Favorite Things Friday

BED!!!!

THIS is the reason “Friday Favorites” is so late being posted today. My bed was just way too cozy this morning!

After working 13 hours straight yesterday, with no potty break (can not be good), I got home, dozed on my corner of the sofa, then my sweet husband dragged my weary body to our bed. (Nightly routine!)

Once nestled in my “groove” on the right side of our 21″ Pillow top mattress, 125 feet off the ground, so-high that the dog(when not with Alec) and cat have to take a running start just to jump on the bed, (but sometimes don’t make it and we make fun of them as they fall flat on the floor, but then try again), I then pull our 400 tc Egyptian Cotton Sheets - that don’t “ball-up” (found at TJMaxx for a steal) over my exhausted self, then my cozy velvet/satin coverlet, then my fluffy down comforter, ALLLLL the way up to my neck, covering my ears as I scoot down to find my spot in the middle of the bed. (Yes, we do turn our air way down at night!) My sweet, Siamese cat (Noelle, the sassy, bossy senior-citizen) will find her way to the edge of the bed, next to me, then the dog at the foot (my foot of course, on top of a sheet just for her). I guess they find the heat that radiates from me once under the covers(Ken calls me the “incenerator”) therapeutic to their arthritic bodies!

Other places I enjoy Sleeping: The corner of the sofa, My mother-in-law’s house (every bed is great in her house), My Grandmother Tate, when she was alive made the best bed no matter where - tight sheets, and 3 tons of fresh smelling covers, and at my bro and sis-in-law’s place, because we wear ourselves out during the day, that “bed” always feels good at the end of the evening!

Ahhhhhh. Bed. Life could not be more perfect than this moment. This moment that I look forward to everyday. I whisper a “Thank you Jesus for such amazing comfort, rest, every good feeling in one great place”!

Will there really be no sleeping in heaven? Then I will enjoy it as much as possible while I am here!

photo courtesy of Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic

When You are Weak

When You are Weak…

God’s timing always amazes me. Sometimes I think He’s too late in His timing until after the fact, and then I realize that He knows what He is doing!

This past week was a hard one for me personally, emotionally. The only reason I am putting this out there is because I know that everyone goes through moments of weakness. No. I don’t have a child graduating, like so many of my emotional friends do this time of year! And I have my health, and a family I love, and that loves me, and great friends. I have much to be thankful for.

But I found myself this past week bombarded with the impossibles. The hows. It’s easy to look at a situation and feel defeated, not understanding where God is taking “all this”. Whining about spending my first summer having to work, and not being able to be at home, and having to sacrifice so many things at home, and I had a hard time especially with our adoption. Not necessarily in the wait, (even though it has been 3 1/2 years since we started the process)but without getting in to detail, so many other things. And when you are going through moments, there will always be something to fuel the fire…I even had a call from someone this week telling me that we should not adopt from China, and go locally…see, the enemy, like a snake, will try and strike while he can, and take advantage of your situation.

Then, at the point of weakness, I had no more words, no more emotions, no more complaints, and I was ready to give up, it was like God was saying, “ok. now that you are done, I am going to speak!”

It reminds me a bit of the patient parent who allows their child to fall on the floor and throw a tantrum, while beating their fists, and kicking their legs, and crying out every last tear until they are worn out from their outburst. Once they’ve expelled their energy, their ears are more in tune to the wisdom of their parents, and welcomes the comfort that is still given.

Sometimes God has to wait for us to finish our tantrums, and to get it all out. Maybe He’s speaking to us in the midst, but we just can’t hear. He wants us to be real. But He also wants our attention. It is a 2 sided thing. I remember trying to put Alec in his car seat when he didn’t want to be strapped in. He would bow back his 2 year old body, and boy, 3 people couldn’t get him to stay in the thing! We were doing it for his safety, for the journey, and we were probably going somewhere good! But he was in the moment. He couldn’t see beyond what was happening right now. We had to wait for Alec to become weak before we could safely strap him in, and move on to the next thing!

