Have you heard that there's a chalkboard craze going on? I've jumped in with both feet and I'm hooked.

Anyhoo, I was thinking the other day about a Bible verse I learned as a child. The reason I remember it so well is because this verse was etched in a plaque that hung on the wall in our house. It was the verse that says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." I laughed about how it would have been impossible NOT to memorize that verse because I saw it several times a day. It just became ingrained in my mind.

That got me thinking. How could I put scripture in front of my kiddos so that they would see a verse and memorize it so well that it becomes ingrained in their hearts. I had so many verses that choosing just one would be impossible. So I got this idea to make a chalkboard to put in the dining room. We would write a verse on the board and then change it after everyone had learned it.

The way this chalkboard came to life was such a work in progress. First I found this uglier-than-sin picture and frame at the thrift store for 99 cents. The picture originally sold at JCPenney for $130! That's right $130! I took some black foam board, cut it to size and painted it with chalkboard paint (which Trisha gave me). Then I glued it to the front of the picture. I trimmed the edges with rope and then made a cute burlap and fabric flower to decorate it. Voila! I wish I had taken before pictures. I'll have to remember that next time.

So we've already learned one verse - Ephesians 4:29. And now we're learning our 2nd one from Luke 10. The kids are loving it and I'm so thankful we have this opportunity to put God's Word in our hearts.

My next project had to do with more chalkboard paint. I'm telling you - that stuff is addictive!! This time I came across a galvanized metal bucket at Michael's for $3!! It was marked down from $15 because it had a little dent in it. Big deal. I probably put more dents in it just getting it home!!

I love to read creative blogs online and I remember reading one where this lady had painted an oval on a tin like this and then used chalk to write what was inside. I immediately knew I wanted this to go on my fridge. And it works well holding our kitchen towels. What's even better is that it hides the gazillion boxes of cereal that we keep stashed up there. :)

You'll have to notice the red recipe binder that's beside the bucket. Kim and Andy gave me a gift card to Books A Million last year for my birthday and that's what I picked out. I finally have my recipes organized and use that thing every day. I love the look of it too. The front has a 3D plate, fork and spoon. Too cute.

And did you notice my little rooster? I got him at Hobby Lobby. He was marked way down and I just couldn't resist. I knew he would fit perfectly perched up there.

But I think the project I'm most proud of is this pillow. I had seen that another craze lately was decorating with burlap pillows. I just happened across some burlap at Hobby Lobby in the clearance section and snatched it up.

I remembered a pillow form I had stashed away and I had just enough fabric to cover it. I saw a tutorial online about how to make the edges fringed and I loved it. I also had the idea to print off a huge letter "N" and trace the design on the front with a sharpie marker. How much easier can you get?

By all means, don't miss the awesome leopard print chaise lounge in the picture above. That was given to us by my super awesome friend, Amy. They had to get rid of it to make room for a bed and they gave it to us.

I don't take these good deals and gifts lightly. I know that they are a blessing from the Lord. Seeing it all in one post like this makes me even more thankful. We serve a loving God!