Keepin' Up With The Joneses

Graceful Numbers

2012-01-19T17:09:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure where I learned this, but somewhere in my life I heard that the number 5 represented grace. I thought of that last October when I turned 55 on my birthday. Since I had two 5's going on, I decided that meant I could claim double grace for me and my family in 2012. Then the other day I was thinking about this again and realized that if you added the numbers 2+0+1+2 together, you get...5. So I'm taking that as confirmation of my earlier deduction and find myself looking forward to what this empty slate of a year has in store for us. I'm pretty sure this would hold up in a theology class....not! :)

Anniversaries deal with numbers too. We reflect on how many years since (fill in the blank) happened and whether that's a cause for celebration or a remembrance of loss. When I was talking with my Mom this morning, she reminded me that exactly one year ago today, she returned home after 31 days of emergency room/hospital/rehab stay and it gave me quite a pause. A year and a month ago I would have bet money that she wouldn't live through all that was going on. For a purely random comparison, here's her Christmas tree last year that we put in on the windowsill of her hosptial room. She actually has no memory of anything surrounding the holiday.

And this was this year's tree in the beginning stages of being decorated in the living room of her apartment.

I would have to say that falls in the grace category.

This past weekend as the rest of the country was celebrating the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., I periodically looked back to six years ago and what was Tiffany's wedding weekend. Every once in a while, I still just shake my head at the reality that is ours and how that barely a year later, her husband walked out on her and ultimately chose an alternate life style leaving lots of carnage in his wake. But mostly I am thankful to God for saving her from a marriage that was already full of heartache and preparing her for the life He called her to.

I would have to say that falls in the grace category.

Back in my youth, there was a song by Three Dog Night called "One". The first line says, "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do". I've learned that truth firsthand in the last few months as the settling in here in Tennessee has gone much slower than I had anticipated. I am by myself a lot. We're still not settled for sure on a church and you don't see neighbors in an apartment building except in the parking lot. And to top it off, three months ago we lost Kit, my feline companion that filled a void I didn't realize was as big as it was until she's been gone. But in this time of solitude, I've learned in new ways that God is always there. Being alone with myself doesn't scare me anymore; in fact I'm almost too OK with it sometimes. I suspect that as we age and those we love begin to leave us faster than we'd like, the knowledge that I will never truly be alone will sustain me when nothing else can.

I would have to say that falls in the grace category.

So maybe 2011 wasn't as lacking in grace as I thought. But I'm still claiming a double share of it this year just in case!

Tweaking

2012-01-13T13:30:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year to everyone! Yes, I know, I'm a little late on that one and realize it's almost MLK's birthday holiday, but better late than never, right? Over the last month or so, I've been pondering some tweaking of the blog and as a result haven't really done much of anything. I realize that if I want to stay interested in keeping up with Keepin' Up With The Joneses I actually have to do just that. And it would help in keeping readers too. Well, if there are actually any left.

SO....my goal for this new year is to have entries often, even if they're only a picture or a sentence or two. I think I've been guilty of thinking that if I didn't really have anything significant to say, then I didn't need to say anything. But isn't that a bit narcissistic? Why do I think that anything I ever say could be significant? (By the way, how do you like the use of the word "narcissistic"? I'm learning bits and pieces from Tiffany as she plods away at her master's degree in counseling and I must say that I'm better for it!!) I think I've concluded that whether anyone reads or not, for now this is a way for me to journal through the adventures we seem destined to live out and to help me remember what the year has brought. It appears we'll be settling down for a while in the Nashville area, so we'll see what unfolds as the year goes on.

I don't have much time right now to wax eloquently, so I'll just share a few of my favorite pictures from Christmas and tell you why they are.

I realized a few years back that our tree ornaments tell a story every year as I decorate it so I intentionally keep an eye out for new ones to add to the collection. This first picture is of a new Hallmark ornament of an Oriole which represents our time in Baltimore along with a locally designed ornament with part of downtown Franklin drawn on it.

This ornament is not a new one, but it makes me smile every year as I put it on the tree. When it's dark, dreary, and cold outside, it's a reminder that life keeps moving forward and in the not so distant future Spring Training awaits along with a new season of hope for baseball fans everywhere.

This was a gift from our dark-haired Disney daughter this Christmas and it makes my heart smile. It's a reminder that all girls are princesses and while it seems that the wait for Prince Charming for some seems eternal, God has a plan and He's moving everyone into place at just the right time.

This last one made me cry when I finally got around to putting it together. Loss of loved ones, human and otherwise, is a universally common theme for all of us and we experienced that with Kit this fall. She had been part of our family for 15 years and it was very sad to not have her sleeping under the tree this year. Matthew brought his cat, Simba, when all of the kids came to celebrate Christmas and his presence was a help for me in the absence of Kit.

I'll leave you with a picture of our greatest gift this year.

While the moves of the last three years and the total upheaval of our family has been difficult a lot of the time, I have learned something very valuable in the process. Being together as a family, whether often or only once a year, is a gift and I hope to never take it for granted again.

Fuzzy Finish

2011-12-22T00:56:00.000-06:00

In my time zone, it's not quite midnight yet as I begin this entry, so it's not officially the day of the 2011 Winter Solstice. But it's close enough that I can say most wholeheartedly, "Thank you, God, that this is the shortest day of 2011"!! The year is almost over and a new one can begin fresh, with no mistakes in it. And I, for one, am ready.

Exactly one year ago when I woke up, I never dreamed that the next time I laid my head on my pillow would be thirty-five hours later. Those thirty-five hours saw a diagnostic doctor visit for my mother turn into emergency cancer surgery resulting in a colostomy for her.

Side note: While only one sentence, the above words have required months of living before it could be written so concisely.

Woven throughout the threads that have made up my mother's life this year with all of its resulting complications have been more changes for our family. Even I can't keep up with the Joneses anymore!!

April saw Hamp's "new" job that moved us back to Georgia end unexpectedly so in June we packed up hearth and home once again and headed to Nashville to the only job that was offered.

We barely got settled when Hamp decided to test out the local emergency facilities by having a heart attack during the 4th of July weekend. Then, after months of assessment, Tiffany had to have her thyroid removed in mid-July which has made her already full life of graduate school and work much more interesting as she's battled getting hormone levels balanced. Matthew's house finally sold in October ending a year of stress and financial worries, then Michael and Bekah moved halfway across the country in November to Texas to a new job, new climate, and life challenges that are still being worked through. Mixed in there somewhere was my birthday in October which was spent saying goodbye to our sweet Kit, the family cat for the last fifteen years.

It's been a difficult year. Starting over has lost its adventure and I have drug my feet in doing so. We don't really have a church home yet nor a group of people with whom we can share life. Friends and family are at least four hours away and in a different time zone which has been an interesting adjustment. I'm still not over that fact that the sun is setting at 4:30 right now!

Yes, I know, I'm whining...and doing a good job of it! But I've realized as this year is rapidly coming to a close that while difficult, it has been one in which we've seen God's faithfulness in so many ways. For example, this is a picture of my Mom from last weekend when we gathered for Christmas with my side of the family. Pretty good for someone who wasn't supposed to live through her ordeal a year ago, huh?

And while things haven't been easy for any of them, our kids are seeing God meet them in new ways and they are continuing to trust Him as they travel the paths He has set before them.

In glancing back over this entry, I realized I haven't really addressed the title yet. I had to have cataract surgery this fall on both of my eyes. (Yes, I'm considered "young" to need it yet, but I have genetics to thank for that!) The surgery was easy and recovery has been fine except for the minor detail of my world being fairly fuzzy if I get much beyond a couple of car lengths. It won't be until January before the healing will be complete and I can get my glasses tweaked which will enable me to see clearly again. I've thought often about this verse and as I have, I realize that it describes this year well. I haven't seen much beyond my immediate circumstances to know what God is up to. But someday, I will, and the story that's being written over all of our smaller ones is the One that will finally make sense of them all.

1 Corinthians 13:12 - "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known."

So forgive me, 2011, if I seem a bit eager to be rid of you. Don't take it personally. And should you decide to ask 2012 to take it a bit easy on the Joneses, we won't mind!

Thanksgiving Hands

2011-11-28T16:51:00.000-06:00

I'm back in TN after a busy month or so which recently saw us in Orlando for Thanksgiving again with Tiffany. The weekend before that we were in GA for my brother's wedding. The proximity of those two events led to an interesting union in my head one night when it took a while to go to sleep and I wanted to share it with you.

First, I'm guessing most of us had an experience either as the elementary student or the parent of one that resulted in a finished project looking something like this.

Or perhaps this.

Both creative turkeys used little hands to make them and probably somewhere in the lesson taught was the giving of thanks for various aspects of life.

Fast forward to the weekend before Thanksgiving and picture time at my brother's wedding. Tiffany was able to fly in for the special occasion and did double (triple?) duty as the flower arranger, photographer, and creative support for me in helping make things look just right. One of her favorite pictures to see/take is of the bride and groom's hands as they show off their new rings. Picture #1 was taken and deemed quite acceptable...with one lone dissenter.

Having dealt with severe arthritis and its complications for most of her life, Carla grudgingly agreed that the picture was OK, even though we could tell she wasn't overly excited about it. It would have been easy to just keep going to the next planned picture because to the rest of us, she is a beautiful woman of God, both inside and out, and we didn't see a problem with the picture as it was. But John knew the heart of his new bride well, so he quietly took her hand again and held it tenderly in a new position for another picture.

At the time, I was moved by the sweet gesture of love that was expressed, but on that sleepless night I realized an even greater truth. Marriage is supposed to be the tangible example of God's love to His people here on earth, but in today's world a curious observer might conclude that as soon as we mess up, He's gone. Instead, the reality is that He tenderly accepts us not because we have no blemishes, but simply because we're His...and He loves us. We might not have a picture in an album to show that, but all we have to do is look at the cross of Jesus and the proof is there.

Congratulations, John and Carla as you begin your lives together and thank you for letting us be part of your special day!

On Life and Loss

2011-10-29T22:20:00.001-05:00

9 days ago I had a birthday. 8 days ago we had to take Kit, our family cat to the vet for the dreaded but eventual one way trip that a lot of us have to make with our pets. It was a crappy birthday week.

We had gone to GA for the weekend to celebrate my Dad's induction into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame with the rest of my family that could be there.