I was at that point Monday night. When we were at a friends house for a BBQ, someone came up to me and started talking about Addie Grace, and began addressing every single issue that I was so discouraged about. Thinking that Ken had disclosed all of my issues, I gave in. (finding out later that he had not said anything)

The funny thing is, is that this person was just making friendly conversation! He had no idea that he was being used by the Lord to address my insanity! I totally knew what God was up to, and it was so very sneaky of Him. and timely.

God waits for us to become weak to speak. He is a good God. He is a smart God. He is a Strong God. and He is a God who knows what our future holds. He knows our every thought and the condition of our hearts.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”…that is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Favorite Things Friday

Summer Break!!!

Up until High School, I would come home the very last day of school and pop in the (this will totally date me) 8 track cassettes, selecting songs that I could celebrate to: “School’s Out For Summer” by Alice Cooper, “Summer Breeze” “Teacher, Leave those Kids Alone” (The Wall - Pink Floyd), almost all of KC and The Sunshine Band, and several more. I would dance around the house with the music blasting, singing at the top of my lungs, while planning the next 2 months worth of Sleepovers, trips to Opryland, the Lake, the Mall, Trips to my dad’s house to walk over to TN Tech and flirt with the college boys, while pretending to do the obstacle course…and of course tanning and swimming, swimming, swimming!

I still feel that celebration the last day of school. If you heard a beat “thumpin’” yesterday, it probably came from our general direction! Alec celebrates a bit differently, though. He took a nap, and plugged his speakers into his ears, and chilled out. Ah. “To Each His Own”, I guess, but you can’t blame me for trying to pass on the tradition!

Though my summer is not as responsibility free as it once was, I will celebrate a change from the ordinary, daily routines, and do my best to make this a fun summer for our son, as my summers were for me. While we don’t have any plans to travel, or do anything special, Alec is glad to sleep in, and hang with his buds, and have pool parties, and consume a lot of ice cream!

What are your plans? Can we come? I’ll bring the music, and the Ice-Cream!!!Happy Summer Break!

Maria Sue Chapman

Maria Sue Chapman, adopted and youngest daughter to Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed Wednesday night in a tragic accident in the family driveway on Wednesday evening. She was LifeFlighted to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital but for only reasons God can explain she went home to Him… not to Franklin as we all so desperately wanted.

Your prayers are needed for all in the Chapman family. This is a family who has so generously loved and given to so many. Just hours before this close knit family was celebrating the engagement of the oldest daughter Emily Chapman, and were just hours away from a graduation party marking Caleb Chapman’s completion of high school. Now, they are preparing to bury a child who blew out 5 candles on a birthday cake less than 10 days ago. These words are unthinkable to type. And yet we trust in a God who was not surprised by this and because of Jesus I am certain through faith in Him we will see Maria again. - Jim Houser (Manager)

This is a website the Chapmans set up for those who would like to leave a note for them: Maria Sue Chapman

A Letter and Video from the Chapmans:

For those who never had the chance to meet this special little girl, we invite you to get a glimpse through this “goofy” blog video shot with her Daddy just two months ago. It’€™s a wonderful recording to help us remember Maria. We miss you so badly already. We’ll see you soon Maria

Our Hearts Are Saddened

A friend of mine just called with some devastating news. As she was watching the news tonight, they reported that Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman’s daughter (Maria) that they adopted from China, was run over in the driveway by their son tonight, and she did not survive.

Please pray for their family as they are grieving the loss of their daughter, and for their young son. Our hearts are with them, and our hearts are heavy and burdened for their son especially.

I Need Your Stories

I Need Your Stories!

Ok. I can’t believe I am putting this out there, but here goes…

5 years ago Ken and I met with a talented Christian Screenwriter who approached us about writing our story to pitch as a “made for tv” movie. Lifetime was interested, but she didn’t feel good about the deal, so she turned it down. (I would’ve been happy to have just made enough money for new living room furniture…still would actually! haha)

She just returned from L.A. after pitching her scripts to several Big Screen Movie Companies. (She has had incredible favor. When she told me who she was meeting with, it was unbelievable! The fact that she was able to get 11 different meetings is amazing!)

Well, 4 different companies were interested in our story! As she was pitching the movie to one company, (this particular company puts out HUGE films that have made it big) he said, that he would love to see this as a Romantic Comedy!!! I couldn’t agree more! She told me that she began praying immediately, and she pitched it again, with a comedic twist! (which describes our relationship more than serious!) She said he was laughing so hard, and then when she would get to the serious parts, he was tearing up, and got “chills”. That’s good news.

So she called and asked if I could think of 50-70 stories that were funny that she could add in. Most of these stories are pertaining to the “gullible, spiritual, pretty young blonde” (I guess that would be me, not sure if that’s a compliment or not…), and her interaction with her family, her coworkers, her friends, her husband, and her child. Also, we need some good ones of Kenny too! I immediately started sharing stories of my blind date with Snowbird, and when I sprayed myself in the face with mace, etc. I also shared stories of mine and Ken’s practical jokes we play on each other, etc.

This is where I need your help. (yigh-igh-igh) If you can think of something funny that we (or me) have done, said, etc…I need it! It doesn’t matter at what point in life it took place…that’s where the whole “creative license” comes in! (She could use it in a flash back, or flash forward…) Just think, it might make it into a movie! (yigh-igh-igh again!) If you don’t have my email, just leave it in a comment, or give us a call.

She is flying back to LA in a couple of weeks with the finished version, so I need to submit these to her as soon as possible!

We all have a story, a testimony. I am honored that ours would be chosen for some people to see! If there is a way for God to be glorified in our lives, in our stories, He will make a way for it to happen.

Thanks for your help, and for your prayers for her continued favor as she is trying to get more “Christian” stories on the Big Screen.

I Could Barely Catch Him!

Ravenwood’s 4×200 Team made it to Regionals!!!

Here is a Alec getting “ready” on the starting block w/baton in hand before he races the top 6 schools in the region, 200m as the first leg of the relay, to qualify for State! This was his first time running on the inside lane, but fortunately, he was the first to pass off his baton.

The Bittersweet News

They came in 5th place (needed 4th or better to go to State). However, the 3rd place team got disqualified, which moved us up to 4th…so we had our chance to go to State, except for the fact that our team also got disqualified because not everyone was wearing the same shorts! I think we will have enough uniforms next year!!!

Our Track Team did well overall at Regionals. The girls came in 2nd place, while our boys came in 8th. All out of 23 schools! We have several teammates going to State this week.

As the only Freshman to compete in Regionals, we know he has 3 more years to get stronger, and faster. Today at practice, he beat his 40 record by running a 4.54 and also beat his 100m at 11.4!!! We’ll see what the future holds for him! He earned his Letter, a Medal, and a Pin all in track this year.

Now that I think about it, the first words spoken about him at birth were: “boy, he came out so fast I barely caught him”...after Dr. Shearer caught him by the legs as he was born!!!

Favorite Things Friday

Emergen C “Feel The Good”!

Boy this stuff is good too! With Ken being gone all week, I was not only continuing to work at the gallery, and doing my part at home, I was having to do Ken’s half as well, along with all of the extra school activities that take place this time of year! My day started at 6:00, then back home around 8:30 every night, then I stayed up reading until 1 a.m. ’cause I just can’t sleep without him! Whew am I ever worn out. However, I add this packet of “help-me-get-through-my-day-without-15-starbucks” to my water every morning for an extra boost of energy. It contains 1,000 mg of Vitamin C as well as several B vitamins along with B12.

Ken is finally coming home, but I think I will take 2 of these today to get me through the home stretch! If you go to their website at www.emergenc.com , you can find out more about it and sign up to get free samples in the mail.