We arrived home Sunday late afternoon to Kit not greeting us at the door as we came into the apartment. When I called her, she came out from under our bed, but it was obvious that she was not herself. Vet visits Monday afternoon and again on Thursday became the foreshadowing of the reality I had slowly begun to accept.

She was still Kit, but obviously things were not right on the inside and she was getting worse. Instead of going out to celebrate my birthday, we stayed home and I periodically would go into the bathroom where we were keeping her to check on how she was doing.

I ended the beginning of my 55th year on this earth saying goodbye to a beloved pet that had shared the last 15 of them with me. And then on Friday morning, with my heart breaking, I quietly patted her to sleep as the sedative took effect and then walked out of the room through one door while the vet went out the back door to administer the final shot that would stop her heart.

A lot of you don't like cats and don't understand those of us who make room for them in our lives. But for those of us who have, we've learned that a cat and her mysterious ways are simply a wealth of affection waiting to be discovered and embraced. I could never begin to count the number of family pictures she's in from being cuddled as a scrawny little kitten that looked like a baby possum to sitting or laying on each family member more ways and more times than any of us can count. In the last few years, I was the primary recipient because I was the only one home during the day and wintertime found her on my lap within a minute or two of sitting down, preferably with a fleece blanket over my lap first.

I've read that when grief comes for any reason, it pokes at the scars from past pain and can multiply the emotion that is felt. I have found that to be true and as with the original grief, I'm ready for it to be over before it apparently is going to be. I had distractions this week in the form of a visit from Joey but he left today. While the intense feeling of loss has lessened, I know that it will be a while before I quit thinking that I see or hear Kit as I go through my day.

Matt Redman has a song on his album, "10,000 Reasons" called "O This God". Part of the lyrics are below:

We've walked through storms and
We have walked through sorrow
Still You won't let them steal away tomorrow

We are going to shine
Now we are going to shine for You

We leave the old behind
It will not define us, no
Yesterday is gone
Now anything is possible

Those I have loved and lost, human and otherwise, will always be in my heart and will never be forgotten. But if I'm not careful, grieving over what's gone could steal away tomorrow and I don't want that to happen. So I'm praying the tears that have yet to fall will soften my heart and not harden it as I look ahead to what this now makes possible.

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."
~A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

Remembering

2011-09-11T23:28:00.000-05:00

I'm finding that before I can head to bed, I need to process for a minute what today has been for me. Like most Americans, I have spent at least part of the day remembering the attack on our country 10 years ago. It was my first experience of feeling unsafe in my own country, wondering if further attacks were forthcoming. Hamp was in Chicago at a printing trade show and it took him several days to get home since air travel had been halted. While he was never in harm's way, having normal life interrupted in such a way underscored the point that life in America as we knew it had changed forever. An innocence was taken and while not necessarily a bad thing, a forced growing up in any capacity can leave scars.

When we stop to remember anything - good or bad - it seems that usually pictures or symbols of some kind do what words sometimes cannot. All of us probably have images in our mind of what 9/11 was to us, but one that particularly stood out to me was this picture.

I suppose I could be accused of not wanting to deal with the graphic reality of the day, but I think this picture does that well. While covered in dust from the debris in the air and standing on rubble that possibly has entombed some of their own, they still chose to make a statement of hope. America had been attacked and many were lost, but those who remained were standing together in a new-found commonality to face together what might lie ahead.

And then it occurred to me this morning that God left us a similar reminder in the last hours of Jesus' life here on earth.

Mankind had been attacked centuries before in a garden of perfection by the enemy of the Creator. Just like ten years ago in America, the ripples from that first attack have taken out more than just the original target. Yet, in the midst of the pain and suffering, we were given a symbol of hope in which to remember the only One who could save us from our enemy. A broken body and spilled blood remind us that our Savior came, lived, died, and rose again and that He will come again and all will finally be as it should. With that hope, we're to encourage one another to not lose heart and to remember that this is actually not as good as it gets.

While not perfect, America has gotten it right often down through the years. I, for one, am still praying that we remember again before it's too late.

The World According to Pooh

2011-09-01T17:45:00.001-05:00

Have you ever begun a task and ended up doing something so totally different from what you started with? Yeah, that was my afternoon. I really was being productive, but then found myself looking up Winnie-the-Pooh quotes. I know, it boggles the mind as to how I made that transition, but I quit trying to understand myself a long time ago.

As I read through some of them, I realized that A.A. Milne was actually quite brilliant. So I thought I'd pass along some of that wisdom to you on this first day of September that doesn't seem to know it's the month that ushers in fall. Right now in middle Tennessee at 5:00 central time, it is 96 degrees.

I keep telling myself that before I turn around good, I'll be wishing for warmer days, but my self isn't listening right now.

Anyway, back to wisdom from Pooh and his friends. First, though, did anyone besides me ever know all the words to the Winnie the Pooh song that listed the names of his friends? If not, let me reacquaint you. Click here for the link that will let you not only hear the song, but you can sing along if you so desire. I won't tell. :)

In case you're wondering where Tigger was, he didn't show up until later. If you know Tigger at all, you'll understand that he must have his moment of fame as well, so if you click here you can meet him too.

A little side note - when I was in high school one of my best friends decided I reminded her of Tigger and nicknamed me that. To this day, I'm not sure if I should have been offended or not.

Back to the quotes. Here are a few of my favorites that I came across this afternoon and you can let me know if you agree that there's much more here than meets the eye.

"Sometimes, said Pooh, the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."

"You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes."

"I'm not lost for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost."

"Oh, Tigger, where are your manners?"
"I don't know, but I bet they're having more fun than I am."

"When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you us quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it."

"Pay attention to where you are going because without meaning you might get nowhere."

"Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon."

"Rabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit's clever."
"And he has Brain."
"Yes, said Piglet, "Rabbit has Brain."
There was a long silence.
"I suppose," said Pooh, "that that's why he never understands anything."

"We can't all and some of us don't. That's all there is to it."

"Mind over matter, will make the Pooh unfatter."

"I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit. "No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it. It's just that something happened to it along the way."

And last, but certainly not least,

"Some people care too much. I think it's called love."

Starting Over

2011-08-24T13:53:00.001-05:00

As the title of this post would suggest, life in our corner of the world has been all about starting over in recent weeks. It's been over a month since I've written and I'm sorry about that. There might be a handful of you that read on a regular basis, so for you and for ease of recording our journey for posterity's sake, I anticipate doing a better job of keeping up as time goes on.

I've told you before that when I'm full of words, I sometimes can't get them to come out and that's been the case this summer. I've had moments here and there of doing well and anticipating what God has next for us in a new city. But I have to be honest and tell you that I've also complained a lot and fretted even more. The truth is that I don't want to be starting over again. But since we're not independently wealthy and have to work to make money, it seems like a good idea to go where the job is and that is now in Nashville.

Yes, Nashville is a cool place to live from what we've been told. But it's also been ridiculously hot this summer and checking out a new place in air you can't breathe is not my idea of fun. Nor is it appealing when everything has to be done alone. So I've read a lot, kept Kit company, nursed a couple of family members, and just been stuck in survival mode. While doing so slowly, time has passed and the back to school madness has arrived.

I love school. I always wanted to be a teacher and while I didn't quite reach that goal, I worked in a school for years in one of the administrative offices. I grew up as the daughter of a football broadcaster so fall meant games on the weekends, marching bands, and blanket wrapped cheering in the stands. Now that I'm not in that setting anymore, fall brings a bit of melancholy to my soul because I still feel like I'm supposed to be starting a new year even though the calendar might indicate otherwise.

Churches do the same thing. Summertime is a break from ministry and a time of refreshment for the staff. Normal opportunities to get plugged in aren't available and on any given week different people are out of town. Guess when we moved to a new city? Yep - right as school ended and summer began, so finding opportunities to meet new people has been complicated by the calendar.

Lest you get depressed with me, let me quickly say that all of the above is background information so I can keep going forward. In spite of the crazy summer schedules, we did visit a few churches and found one that felt like home. Since the school year has begun, so have the Bible studies, etc. and I actually went to the first one yesterday morning. It was still hard because I wasn't meeting a friend there and I knew that I wouldn't know a soul...but I did have this reminder as I headed out the door.

It's a small wall hanging a dear friend gave me right before we moved and it's been such a sweet reminder that no matter how alone I might feel, the truth is that I'm not...and I never will be. One of the good things about being alive for a few decades is that experience really is a good teacher. I know that I will meet some new friends and probably sooner than later I will have someone to go to lunch with again. No, they won't know anything about me until I tell them and they won't know who my kids are and what they were like as they were growing up. But God does and that's enough.

In honor of new beginnings, whether in school or in life, I'll close with a few letters of the alphabet to summarize our days since we last chatted.

H is for Hospital...where I have spent too many days in the last 6 months. My Mom's emergency surgery right before Christmas was enough to last a lifetime, but then Hamp decided to have a heart attack on July 4th weekend. Tiffany had unexpected surgery to remove her thyroid two weeks after that and I went to Florida to be with her during that time. Everyone is doing well but it was such a reminder that life can change in an instant and I'm thankful for those who are called to the medical profession.

M is for Music...and there have been some great new albums released in the past month or so. I suppose it's only fitting since I now live in the Music City to find my palette expanding as you will see.

Matt Redman has an awe-inspiring CD with his lyrical and musical mastery creating songs you'll soon be singing in church. Steven Curtis Chapman invites us into the journey God has him on as he recreates what God has given him down through the years while continuing to move forward in the story he and his family have been given.

Yes, I've tested the country music waters after watching American Idol this past season and found that they're not so bad. :) I love Scotty and Lauren because they're both strong Christian young adults from Small Town, USA. They've been very brave and bold in their testimony for Jesus and both are amazing singers. If you need a smile, you'll enjoy their respective CD's as well as their new albums due out in October.

A is for Atlanta Braves...who are playing their hearts out and making a serious run for the playoffs in October. We went to Turner Field on August 12th when Bobby Cox's number 6 was retired and another baseball was added to the outfield wall to join the other Braves Hall of Famers. I'm still holding out for a World Series birthday celebration in mid-October. :)

B is for Books...and the friends we meet in them. If you're looking for a recommendation of the next Pulitzer winner, you won't find it here. But Robin Jones Gunn has been writing for decades and was instrumental in shaping the dreams of Tiffany as a teenager. While those dreams were shattered by choices beyond her control, the Foundation on which they were built was not. Being reminded that her story is still being written by the one true Author encouraged me yet again as I became reaquainted with Sierra Jensen and her friends.