Actually, I don’t know if I want to title this Friday Favorite “EmergenC,” “or Free Samples”!

You tell me. What is your favorite energy booster? Free Sample? Happy Friday!!!

Beauty in Bloom

My Peonies are just now Busting Out!

Beautiful Iris

Purple Climbing Clematis to cover our Rail on our Steps to Garage

Pink Rhododendron we planted for Mother’s Day 3 years ago (1 to represent each of our mothers, and me!)

Purple Rhododendron

Bright Green Baby Hosta

After waking this morning, coffee in hand, I let the dog out for her normal routine. The peony bloom was the first thing my eyes focused on today! In a momentary burst of energy(taking inspiration from the peony), I ran in to get my camera , spilling coffee on my p.j.s along the way, to get a photo of this amazing flower in it’s 15 minutes of fame! I guess I thought it might go away too soon. (they don’t actually go away before your very eyes, but just about.) How could something so immaculate come out of what looks like an ordinary, plain, boring bush? It’s aroma takes me back to a time where I followed my grandmother around her garden begging to clip anything that would fit in a glass, or mason jar. The sweet, pure scent of a peony will take away all the care in the world. For a moment, the only thing that exists is the sweet aroma of heaven.

When I look at the flowers in my garden (that’s what we’ll call it, just for fun), I am reminded at how God takes care of us. I am sure I could probably take more care in the garden, but for the sake of time, I only do the bare minimum - just barely keeping them alive! We planted them, try to keep them somewhat free of weeds, try and water them when it’s dry, and really, God takes care of the rest! Actually, God has been the One giving them a drink lately! It seems the timing is always perfect. Just when I see they are thirsty, it rains! I personally can take no credit for what you see in these pictures. This is seeing God in Nature. How could you ever separate the two?

On days where I feel like I am barely getting by, barely surviving (if you have kids this time of year, you know what I mean!), I think about these blooms. The little bit that I maintain, “water” my soul (reading the word, prayer, being kind, etc) God takes care of the rest. His beauty radiates from these blooms! I can only hope and pray that He is as kind to me as He is to these flowers.

I am enjoying this Rainy Wednesday. The mist between the mountains, the dark green among the gray sky, the moist coolness in the air. It’s energizing, it’s promising.

Now I will go and clip the blooms, bring them inside, and enjoy them from my view for a bit longer…

Bragging Rights

Today is Telling Tuesday!

This Saturday, Alec qualified to run in the 100m and 200m Relay for a Track Meet. He has been injured for the majority of the season, so this was his first meet. This meet also happened to be Sub-Regionals, which meant, if he placed, he would move on to Regionals, then State!

His 4×200m Relay Team came in 4^th in the Region, which meant they get to compete for State! The Relay team also broke a school record. Alec is the only freshman represented! He also had never practiced with this particular relay team until 30 minutes before the race. He had never run with a baton before, so the coach put him in as first leg.

I love to watch him run, compete. The Lord has been so gracious to put amazing coaches in his life to help him with his gifts, abilities, talents. We are so blessed to have Coach Clyde Avant as his Sprint coach. Fox news did a segment on Coach Clyde if you want to view it, here is the link: http://www.wztv.com/newsroom/sports/vid_55.shtml

Alec will be practicing hard all week to prepare for his run on Friday in Clarksville. The guy who ran in the last leg of the relay ran on a fractured ankle Saturday (and still broke the school record, hopefully not his ankle), and showed up on crutches at practice yesterday. He still wants to run…that’s some insane dedication!

I will post pictures on Saturday after the meet! Thanks for all who are cheering him on!

Happy Mother's Day

Me and Mom

Ken’s Mom with her boys, and Shannon with her boys, and me with my boy!

Dobbins Clan

Peggie (Grandmother) with her kids: Jeff, Kellye, Scott and Debbie (who went to be with Jesus in January)

Ken with his mom Kathy in1969

One of my favorites of Ken’s mom with Alec, being a monkey in 1997!