F is for Family...and the gift they are. Since our moving adventures began three years ago and we've been away from family more than we've been near them, we've learned as most everyone does never to take them for granted. It's sad that we can spend most of our lives wishing for someone else's story only to discover that our own is what has made us who we are. If you still have family to call your own, make sure things are OK between you and spend time together often because someday you might not be able to.

As a sidenote, I'd like to share that our family is going to be growing in the months ahead. My brother recently became engaged to an amazing woman that we all love dearly. Their stories didn't turn out like they thought they would years ago when they set out on separate paths, but God saw fit to bring them together in His timing and we are glad He did. Congratulations, John and Carla!!

L is for Long...which this entry has become! I will close now and try to coax Kit out from under the bed. It's our building's turn to have a new roof put on it and the noise has been annoyingly loud if you're a cat...and even for us humans at times. This is a picture I took of her last night after the workers quit for the day and she finally braved the living room. Poor kitty! She was trying to smash her face as far away from the world as possible while on my lap.

Thanks for reading and I'll be back soon...really!! It's much easier to stay current than have to play catch up. If you're on the east coast, stay safe as Irene races toward you. This crazy week looks like it will be ending with the reminder that God really is the only One in control. Here's to living like it's true!

"This far you shall come, but not farther; and here shall your proud waves stop."
~Job 38:11

Summer Daze

2011-07-19T22:09:00.000-05:00

Hello from the latest hospital room! This is seriously getting to be way too common of an occurrence and one I'm ready to stop for a while. That being said, if I was 30 years younger, I think I would have liked being a nurse...maybe. If we're friends on Facebook, then you already know most of what I'm going to tell you. If not, here's the latest from Tiffany's surgery today.

She had her thyroid removed which took about two hours. They sent the whole thing to pathology where they'll check it out and she'll find out in a week or so whether the suspicious cells were actually cancer. If not, she's done except for being on medication the rest of her life. If it was cancer, there's more to be done, but it's not as bad as other cancer treatments are. Hopefully that won't be the case.

Tiffany has been drug sensitive her whole life and that knowledge has helped today with the types and amounts of drugs that were used both in surgery and afterward. Even so, she still struggled with some pretty bad nausea most of the afternoon. That's better now and she's taking pain medicaton orally now so the trick is trying to get enough food in her stomach to keep her from getting sick past a throat that is not happy about anything coming near it. Now we wait because only time will improve things. Hopefully tomorrow afternoon will see us heading back to her apartment where she can truly begin to rest and recover.

In the whole fifteen minutes she was resting a little while ago, I was thinking about how when you're in a hospital room, the outside world becomes foreign to you and you function in an alternate universe. It's July, I'm in Florida, and it's hot outside.

But I'm sitting in jeans and a long sleeve shirt over a t-shirt with a blanket nearby because it's cold in this room to keep Tiffany from getting sick as easily. And I'm OK with that because this is one of my babies and I would do anything to make life easier for them if it's within my ability to do so. That's what being a Mom is. And as I was thinking about all of that, this picture flashed through the memory banks of my brain.

It was taken at a 4th of July church picnic when she was around 6 years old and it epitomizes summertime to me. How has time gone by that quickly and where did it go?

There's not really an answer to that question, so I'm going to close this out and attempt to sleep a few hours here and there in an interesting looking reclining chair. Well, in between Tiffany's vital signs being re-checked at midnight, another dose of pain medication being given, more blood drawn sometime near dawn to check calcium and hormone levels and possibly a bathroom trip or two thrown in with her IV cart going along for the ride. OK, so maybe it'll only be a few minutes here and there. Meanwhile, you all enjoy summertime for us the next few days until we're back in commission.

"There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart." ~Celia Thaxter

On To The Next Thing

2011-07-16T00:23:00.001-05:00

It would appear that our two week respite from normal life (do we have a normal life??) has come to an end. Hamp's been back to work this week and the doctor this morning told him things looked great. With a couple of weeks of cardiac rehab so he can be monitored, he'll be back to his regular routine...sort of.

Gone for the most part is the southern tendency to have food smothered and covered. While we probably were at about the 60% ratio of eating well, it was the other 40% that tried to kill him. The last two weeks have found us eating LOTS of veggies and fruits, eating fish more often, reading labels on "food" items only to discover most things actually don't qualify, and drinking enough water to float a small boat, or at least a rubber ducky or two.

Yes, we know that deprivation leads to rebellion so we're being aware of that too, but the reality is that we choose and act on what's important to us. Our days are numbered and we can't add or subtract from what God has given us, but I believe our chooser can determine to a degree what those days might look like. So thanks in advance for your support of keeping us around a little longer. :)

What's next for us? It's late and I need to go to bed so I won't take time now to go into details, but I'll give you an outline so you can be praying for us and maybe try to keep up with us. Good luck!

~We leave tomorrow in two vehicles to drive to GA for the weekend. Hamp's family is quite ready to see him with their own eyes and my mother is celebrating her 80th birthday on Sunday.

~Hamp will head back to TN on Sunday after the celebration and on Monday morning I will head south to FL because...

~Tiffany is having surgery to remove her thyroid. It was discovered somewhat accidentally that she has two nodules growing on it and after biopsies and a second opinion, the doctors agreed that complete removal was the best decision. That means she'll be on medication the rest of her life which she is not a fan of, but it's necessary. She's never had surgery before and is a bit apprehensive about being put to sleep. She'll be in the hospital a night or two, so I'll probably be reprising my "sleep in a chair, if at all" role that I played in December with my Mom.

~An eye doctor appointment last week confirmed that I am now the bearer of two cataracts that will be have to be removed sometime this fall. I am not a fan of getting older, although the alternative keeps it a desirable option most of the time.

~Last but not least, I leave you with my soapbox topic for the day. My car, a Toyota Camry, started making a clunking sound in the steering column that I could not only feel, but hear. It's been doing it a while and had gotten more pronounced so before heading out solo for 11 hours, I wanted to have it checked out. The problem was a part in the steering shaft and after giving them our extended warranty information, I thought everything was going to be taken care of. Wrong! The warranty company refused to pay for the repair because it had not "mechanically failed" yet. The problem I was having is documented on their Technical Service Bulletin that goes out to the dealers letting them know that potential service repairs don't qualify with the initial reporting problem if they're on that list.

The service technician went to bat for us with the warranty company and went so far as to have his supervisor talk to one of theirs, only to receive that same answer. According to them, the problem wasn't likely to cause a mechanical failure and if it did, they would then fix it. But here's the kicker - should that have happened, my steering would lock and the car would not be able to be turned to the left or right. Can you imagine what disaster might result if that happened going 75 miles an hour down an interstate?

We made the expensive decision to go ahead and repair it but I am armed with information (and a blog) to contact Toyota and express my complaint. I found it amazing that a company who in the not so distant past was dealing with terrible PR over stuck gas pedals that were causing accidents and even deaths was taking something potentially as dangerous so lightly.

By the way, the warranty company (that our current dealer doesn't even use anymore) is Fidelity Warranty Services, Inc. out of Deerfield Beach, FL...just in case you were wondering.

I need to end on a more positive note so here you go:

As the first half of the baseball season ended, the Braves were one win away from reaching 10,000 wins as a franchise.

And tonight, July 15, 2011, they won again! Congratulations to the Braves and for what I think will be a very special second half of the season.

Thanks for reading and I'll be updating as I can from various places in the south. And next time, I promise I'll have pictures!

Resume

2011-07-11T16:04:00.000-05:00

Well, I certainly didn't see that one coming! Who would have thought that a mere week ago I would have been bringing Hamp home from a hospital stay necessitated by a heart attack? As you can imagine, life has pretty much been on hold until this morning. He headed back to work for hopefully shorter days this week until he sees the doctor on Friday.

The only restriction he's really had was to take it easy so the incision in the groin area where they did the heart cath can heal. He was able to work from home some and we all caught up on the rest that was missed in the last week.

A lot of things have gone through my mind in the last nine days and it will probably take me some time to process before I'll be able to share them with you. But there was something I had already been pondering and everything that happened has magnified the significance of it. I'm not sure I'll be able to rein in my popcorn thoughts, but I'll give it a try.

For background, you need to know that I love the book/movie series "Anne of Green Gables".

Anne unexpectedly finds herself in a loving home after being orphaned, where she speaks often and usually without thinking as she lives life to the fullest. The bane of her existence is her red hair and those unfortunate enough to comment on it in teasing find that out quickly. Yet, the very characteristics one thinks of when seeing a redhead are the ones that make her uniquely Anne...with an "e".

When Marilla decides she can stay at Green Gables, she informs Anne that she must say her prayers that night before she goes to bed. Anne promptly replies that she doesn't say any prayers and give the following explanation:

"People who haven't red hair don't know what trouble is. Mrs. Thomas told me that God made my hair red on purpose and I've never cared about Him since."

Whether I see it in print or in the movie, I always laugh at the immature reasoning of this precocious child. But then I was reading some more in "To Be Told" by Dan Allender, and I realized I'm just like Anne. Consider these words:

"Do you ever feel that you're stuck, just going through the motions, not hearing from God, and not feeling any passion about your life? It's easy to land there if you're not listening to your story...Your story has power in your own life, and it has power and meaning to bring to others. I want your story to stir me, draw me to tears, compel me to ask hard questions. I want to enter your heartache and join you in the hope of redemption. But your story can't do these things if you can't tell it. You can't tell your story until you know it. And you can't truly know it without owning your part in writing it. And you won't write a really glorious story until you've wrestled with the Author who has already written long chapters of your life, many of them not to your liking."

Did you catch the last few words? What does he mean that the Author has already written long chapters of my life, many of them not to my liking at all? You mean, God has written my story like this on purpose???

It was like a spotlight fell on those few words for me. I could concede that God knows everything and allows certain things to come my way with a greater plan in mind, but to believe full authorship didn't set well with me. Yet the more I thought about it, the more I realized that if God really is God, then He has to be fully Author...or He's not God at all.

And then Hamp had a heart attack. So, I'm still wrestling a bit with this one...and yet I'm not sure that I am so much any more. For a control prone person such as myself (freak is a little harsh, in my humble opinion) to accept that Someone else has everything calmly in hand makes me feel free. But I don't think I would be OK with this if I wasn't convinced the motive was out of love and care for me. So maybe the age-old question really isn't "why?" after all. Maybe it's as simple as elementary angst - do you love me? Check one, "yes" or "no"...knowing that "yes" will always be checked.

I'm pretty sure this tension is something that is going to be continued...

Thankful Hearts

2011-07-03T16:55:00.000-05:00

I have to begin by saying a very big "Thank You" to every single one of you who have prayed for Hamp and me in the last 24+ hours. He is doing well for a heart attack patient. The blockage in the artery was complete which caused the blood flow to stop and therefore the heart attack. Once the stent was in, the flow was fine again which did reverse some of the adverse effects to the heart. Obviously your body can't go through something like that and go back to the way it was before, but it does seem that the damage was minimal. We're still waiting for test results, medication adjustments, and the follow up visit to the cardiologist in a couple of weeks before we'll probably understand the whole situation.

He was moved out of ICU late this morning and is now in his own room. As comfy as that is, he's hoping he'll get to come home tomorrow where I will become chauffeur for the rest of the week. He can pop in and out of work for a meeting here and there but can't stay. Exercise is limited until the doctor visit and we'll be watching for side effects of medications.

The outpouring of love and concern has been amazing and such an encouragement...especially to me. For you to fully understand the magnitude of it, I have to go back a couple of weeks and tell you a story.

When we found out we were moving to the Nashville area, we had several recommendations of good churches to check out. We knew it would take a while to find the place we were supposed to land and since it was summertime and regular routines are disrupted, we figured that would probably add to the time frame. We made a list and began with the church closest to us and went two weeks ago. It's in a cool location, the worship time was good, and the pastor taught well from the Bible. There was only one thing lacking. From the time we walked in the door until the time we walked out of the door, not one person spoke to us. Not one. I think two people acknowledged our presence with a nod and a half-smile, but that was it.

If you know us, you know that won't stop us from going there if that's the place God has for us. We can talk to a post if necessary and maybe we're supposed to be part of the solution to that oversight. But it was still a glaring lack especially to someone new to the area. It made us both very aware of how we've been guilty of the same thing. Don't we all gravitate to those we already know and who are familiar? It was a good lesson to be reminded of and one I hope I never forget.

And then there was today. Early this afternoon, my phone rang with a local number but I didn't have it in my phone as a contact so I had no idea who it was. When I answered it, this bubbly voice introduced herself as a friend of a friend of a friend with a cousin thrown in there somewhere too. Turns out some of the precious young ladies who were in our small group in Baltimore were together and concerned about us being here by ourselves with Hamp in the hospital. One of them had gone to college 30 minutes from where we lived and was active in her church during that time. I'm still not really sure how it all ties together but with a phone call or maybe two, we were being reached out to by a total stranger whose only connection to us was that we were part of the body of Christ with a need. I felt like our girls from Baltimore were right there with us as this voice reached out in friendship. We're meeting her tomorrow when she comes to visit us in the hospital. Isn't that awesome?? Ellis, you should be proud!! :)

I share this with you not as criticism of what wasn't done, but for the blessing of what was. I was humbled at how what to us might be such a small thing to do can mean the world to someone else. It's something we all need to be reminded of...and now we have been!

Lastly, even as I type this on a blog, I'm reminded just how much the world has changed. We've all heard the criticisms of social media and how it can be addicting and replace real life, etc. All of that is true and more. But it has also shrunk this vast globe significantly and we've seen proof of that in the last day and a half. We've heard from people all over the country that have been part of our lives - some from as far back as high school - all because of a status update here and there. I embrace change like it's a porcupine and work hard to avoid it most of the time. Again, I think I'm humbly learning how God really can and does us all things for good.

Our friends arrived this afternoon so we have company now although we're not exactly going to be out on the town. The hope is that Hamp will make it home before they have to leave. Thanks again for all the love and prayers - God is blessing us through you. Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

I Was Right!

2011-07-02T23:48:00.001-05:00

When our kids were freshmen in high school, their schedule didn't allow for many choices outside of the basics since they were on the college track. We ended up making the somewhat difficult decision to eliminate Geography so they could take keyboarding and learn how to type. (My apologies to the many wonderful Social Studies teachers that I know!) It's not that I thought learning about a world bigger than the state of Georgia wasn't important, but more about the fact that my mother made me take typing (as it was known in the dark ages...and on a manual typewriter even!) and it continues to be one of the most useful things I've ever learned.

Fast forward to today. Our day began as many have recently with Hamp going to walk/jog before the day got away from him. He hit the weight room for a few reps on some basic things and came back to the apartment to sit on the balcony and cool off. Unbeknownst to me, he started not feeling quite right, but he came in anyway and took a shower. I heard the water turn off and about five minutes later went back into our bedroom area to ask him about the grocery list I was creating. I found him on the floor by the toilet awake, but uncomfortable and feeling sick. Of course, that shocked me but I have found myself on the floor by the toilet before when things weren't going well intestinally so I didn't think a whole lot about it. He doesn't like to be bothered when he's not well, so after making sure he was somewhat OK, I left him for about 5-10 minutes. When I came back, nothing had changed and I decided that it was time to try and get some specifics. As I questioned him again for a description of how he felt and what was going on, all he could really say was that he just felt sick and like he had indigestion. At that word, the light bulb went on and I asked him if his chest felt tight. When he said it did, I realized he was likely having a heart attack. I then told him we were going to the emergency room and questioned whether he could ride in the car or if we needed to call an ambulance.

Side note - health care professionals will probably and possibly rightfully so fuss at me for the decision I then made. Since I knew where a hospital was and how to get there and that it was only five minutes away and that we live in a gated apartment complex that would take time to talk an emergency vehicle through, I opted to drive him.

When we got to the emergency room and got to the window, the girl at the desk asked what was wrong. I told her I thought my husband was having a heart attack and from that point on, things moved in hyper-speed. In the three minutes I was gone to move the car, they had gathered five or six people and they were surrounding Hamp doing their respective jobs. It was fascinating to watch their urgent, yet controlled quickness as they worked. One of them even checked on me in my chair nearby to make sure I was OK as I sat observing everything. As soon as I heard them confirm the heart attack with the EKG, I knew he would be getting a heart catheterization to try and clear the blockage. Sure enough, within a few minutes, the cardiologist arrived, the cath team arrived, and Hamp was wheeled away. I was directed to a waiting room where I was to wait for them to either complete the procedure or let me know he'd be going for surgery somewhere else.

Side note number two - turning on the light in a dark waiting room and sitting alone in a city you've lived in for four weeks and where you don't know a soul is one of the more surreal things I've done in my life so far.

As you can imagine, I had people to contact to let them know what was going on. I also realized that as hard as it is to receive those phone calls, it's just as hard to make them. Word began to get out and people began to pray. And that's when I realized I had been right all those years ago - geography can be highly overrated.

I've grieved more in the last four years over the relocation of our family in its various ways and the loss of life as I thought it would be than I have in my entire life. Yet in that waiting room this morning, I felt upheld and surrounded as if you had been there physically. In fact, before anybody even knew to be praying, God was already at work keeping me calm and Hamp at peace. When I questioned him later, he said he never felt afraid or worried during the whole process of everything that transpired.

Don't get me wrong - if I could live in the same town with our kids and our family and friends, I'd do so in a heartbeat. But that's not what God has chosen for us right now and today I learned that it's OK. He is here and you are here...because what God has joined together will never be separated.

Whenever you read this, take a minute and hug your loved ones a little tighter and if things aren't good with somebody, then make it good. You never know when your day might start off normal only to discover that it will end with a new normal in its place.

Living In A World In-Between

2011-06-30T17:53:00.003-05:00

My, what a week it's been! In the last seven days, we had our first overnight guests in TN, I drove to ATL for my sister's birthday on Sunday, went to Passion City Church afterward, took my mom to two doctor appointments on Tuesday, had dinner with friends, and drove back to TN on Wednesday...and our second set of visitors will be coming this weekend. Don't get me wrong - the whole week was great and we're hoping lots of you will visit us in our new setting. It's just that I'm finding that being closer to "home" than we were in Baltimore is not helping the very surreal tension that I live with on a regular basis. It's hard to explain, but I'll try.

We don't live in GA anymore and in one sense haven't had a "home" since we sold our house. No matter how much you decorate, apartments by their very nature are temporary. Heart connections exist in every place we've been and returning to our current location that houses our ever-shrinking possessions doesn't lessen them. Our children have no connection with the last three (counting this one) places we've lived and so my emotions are confused whenever I return to somewhere we've called home. The tension of memory vs. reality is quite exhausting and makes me realize the wisdom of why college deans tell parents not to let their children come home for a while. It takes time to invest yourself in a new place and if you aren't forced to, some might not do so. I would probably fall into that category and I'm mindful of that as I choose when or if to return to former places of residence. And yet, when that's where family is, not going back isn't an option...thus the tension I will more than likely forever live in.

I probably just made no sense trying to explain that and greater minds than mine have wrestled with that very tension of living here while knowing it's not the final destination. Speaking of which, I finally started reading the book, "To Be Told" by Dan Allender.

As I read the following section, I found it sort of helped give words to what I've been experiencing:

The Bible tells us that those who seek God will one day be given a new name:

"Everyone who is victorious will eat of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it."

The passage also reminds us that we are living in a world in-between. We are between two names. We know our name; we don't know what our new name will be. The greatest tragedy of life is that most of us, including many of us who are deeply spiritual, forget that we don't yet know our true name.

The book is about learning the story of our life as it's been written so far by God and then joining Him as He finishes writing it. I'm pretty sure the events of our now nomadic lives are playing a very significant part in discovering why God has written things the way He has. It's a journey I'm looking forward to taking and at the same time am terrified to do so. I expect we'll be chatting about it together along the way.

Moving on to a totally unrelated topic, I stayed with Matthew while I was in GA and got to spend some time with his cat, Simba. Simba is just over a year old and he's the first boy cat to grace any of the Jones households. Kit is 14 and Ellie is 7 so they're not nearly as energetic nor as troublesome as Simba is. But there's a part of me that secretly loved watching him misbehave because he lives life with such reckless abandon, you can't help but smile. He's actually a good cat; he just missed out on the discipline stage since he joined a three-male roommate household as a kitten.