Some of my favorite moms! All are moms, with one hoping to be soon!

Some of my favorite Mom Quotes:

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

Sweater, n.: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly. ~Ambrose Bierce

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

Being called “mom” is the most esteemed title I could ever obtain. There are a lot of things I must live up to on a daily basis; Is so and so going to love the furniture I picked for their home? Am I doing enough in my job to please those I work for , and the clients that hire me? At the end of the day, I come home to a son who doesn’t care if I ordered the perfect chair for a client. He cares if I am there for him when he is achieving goals, or when he is in trouble, or when he gets hurt, or when he is hungry, or when he needs a hug, even though he may not think he does! Being mom is the most important role I will ever play in this life. I do not take it lightly. It is sometimes difficult. Sometimes I don’t have the answers. Sometimes it is tiring. My mother once told me that if my only destiny on earth was to raise my son, that is the greatest thing I could ever accomplish. That is also the best and most freeing advice I’d ever been given. Thanks mom.

I am thankful that Ken’s mother raised her son to be the man he is today. It took a lot of patience, sacrifice, effort, love, prayer, discipline, persistence and wisdom. He is an amazing husband because she instilled great qualities in him. Thank you mom for doing that for me and your grandson!

I am constantly amazed at my sis-in-law, Shannon, as a mother. In the 15 years I have known her, she shines in all “roles” of her life. As a Wife, a Sales Manager, a Friend, a Daughter, etc…but her role as mother shines. I have learned so much about her patience towards her “very boy” boys. I have seen her discipline my nephews without raising her voice to them, and they still know she means business! I continue to learn from her as I watch her raise her 3 sons.

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms who happen upon this website today. May God richly bless you for the sacrifices you have made for your children.

Favorite Things Friday

Romantic Comedies!!!

We just got back from Florida…more on that this weekend (see my sis-in-law’s blog under links: “You’ve gotta know this”). And I realized I have 3 hours left to post my Friday Favorites!

I love a good Romantic Comedy. Actually, for that matter, I don’t even mind a bad one! It’s not that often that I get to pop in a DVD, or even go to the theater! Last Saturday, my sis-in-law and I went to see “Made of Honor” - fun, cute movie! It’s always great to go to the movies with your girlfriends! Even though, Ken has no problem seeing them with me. Actually, I made him watch The Holiday with me, and he cried more than I did, and it is one of his new favs.! (Yes, I do have a husband who cries in movies!!!)

I knew we would be spending 24 hours in the car in 3 days time, so I thought that would be a good time to catch up! So I rented several movies: 27 Dresses (cute), 2 Foreign Films (Chinese, of course), Chariots of Fire(I walked down the aisle to “Abraham’s Theme”from this movie - not a romantic comedy, but one of my favs), Lars and The Real Girl (not what you expect, actually very sweet movie), Chocolat (one of my new favs.), and the one I will blog about today - P.S. I Love You.

I do not claim to wear my emotions on my sleeve, nor do I tear up easily. But I know that I need a good cry every now and again! I think I save any pent up emotions that must be released, for movie time (or commercials)! I don’t do it on purpose, it’s just the way it goes with me. For 3 hours in the car today, I cried NON-Stop while watching P.S. I Love You - with Hillary Swank. (3 hours, because I had to keep pausing it to reassure Ken that I was ok, and to blow my nose, and wipe my face, and take a breather.) Whoever wrote this movie must of thought, “There hasn’t been a tearful moment in 2.7 minutes, we must think of something sad, quick”! It was a sweet movie about her husband dying, and he has written letters to get to her over a course of time to help her “really live”, and to get on with life after his death. Gut-wrenching, but very good, If you need some tears to flow, rent this! The picture of the kleenex above is only a portion of what I used! My eyes will be puffy until next Thursday!