For those of you who think a cat is just a cat and the best ones are dead ones, I counter with the following pictures.

This is Kit, the senior cat citizen of the family and her needs are few. All she wants is her lap of choice to sleep on (usually mine), a little food, and now that we've moved, some time on the porch in the sun.

This is Ellie the Wondercat. All she needs is for someone to notice that she's cute, a little food, her pillow to sleep on, and Tiffany. Actually, she could probably do without everything except Tiffany.

Simba gets along fine by himself because he's forced to do so most of the time due to Matthew's schedule. He likes to fetch (really!!) and you know you've been accepted when Moosey is deposited outside your door during the night while you slept. I'm pretending he was sad to see me leave.

With the 4th of July almost here and baseball's All Star game right around the corner, I find it necessary to briefly mention that the Braves are still hanging in there only 4 games behind the Phillies. One of our B teams, the Orioles, are coming to town for the weekend so we're forced to cheer against them this time. Many apologies to our Baltimore friends, but some things are a necessity.

I Wonder Indeed

2011-06-23T17:30:00.002-05:00

When I first started this blog, it was because we made the crazy decision to leave the area we had lived for the past 25 years and where we'd raised our family to move to Baltimore so people could keep up with our new lives. Hamp had an opportunity for a job there and shockingly to our friends and families and even ourselves, we took it.

That was almost 3 years ago and what began as an adventure has turned into a way of life apparently. Since that move, we've changed jobs two more times and moved with each change. The Baltimore job ended suddenly when the plant had a small fire that ended up being the proverbial straw that set things in motion. The next job returned us to the land of our roots even though we moved about 30 minutes away from what had been our old stomping grounds.

In some ways that was a harder adjustment because while the debate will range until the end of time over whether this statement is true or not, I have concluded you can't go home again once you've left. You're not the same and it's not the same. Because we began attending a church that was in its infancy, new friendships were slow to develop and life events prevented frequent contact with the ones we still had. The new job was difficult for Hamp from the beginning because he wasn't able to do what he'd been hired to and after almost a year, his boss decided he'd rather do it himself officially. Between changes in the printing industry and a sick economy, the job market is not what it used to be for those looking for work. Thankfully, options developed, but in the end only one offer was forthcoming...which required a move...to another state...again.

So here we are - almost three weeks into yet another new adventure livng four hours from what I think we still call home. But if home is where your heart is, mine began spreading out about 4 years ago.

And today, I'm wondering...

"I wonder what sort of a tale we've fallen into?" asks Samwise.

"I wonder," said Frodo, "But I don't know. And that's the way of a real tale. Take any one that you're fond of. You may know, or guess, what kind of a tale it is, happy-ending or sad-ending, but the people in it don't know. And you don't want them to."

~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

Week Two

2011-06-17T21:24:00.000-05:00

Well, it really hasn't been my intention to just write once a week on Friday. I finally got my pictures downloaded and organized so I'll have something to share with you in the days ahead. I think what I'll do is start from the present and work my way back and we'll see what happens.

First, our trip to the Grand Ole Opry last week was amazing!! I don't think I realized that it's a radio show with a live audience and when it's being broadcast, various artists guest in different half hour segments. I had heard of most of them which surprised me but being in the historic Opry House was really cool.

Lauren and Scotty did make their debut that night and I didn't take my camera because I didn't know if you could. (Yes, you can!) I had a Mom moment when Lauren was singing that most of you will appreciate.

First, a little history. The Opry used to broadcast live from the Ryman Auditorium not too far away. It was the symbolic home of country music and when the Opry House was built, they wanted a way to take some of the history of the stage with them. A circle was cut out of the stage and it was built into the stage at the new Opry House. As new artists sing on the stage, they're joining the history of country music by standing in that circle that truly has been unbroken.

Fast forward to last fall when two high school teenagers joined thousands of other hopefuls and tried out for American Idol. They ended up being the winner and runner up at the ripe old age of 17 and 16 years old. Because they are country singers, they've been embraced by the Nashville family and were extended an invitation to sing at the Grand Ole Opry. Lauren grew up dreaming of singing there and actually came to Nashville a lot singing in little places before 6:00 p.m. when she had to leave because the night crowd would start to show up. Scotty had only been to Nashville once but knew fully the history of the Opry connection and hoped to someday sing there as well.

Last Friday night, their dreams continued to become a reality as their parents stood in the wings on the side of the stage and watched. Because the lights were so bright, the kids couldn't see their parents and Lauren commented to her mom in the shadows that she knew she was there and that her song was for her. As she began singing "Like My Mother Does" which is the song American Idol prepared for her as her first release, her mom was hugged by whoever was standing with her - maybe a sister or a friend.

That's when it hit me - how many times have we all stood on the sidelines cheering for our kids knowing they were the best to ever attempt the task before them and so excited they were trying to live their dream? But Lauren's mom was watching her daughter, who just a few months ago she was sending off to high school and was now singing for her first and definitely not her last time on the stage their own idols have stood. We get so caught up in our comparisons that we forget we're really all alike in the parts that make us mostly who we are. And that made me smile.

For those of you hoping to see me in my boots that night, well, it didn't happen. It was 95 degrees in the shade so jeans were out as an option and I just didn't have anything I could wear with them. I settled for an airy sandal with a sleeveless dress that kept me from having a heat stroke. :) Soon, I promise!!

I'll leave you with the link that summarizes their Opry debut if you click here and who knows? Maybe you'll become a new country music fan along with me!

A Week Later

2011-06-10T12:29:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are...living in Franklin, TN. It will be one week tomorrow that we arrived and we were greeted by the heat wave encompassing a lot of the country right now. Poor Hamp and Bob loaded the truck last Friday mostly by themselves because the local movers hired on that end never showed. (After my review on Movinghelp.com, I'm pretty sure they're off the list of businesses to be referred.) Thankfully, the company in Franklin was amazing on Saturday and they found another guy for us to add to the contract with the two we already had hired. Now to find someone that will empty the boxes, find a place to put what was in it away, take the empty boxes somewhere, and make our apartment look like home. Oh yeah, that'd be us!

Thankfully, other things have gone well. We were reconnected to the 21st century without a hitch which is the first time in 3 years that has happened. I keep saying this because it's true, but it's the little things...

We're more settled than not now and it's slowly pulling together. I don't have time right now to share many pictures because they're still not downloaded and organized. However, I do have something fun to share with you.

The Country Music Awards Festival is going on in Nashville this week with lots of country artists, both old and new, in concert throughout the week at the Grand Ole Opry.

I saw earlier in the week that Scotty and Lauren (from American Idol fame) were going to be here tonight as part of the concert.

You know where this is going, don't you? Billy Ray Cyrus, Randy Travis, Roy Clark, and Mel Tillis along with others I hadn't heard of are all there tonight too. Hamp and I haven't been to Nashville yet, I like Lauren and Scotty, so when I found inexpensive seats were still available, well I had to buy two so we could go, right? So, our first outing is going to be to a country music concert which makes me laugh just to type the sentence. Me of the "I hate country music" stand in life.

Moving on to another topic in a bad grammar transition attempt, I confess I cried for the first time yesterday since arriving in town. I was mostly sad for Tiffany's friend Emmett's family because he passed away in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday. He's the one I've told you about recently that was in the drumline with Tiffany when they were at Furman. I've shared this picture before, but he's the one on the left with Tiffany at her graduation.

Emmett's finally without pain and is happy and whole in the presence of His Savior that he loves dearly. But my heart breaks for his wife Wendy and their little boy Quinn who have the hardest journey in front of them. If you want to keep up with her very honest thoughts as she processes, click here for the link to the blog they had started when he was first diagnosed with cancer. Also, if they come to mind, please pray for them.

I ran several errands yesterday for the first time and with my GPS it went well. Baltimore was much more stressful because not knowing where you're going compounded with not knowing which streets to not go down or you might die caused much anxiety and many tears. Franklin is a safe community, everything is nearby and it all connects logically; I just haven't figured out how yet. I ran into ChickFilA to grab some lunch and while waiting in line heard all these various people greeting each other and asking about each other's families and it hit me; once again, I'm a foreigner in another city. The feeling of loss that realization brought along with the knowledge of what Emmett's family is going through pushed me over the edge. I made it out of ChickFilA before the tears fell, but I was just hit anew with the reality that we will really never have a "home" again. Oh, I know, we'll make friends and have a community again and we have friends and family in lots of places now. We have the cities we were born in and raised our children in and those will ultimately always be home. But we're not there anymore. And as He usually does, God reminded me that He never promised we'd be home here. We are just foreigners in a land that He said we are merely passing through. I'm a little slow most of the time and as I tried to feel sorry for myself, I had to admit that what I long for simply doesn't exist this side of eternity. We think we have it if circumstances are kind and life is basically stable. I know because I thought that for a long time. But the more common reality is that most everybody has one or more moments in life where the foundation is ripped out from under you and what you knew as reality is no more. I'm being reminded again that living each moment as if it's our last and not getting too attached to anything here is exactly how we're supposed to be living.

So that was my lesson yesterday. I wish it was the last time I'd have to be reminded of it, but it won't be. I will still bristle at my perceived unfair lot in life, but God will faithfully remind me again that all He ever promised me was Himself.

This quote from Wednesday's entry of My Utmost For His Highest sums it up better than I can.

"Beware of harking back to what you were once when God wants you to be something you have never been."

One last thing...Tiffany is working on a project for her class in Greece that requires some pictures from her childhood. The professor didn't ask if it would be a convenient time to try and find those for the students who don't have them in their possession, so for the second time in a month (another project for another person) I am looking through every single picture we have. The good news is I'm pulling out some of my favorites so they can be scanned. I'll leave you with a couple of smiles for the day before I head downtown to the Grand Ole Opry. Stay tuned...

Last Night

2011-06-03T00:09:00.001-05:00

This is the last night I will be sleeping in our apartment in GA. Maybe I should rephrase that - this is the last night I SHOULD be sleeping in our apartment in GA. Being the smart man that he is, Hamp is already conked out. He had the more physical job today while my brain was pulled in about a million different directions as I dealt with payroll issues for a new company, updated letters to creditors for my mom, personal paperwork gathering and filing, and making sure we had everything together to actually make the move. I knew there was no point trying to sleep without unwinding for a little while, so here I am!