Other Favorite Romantic Comedies: Sabrina (old, and new), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, It Happened One Night (old Claudette Colbert), Pride and Prejudice (Keira Knightley version), While You Were Sleeping, Roman Holiday, Sweet Home Alabama, The Holiday…These are just the ones I’ve seen 3 times or more!!!

What are your favorites? I must know! What have I been missing?

Adoption Forecast this Month

Well. Referrals were received Friday, and now our wait has extended into 2009. The CCAA only matched 3 days (LID) this month. Seriously??? This is the latest from chinaadoptionforecast.com:

Our prediction for LID 2006-03-07

China has 54 days of dossiers to be processed before they get to your dossier. China currently processes about 5.7 days of dossiers each month.

Our best guess: 2009-02-12

Since China generally sends out referrals in a batch about once per month, your referral date could easily vary +/- one month depending on whether you just get included or just get missed in a particular batch.

A Hero is Called Home

This weekend, our ears were keen to the sound of the telephone ringing. Would the response on the other end of the phone be one of elation, or one of sadness? Would it be the phone call to tell us that a sister was in labor (my sister-in-law’s sister is beyond her due date), or would it be that a dear grandfather had taken his last breath? Would it be a trip to Birmingham, or a trip to Florida?

The phone rang. The answer came. Ken’s maternal grandfather peacefully passed away this afternoon.

As I write, I am listening to Ken playing “It is Well With My Soul” on the piano, perfecting every note of 86 year-old Preston Duncanson’s favorite hymn, to prepare for the funeral.

Tears have been falling this afternoon, knowing that he has left his sweet Katy, his bride of 64 years behind, knowing that he is also a father, grandfather, great-grandfather that is already hugely missed, knowing that we will no longer have the privilege of sitting quietly next to him while he tells stories of the past that would be unbelievable had he not had evidence proving them. We cry for ourselves.

We do not cry for Grandpa though. He is in heaven rejoicing, praising Jesus, and probably quietly sitting at His feet listening to all of His stories in wonder.

Ken called his grandparents almost every Saturday for the past 10 years. As the cancer progressed, sometimes the phone calls became more frequent. If they had not heard from Ken, sure enough, there would be a message from Grandpa, letting us know how much they love us.

We will travel this week to Winter Haven for the funeral. We will retell the many stories: “The Day the Ducks Flew and the Men Died”, “Bobcat 1 to Bobcat 2″ (He has the bobcat prowling on Grandma, as a rug to prove it), The time he had to Crash Land His Plane Upside Down”(He has the wooden propeller to prove it), When his plane ran out of fuel, his gauges stopped working, the clouds were thicker than ever, he prayed, then the clouds opened up to reveal a runway”…Story after story after story.

My heart is saddened that he is no longer with us, but I am ever grateful for the times we had with him. The many times in Alec’s 15 years that he got to be around his amazing great-grandfather. From sitting on his lap as a toddler while being read a story about a good bear, to advice given last year about being a good student, a good athlete, and a good Christian.

Preston Duncanson. A Godly Man, leaving a Godly Legacy. That’s hero enough for anyone.

Favorite Things Friday

Yves St. Laurent

Perfect Touch Radiant Brush Foundation

Alright now…THIS is the stuff! This is my one big cosmetics splurge. At $50.00, this tube o’ miracle does wonders for my skin. The first night I tried this, a friend of mine made a b-line straight to me and said “What did you have done to your face? Botox? Microdermobrasion? What?” After reminding her that I was only 33 then, and I had no such need of any of those things, being so young and all, uh-hem, I told her it must be this phenomenal foundation.

Here are it’s claims: The exclusive baby-skin complex restores the skin’s optimal hydration levels and ensures perfect suppleness and radiance of new born skin. The complexion appears perfectly even, smooth and naturally radiant from morning till night.

No lie. This stuff is good. Oh, and it’s French, so it smells real good too (say this with a southern accent, and you’ll know what I mean!)

Ok Ladies, what is your favorite cosmetic? Maybe I’m missing out on something really great…Leave me a comment, I may have to try your favorite this weekend!