(Side note - the washer has decided to stop working correctly for the first time in a year. Really???)

Anyway....back to unwinding. I told you about this plaque a friend gave me a couple of weeks ago, but I thought I'd try to scan it and see if I could actually show it to you and it worked.

That really is all I need to remember right now. But it's OK to remind me too!

I still have a lot of pictures on my camera waiting to be downloaded to my computer and organized into folders. Since that won't be happening anytime soon, I decided to take a few with my handy dandy iPhone today so you could share in our moving adventure.

(Side note #2 - is anyone else having major issues with dropped calls on their iPhone, especially with AT&T? I have come perilously close to throwing mine far, far away many times in recent days. Come on, AT&T; if you don't get your act together soon, you will be losing lots of customers!)

So back to pictures...I thought you'd enjoy seeing Kit as she checks out the disaster that used to be called her living room.

I guess she wasn't too upset by all the chaos because not too long afterward, I found her like this.

Maybe I should try getting in a box.....

(Side note #3 - after my computer semi-died and has been returned, we're having to get reacquainted again. Today it prompted me to download the latest update for Internet Explorer and I guess Google was in the mix too. As a result, everything looks different and I can't find pictures like I used to be able to, so even just trying to update here is now stressful. Sigh....)

I think it's probably time to try and get some sleep. It's entirely possible that there won't be another update until we call Tennessee "home". To that end, I'll let Helen Keller say goodnight:

T-Minus 5 And Counting

2011-05-30T22:52:00.000-05:00

I did it again. I left you hanging from the last post waiting many days before this update. Good intentions don't always turn out the way you hope. So sorry......

Yes, we found a place to live and after a somewhat stressful two days, we decided on another apartment. It's just easier right now as we learn a new area, figure out where we'll be going to church, and also seeing if this job lasts longer than a year. A little cynical sounding, maybe, but it's the truth. It's hard to imagine actually putting roots down somewhere new, but maybe it will happen and in a year we'll be ready to look for something that feels more permanent. We'll be in Franklin, TN which has everything we could possibly need in a one mile radius from our apartment, including a Publix. It's the little things.....

As the title of this posts implies, we drive away five days from now.

I think I just realized as I typed the words that I don't quite believe it yet. The weekend was spent sorting, storing, and beginning to pack. It's hard to get in a rhythm because we want "one last" time with someone or something and it just isn't possible to fit it all in. We've begun the goodbyes, or maybe more accurately, the see you laters. We now know that we will see friends and family because 4 hours is much closer than 13 and a lot of you came to Baltimore when we were there. We'll have two bathrooms this time so that's a big plus!

I have a couple of things I want to update you on. In my last post, I mentioned friends we know from our kids' high school days who are on a hard journey with their sweet baby girl. Jennifer personally updated her blog not too long ago so for any of you who want to see how God is carrying them through this tough time, you can click here.

A week from today, Tiffany and Nikki will be heading to Greece for a study abroad/sight-seeing trip that Tiffany got to bring someone with for school. They are quite excited but have a lot to do to get ready. If you want to keep up with them as they hopefully update along the way, click here for Tiffany's blog.

As hard as it's been to deal with moving and leaving family and friends again, God has been encouraging us with potential connections in the Franklin/Nashville area through other people. It seems like everywhere we've turned, someone is telling us about a church they know about or someone they know lives there, or else they used to live there and can tell us lots of things about the area. I know that might not seem like much, but when your heart is tired and weary, those glimmers of hope are huge! I'm as ready to go as I can be and I have the confidence that not only has God gone before us, but He's been there for quite some time. :)

Before I head to bed, I wanted to share with you that yesterday Hamp and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary.

For any couple that would be quite an accomplishment, but in today's world it's sadly becoming the exception and not the norm. I suppose it could make us appear pretty amazing to have reached that milestone, but if you're married (or even if you're not) I think you would agree with me that if were not for the grace and faithfulness of God, we never would have made it.

Many times we obeyed our way through seasons of frustration, difficulty, and selfishness knowing that what God had joined together was not to be separated by man. We don't understand each other sometimes, we don't have the same dreams sometimes, and we don't like each other sometimes. But that's when looking to the cross of Jesus reminds us that there's a bigger story going on. The same submission to His Father's will that Jesus displayed is available for us to choose and when we do, the things that divide us fade and we are brought together again by obedience. It might not make for a good Disney story, but it's a picture of the Greatest Story ever told and we are humbled and grateful to be small testimonies of it.

Because we were going to be working on packing while Hamp was home for the weekend, I had figured we'd just find a time to celebrate once we got settled. In retrospect, I apparently never passed along my conclusion to my hubby, so you can imagine my surprise when he pulled out a large box that contained a new pair of cowboy boots for me.

Sadly, I haven't had time to get pictures downloaded and organized on my computer so you'll have to settle for one from the internet. Mine aren't that colorful and I'm not quite sure exactly where and when I'll be wearing them yet, but Nashville seems like the place to begin. Speaking of Nashville, I have to give one last shout out to the new American Idol, Scotty McCreery!

He's a strong Christian young man and I'm excited to see how his career in country music takes off. It would appear I'll be in the perfect place to watch it happen, right?

If we come to mind this week, any and all prayers would be appreciated. There's a lot of unknowns ahead and while I'm getting better at being okay in the not knowing, it's still hard. Thanks and I'll keep you updated...really!!

Quotable Quotes

2011-05-16T23:39:00.000-05:00

Oh, my. This has been a standing in front of a firehose sort of week. I have to drive to Nashville tomorrow morning to meet Hamp who is already working there so we can find a place to live. But I wanted to update things here and finally can because I have my laptop back.

This is a picture of my computer:

The operating system is Windows Vista. I have hated this computer more than I have been thankful for it since I got it two years ago. However...that has changed for now. It last worked the morning I left for Florida to see Tiffany almost two weeks ago. When I got there, the screen was completely black when I started it. After taking it to a Best Buy (we had a service plan) I found out I had to send it from one back in GA so once it was fixed it could be returned to the same location. I did that and was without it for a week. One very long week. We have an old Mac that Hamp was given when he left Baltimore (over a year ago) that barely allowed us to do minimal connecting. I did not realize how much I took for granted things like remembered passwords, important software loaded only on my laptop (thank you ADP for amazing customer service so the fine staff at Gallery Church could be paid!), and a fast processor that didn't take FOREVER to work. To top it off, my computer is running better than it has in a very long time and I didn't lose anything. Thank you, God!!

I'm behind posting pictures of life from recent days and I'll have to catch up slowly. For now, however, I thought I'd hit the highlights of life lately through quotes I've come across.

I recently re-read the last book from a series that I love.

While Savannah isn't dealing with relocating in the book, this excerpt hit me as I've been struggling with the reality of us having to do so again.

"Amazing how life requires letting go to receive. But in each instance, no matter how painful, each brought me to a different place, a better place, dare I say a wonderful place. I shed tears over what I had lost, but I would always know in my knower that what I received in exchange would take me to new and better places."

I got to visit with a dear friend a few days ago and she gave me a wall hanging to take with us to our new home...wherever that may be. When I read the words on it and looked into her eyes, I knew that she knew my heart and no words had to be spoken.

"The Lord, your God is with you, wherever you may go..." ~Joshua 1:9

Needing to remember that grief is a process and that it can resurface when you aren't paying attention, I pulled out the best investment $3.99 can buy earlier today.

"I have learned that if you follow your tears, you will find your heart. If you find your heart, you will find what is dear to God. And if you find what is dear to God, you will find the answer to how you should live your life."

If things sound a bit melancholy to you, then you're quite observant. But even Eeyore can get to the heart of the matter sometimes.

"A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference."

And speaking of a little thought for others, I have a couple of blogs I'd like for you to check out. One is Tiffany's which a lot of you might already read. For those who are newer friends, she is our oldest child and our only daughter. God is writing her story in ways she didn't expect at all (doesn't He always??) and she finally had a few minutes to update how things are going for her. If you'll click here, you can read the latest entry.

Lastly, there is a precious family that we've known casually from Tiffany's and Matthew's high school days. Jennifer has walked a road similar to the one as Tiffany, but then met and married an amazing man and was pregnant with their first child. Early on, they knew that their precious little girl had serious developmental problems and she ended up going to be with Jesus a couple of days ago before she could be born. Their faith in the midst of difficult circumstances has been such a testimony and I thought some of you might want to help carry them in this trying time. If you click here, you can read their story.

Thanks for sharing part of your day with me. I know there are countless blogs out there with far more exciting things going on than keeping up with a family that is beginning to resemble the gypsies. As impersonal as cyberspace can be, it does help keep us connected...even if we don't say so.

Time for bed! Next stop - Nashville!

And We're Moving...Again

2011-05-02T23:01:00.001-05:00

Yes, it's true. As the last month has unfolded, it turns out that only one job offer was forthcoming and it requires a move...again. Of all the options for relocation, this one was the most appealing for many reasons. Where will we be going you ask?

Yep, to Music City. The advantages are many - we're still in the south so we don't have to learn a new region or culture. It's only 4 hours from Atlanta so traveling to see family and friends won't be that difficult. We should get lots of visitors because there's a lot to see in Nashville. And last but most definitely not least is that it's not that much colder there than it is in GA.

Hamp heads there tomorrow to begin the back and forth routine we're sadly accustomed to until we can get moved around the end of May or the first of June. And because I can, I'm heading south to the Sunshine State while it's still a reasonable drive to visit Tiffany for a couple of days.

As you can imagine, there are a lot of mixed emotions because I will no longer be in GA close to my Mom as she continues to deal with the life changes her health issues caused. But for now, there is peace because we know for sure that this is the door God opened for us. We don't know what area we'll be living in yet, where we'll find a church, or even who might be future friends. Unlike many people we know, however, we do have a job which will meet our needs and we are thankful. With all the unknowns swirling around in my head, it really is helpful to have the certainty that God has provided and has gone before us to prepare the way.

I need sleep for now, but I wanted to at least catch you up on this latest news. It was quite a tedious process and took a while for things to work out and actually be "official" so that's why I've been quiet recently. More will come soon - stay tuned.

Way Bigger Than Right Now

2011-04-22T10:24:00.003-05:00

Today is Good Friday. That name has always been a little puzzling to me because it seems like such a contradiction to call something good that was so horrible. I suppose the reality that Easter came three days later makes the crucifixion "good", but it's something I have a hard time wrapping my head around.

Anyway, I think the reminder I've needed this week is just that - God's plan is way bigger than right now. Can you imagine what the followers of Jesus must have thought and felt as they watched the earth grow dark as He breathed His last breath? They had been with Him for three years believing Him to be God's provision for not only their lives, but of their people and ultimately the world. Yet, here He was dying in agony in one of the worst ways a human being can die. They had to have felt hopeless, abandoned, and lost. Then as they huddled together in fear a couple of days later, the news comes at dawn: "He is risen, just as He said He would!!"

And here we find the truth that we are to encourage one another with as we live out the day to day here on this earth. This life is not the end. God's story and plan is way bigger than right now. It's bigger than disease, unemployment, divorce, relocation away from family, singleness, empty wombs, and all the other afflictions we experience on our journey. We're just passing through, yet most of us unpack and settle in as if this life is all we'll get.

Way bigger than right now. That's all we really need to know.

(Click here for a video reminder that it's Friday, but Sunday's coming!)

And Then There Was One

2011-04-16T04:49:00.001-05:00

Here I am again - Sleepless in Smyrna. I am about to complete the second night in my life of not sleeping when I was actually trying to. Sigh.... Having a couple of tornado warnings throughout the evening/night didn't help matters.

Sorry it's been over a week since the last post but we really haven't stopped since then. Michael and Bekah came into town for a long weekend and we stayed busy. They came so that Michael could go to the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta with my nephew last Sunday and they saw a great round of golf as Tiger made a valiant comeback. It wasn't quite enough to win, but it was still impressive.

While they were here we had a family cookout, competed in a parents vs. kids putt-putt game (the parents won by one stroke!!), and watched the boys play softball together for the first time in many years.

They left on Tuesday afternoon and on Thursday our friend Mel and her sweet baby Ffion flew down from Baltimore to visit.

Her husband, Rich, had a work related appointment and will join us tomorrow (today) for the remainder of the visit and they'll leave Monday. We met them through Gallery Church in Baltimore and they're originally from the UK. We love spending time with them and listening to them talk. Besides the language differences we laugh about sometimes, Rich is 6'5" so it makes for a comical site when he and Hamp walk beside each other. I will try to get a picture of that sometime this weekend.

In the middle of all this activity, Hamp has continued to have discussions with the various people he met with last week regarding a new job. As the week progressed, slowly the options began to dwindle until it looks like there's only one left. He's meeting with the guy again next Tuesday for final discussions and unless something unexpected happens, to work out the details necessary to make things "official". As we've learned all too well, anything can happen and often does, so until then, I'm going to try to keep living in denial. However, unofficially it looks like I'm going to have to learn to like country music after all. Maybe that's why Scotty McCreery ended up being on American Idol this year.

And maybe, just maybe, that's why it's almost dawn and I haven't slept all night. Once we have a job and that domino is pushed, they fall rapidly and I know exactly what's in front of me. And I know exactly what I have to leave behind...again. I know God is faithful and He doesn't have a limit on how many times He needs to be for us. I just think I'm ready to reach my quota of excellent adventures for one lifetime.

The Mad Hatter

2011-04-07T23:27:00.001-05:00

Oh, my! I have no idea how I can catch you up with all that has been going on in the last week and a half! I've tried to find a chunk of time to update things here for those of you who check, but as you know, that hasn't happened. In trying to bring things down to a manageable size, I decided to go with a hat theme tonight. I feel like I've worn many different ones recently, so I'll see if I can be a little creative in the summarizing. Ready??

First, we are still job searching. Sherlock Holmes has nothing on my hubby as he's made networking an art recently.

Here is the schedule he had this week:

Monday - interview in Winston-Salem, NC
Tuesday - lunch meeting in Acworth, GA
Wednesday - sorting boxed info from work
Thurday - interview in Nashville, TN
Friday - interview in Durham, NC

Unless something totally unexpected turns up, it's looking more and more like we'll be heading to TN or NC. We'll chat about that another day....

I've had a LOT of paperwork to take care of for my Mom recently. Written notifications to everybody from a rental insurance company to a credit card company...or five. Add to that many phone calls switching coverage for something or making doctor's appointments and let's just say that my days of wondering if I was learning anything useful while babysitting high schoolers as I tried to work were answered with a resounding "Yes"!! The only thing missing was a PA system and a two way radio base station.

Adjusting to the latest "new normal" emotionally along with the added stress of finding one's husband unemployed unexpectedly has definitely increased my pondering and questioning. God's faithfulness to us through the years has averted a major crisis of faith thus far, but my need to process internally before I can breathe fully again requires yet another hat.

Until the pollen tried to kill me within the last week, I have been able to enjoy some of the Spring beauty around me. Every time I put on my photographer hat, something inside of me takes a deep breath and is stilled.

Here are a few of my recent favorites.

Finally, the hat that has most recently been dusted off for a new season is this one:

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, baseball has begun again! Seriously, how can you not smile as you listen to the following words being sung as your favorite team takes the field?

Well, beat the drum and hold the phone - the sun came out today!
We’re born again, there’s new grass on the field.
A-roundin’ third, and headed for home, it’s a brown-eyed handsome man;
Anyone can understand the way I feel.

Chorus:
Oh, put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today;
Put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today;
Look at me, I can be centerfield.

Well, I spent some time in the mudville nine, watchin’ it from the bench;
You know I took some lumps when the mighty casey struck out.
So say hey willie, tell ty cobb and joe dimaggio;
Don’t say "it ain’t so", you know the time is now.

Chorus

Yeah! I got it, I got it!

Got a beat-up glove, a homemade bat, and brand-new pair of shoes;
You know I think it’s time to give this game a ride.
Just to hit the ball and touch ’em all - a moment in the sun;
(pop) it’s gone and you can tell that one goodbye!

Chorus
Chorus
Yeah!

(Click here to listen to it being sung by John Fogarty)

The Braves opened the 2011 on the road this year against the Washington Nationals, so even though I couldn't be there in person, I still had to document it.

After winning two in DC, the Braves headed to Milwaukee and sadly lost three of the four they played against the Brewers. BUT....finally they come home to real grass, warm weather, and home cooking on Friday night (which is now actually later today). I will be there and am hoping to see a win as we face our division rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies.

When I get home, Hamp will have arrived from Raleigh, returned to the airport to pick up Michael and Bekah and be back home again with our northern children in tow who are visiting for a long weekend. Add Matthew driving back from Orange Beach where he took a few days to relax and our family will be mostly reunited for a much too brief time.

I'm guessing that after tomorrow's interview in Raleigh we'll know if there are any job offers forthcoming. Should there be more than one, then we'll have a decision to make. Stay tuned as we juggle the days ahead!

Reality Check

2011-03-29T05:00:00.010-05:00

In one of my former lives not so very long ago, being up at this hour was normal for me. But more persistent than any phone or radio alarm, once again my body is dictating when or if I'll sleep. While sometimes inspirational and presently annoying, this illustration by Mary Engelbreit reminds me that life as I knew it has ended...and apparently it's bothering me more than I realized.

For the past two nights I have awakened somewhere in the 3:00 hour and not been able to go back to sleep.

My brain wakes up much quicker than the rest of me does and within seconds I'm thinking about what life may look like soon. Some of the questions I'm currently wondering about are:

Are we going to have to move out of state again?

How is this going to affect my Mom and her care?

Will we be near an airport so we can get to our kids easily?

How long will I have to drive with a GPS before I don't get lost?

Who will be the people in our lives a year from now?

While not the stuff rocket science is made of, these are some of the things that make up my life. And this list doesn't include things like having to leave friends and family and familiarity all over again.

Yes, it's possible that a job could become available in the Atlanta area and we wouldn't have to move. But initial feedback from Hamp's contacts aren't encouraging and the only interview so far is in North Carolina next Monday.

So we wait. Knowing God is faithful, but also knowing that sometimes we don't get to choose our paths. We've moved away before and can do it again if we have to, but in this pre-dawn moment I don't want to. Thus the conflict inside with the resulting sleeplessness. Too bad I don't look like Meg Ryan as I sigh.

Waiting

2011-03-27T10:53:00.016-05:00

Snoopy must have been living in GA last night because the beginning of his famous novel described our weather perfectly! Poor Kit spent most of the night under the bed instead of on it and I'm pretty sure I woke up every time a new storm rolled through. Oh well, such is springtime and we need the rain to remove the pollen from the air.

So...it's been a couple of days now since Hamp found himself unemployed and you might be wondering if there are any options out there for us. Like every other job-seeking person we know, there seem to be some possibilities but whether anything turns into actual employment remains to be seen.

Ironically, two potential places are in North Carolina and were available last year at this time. But the timing for both didn't fit ours and they didn't work out. Contact has been made and I think I'd be surprised if he at least didn't interview with them. Of course, that's not ideal to me because it would require a move...again. While I have come to believe that every person should move from familiarity to someplace completely different at least once in their lifetime, there's something to be said for stability. Add family needs and circumstances and the complications can multiply and this is where we find ourselves. His Baltimore employer could be an option because even though they closed that plant, they are still a large corporation. Should something work out with them, we could probably live anywhere we choose, but it would require travel for Hamp which we've never dealt with before. Then there's always the unknowns that could still arise which makes job searching the stressful process it is.

Sadly, or maybe thankfully, since we just experienced this a year ago we both are calm for now. Neither one of us has the energy to waste on the "what ifs" or "if onlys" but as nebulous possibilities become potential employment I know that I'll struggle with those. Yet at the same time, we both know that God has a plan for us, this has not caught Him off guard, and we can trust that plan knowing it's for our best.

Moving on, I want to wish Michael a very happy birthday today!

He has entered the last year of his second decade and we're all hoping it brings him a job and some stability for him and Bekah as they move into their second year of marriage.

I don't remember if I mentioned that a couple of weeks ago the CD from Passion 2011 was released with the songs that were done there. It's a great CD and one I would recommend highly.

There's a song on it titled, "Waiting Here For You" by Christy Nockels that is one of my favorites and I find the lyrics running through my head a lot especially since Thursday's news. I'll leave you with a link here to a video of her singing with the lyrics below.

If faith can move the mountains
Let the mountains move
We come with expectation
Waiting here for you, I’m waiting here for you

You’re the Lord of all creation
And still you know my heart
The Author of Salvation
You’ve loved us from the start

CHORUS
Waiting here for You
With our hands lifted high in praise
And it's You we adore
Singing Alleluia

You are everything You’ve promised
Your faithfulness is true
And we're desperate for Your presence
All we need is You

CHORUS

Singing Alleluia
Alleluia, singing alleluia, alleluia

CHORUS

Waiting here for you
With our hands lifted high in praise
And it's You we adore
We're singing Alleluia

I'm singing Alleluia
Waiting here for you
With our hands lifted high in praise
And it's You we adore
Singing Alleluia
Singing Alleluia

"What Does This Make Possible?"

2011-03-24T23:46:00.002-05:00

Enough is enough.....I'm changing the name of my blog. What began as a creatively named way to keep GA family and friends updated with our move to Baltimore almost three years ago has turned into an ironic new game that I'm tired of playing. We can't even keep up with us anymore!!

Around 3:30 or so this afternoon, I got a call from Hamp that relayed the latest development in the adventure that is our life with the words, "So, where do you want to move next" followed by, "My job was just terminated". Really? Again?

In defense of my amazing husband, he is not the problem. The Baltimore job ended because a large corporation was playing monopoly and decided they didn't need the shop he was working in anymore. The appeal of working for a privately owned company (which moved us back to GA) diminished quickly as the realization that the owner can do whatever he wants whenever he wants as evidenced by today's news.

We were graciously given a small severance that should keep us from having to organize a cyberthon to raise money so we can eat, but a new job must be found soon. I realized earlier that Hamp started the job he just lost on May 1st last year and could very possibly have the same start date again this year. That might be funny someday......

So how are we doing? Right now, I'm starring in the latest installment of "Sleepless in Smyrna" and hopefully Hamp is not. We're also remembering wise words that friends shared with us recently that are very helpful in keeping our focus where it needs to be. Those words are, "What does this make possible?" What, indeed?

Maybe this last job was God's way of getting us to GA so we could be here for a broken engagement and an emergency surgery - events some of our family experienced in which we were able to be a part of the healing process. Things really aren't in a place where I can leave my mom right now, so it will be interesting to see what God provides. If nothing else, the last five years of our lives have solidified the foundation God has built our lives on and so in some ways, we really aren't worried. But I'm a little battle weary right now and could use a break from reality. In some circles, that could land me in a padded room, but I'm not wanting that much of a break....yet. :)

I do have pictures to share from our time in Disney but honestly, it's hard to find a chunk of time to devote to this blog because I'm rarely home a whole day. Hopefully soon I can get to it, but for now I'll leave you with a couple of my favorites to whet your appetite.

This is Joey. He is wearing a Goofy hat. There is nothing more to be said.

This is Tiffany and Joey. They are wearing moosehead hats. There is really nothing more to be said.

This is me in the British part of Epcot. I have promised myself that someday I will have my picture taken in a red phone booth in London. This is my reminder, but we probably need a job first.

One more thing - I've recently had people checking out this blog from countries all over the world. That is probably because a key word that someone is searching for might be used in a title and it will direct them to it. For fun, why don't some of you comment and see if we can begin an exchange with each other that maybe leads to new friends in new places. My friend, Pamela, has an excellent blog entitled "From the House of Edward" that you can read if you'll click on the the link. She recently traveled to England and met a couple of new friends from her writings and it was a reminder of how small our world is becoming due to technology. It might be kind of fun to see what happens. Besides, I'm ready to keep up with somebody else for a while. I'm open for suggestions for a new title, but I think "Oh, The Places You'll Go" is already taken.

Sunday Baseball

2011-03-13T21:13:00.000-05:00

Greetings! We're winding down the day and trying to decide what our schedule will look like tomorrow. Tiffany and Nikki have real life they're living and Joey and I were going to go to the Magic Kingdom. However, Nikki told us this evening that the projections for attendance tomorrow are that they will fill to capacity and if so, will have to close the park until guests leave later in the day. That means if you do get in, you'll be shoulder to shoulder dodging strollers and crying children. Ummm......no please?

So.....I guess we'll just make it up as we go along and see how the day goes. We had fun today watching the Braves win another Spring Training game, but it was quite toasty just sitting in the stands. Here's the nephew looking dapper in his Braves gear.

Chipper Jones hit another homerun again today and has had a great spring. As another more "mature" member of society, I personally am pulling for him to have a great year and prove to everyone that he's not quite done yet. If Disney was writing the script, the Braves would win the World Series this fall and he could retire after winning the World Series in his first year playing and his last year playing...all with the same team. We'll see if Walt can still work some magic in October, right?

Somebody else I'm pulling for is Brooks Conrad. If you don't follow the Braves, then you have no idea who he is. If you do, then I think you'll agree with me. When his wife had to leave a game last year late in the season in tears with their two boys because of the boos, well...let's just say no mother or wife or player should ever have to experience that.

I know some will argue that baseball is just a game and we shouldn't care that much about it or any other sport in the light of all that's going on in the world. But what I love about God is that when He invaded planet Earth and her inhabitants, He met us where we lived and He still does that today.

Multilingual

2011-03-12T07:22:00.000-06:00

Wow - things in the world are a bit unsettled, aren't they? From tragic earth shaking in Japan to flooding in the northeast we have reminders of how life can be changed in an instant or two.

By comparison, when our lives are rocked and the earth sways and things are changed forever, most of the time not many people are aware. There's no number others can text to send you relief, no humanitarian concern beyond your immediate circle of family and friends. Yet the devastation can be just as severe when life as we knew it suddenly ceases to exist and the landscape is changed forever. Even as I'm typing this, I'm mindful of those who will always have an empty chair at the table where a child should be sitting. Or an empty place in the bed reminding others of broken promises and dreams.

At church a couple of weeks ago, Louie spoke about us carrying the name of Jesus into our world - wherever we find ourselves. It was a great message and you can click here if you'd like to hear it. He talked briefly about how each of us has different languages that are unique to our experiences that only we can speak as we live out our days on this earth.

As I was listening to this somewhat minor point of his talk, God decided it was time for it to be underlined in my own life. In looking back over the last five years of life, I realized that our family has learned several new languages. We can now speak "divorcese", "cityese", "move awayese", "travelese", "broken engagmentese", and "economic lossese" to name a few. I've mostly seen the acquistion of these new languages as something God "did" to me. But as He gently gave me a bigger picture, I realized that each new language has been needed to talk to both old and new friends about the only One who can make sense out of the madness we call life. And it seems that the harder life is, the more languages we get to learn. There is a bigger Story being written and it's not centered around me. I've been invited to be part of it if I will choose to be, but it will go on whether I participate or not.

It feels almost frivolous to tell you that I'm leaving shortly to head to Orlando with Joey for a few days. He has some vacation time and wanted to catch a couple of Braves Spring Training games, see the girl cousin, and go to a couple of the Disney parks. He asked me to go with him and well, you can't let a nephew down now, can you?? It's very thoughtful of the weather to be warming up for us too - we'll be hanging out in almost 80 degrees sunshiny days. It's still hard for me to mentally leave town with my mom living her own new normal of which I'm very much a part of. But my sweet hubby is on call and life is in more of a routine, so I'm hoping for some R&R along with the tourist mode we'll be in.

By the way, if you would like a tangible way to help with relief efforts in Japan, you can text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.

In Symphony

2011-03-07T22:52:00.001-06:00

By the time most of you read this it will be Tuesday when "Here For You", the CD recorded live at Passion 2011 in Atlanta, will be officially for sale everywhere.

I get nothing for this promotion...except knowing that if you do go buy it you have some awesome worshipful moments ahead. If you'd like to hear some clips from the songs, check out the link to the 268 Generation Store (Passion) here and you can do so.

Chris Tomlin wrote the second song on the CD which is titled, "Symphony", and I already know it's going to be one of my favorites. The reality of God's creation praising Him just by being His creation isn't new, but it's worth stopping to think about for a minute as we check out some of the words to the song.

"Shining wonders, fields of splendor
How they sing Your symphony"

"The deepest oceans, rising mountains
How they sing Your symphony"

"In the skies and in the oceans
Everything that's living, breathing
A symphony to You"

"There will be no greater song
In the heights above or the earth below
Jesus, all for You"

As great as those words are, I think the chorus is my favorite.

"In symphony with all created things
Sing the song that we were made to sing
We stand in awe, we stand in awe"

Are we singing the song we were made to sing or have the circumstances in our lives silenced our song? Sometimes it happens...and if you think about it, even creation has times of quiet. But just like in the cycle of seasons, hope begins to waken when spring begins to sing of its coming.

As I close, I want to share the link to Tiffany's blog so you can read her latest entry. Hope looks different to everyone and yesterday it came for her in a tender caring of a disabled spouse and a lavender dress. Listen for your song today and welcome the hope of spring - it's just about here.

Where To Start?

2011-02-25T23:55:00.004-06:00

Sooo.....it's been a month since I've written. I realized today that could be one of the contributing factors to my lack of sleep recently. Words, either written or spoken, are how I process all the jumbled things going on in my head on any given day. Because I haven't taken the time to do that lately, those words have had nowhere to land and my brain has been overloaded. I also haven't taken many pictures lately and I've missed that as well. So even though it's late, I decided I have to begin somewhere and hopefully more frequent postings will give me a chance to share both.

I left you with things I was learning about myself as I've had to care for my Mom in her post-operative life. Not much has changed. I'm with her at least part of most days of the week for either errand running, medical appointments, or helping with financial issues. My fit-pitching is mostly over but I'm still adjusting.

In other family news, we went to Orlando for Tiffany's birthday earlier this month only for me to return a few days later because she was very sick. Thankfully, she's recovered now and back in the craziness that is and will continue to be her life as long as she's in grad school. She loves it though and it's been so cool to see her blossom and grow into the plans God has for her. It was also fun to get to see Ellie the wondercat.

She and I enjoyed the warm Florida sunshine each morning as it poured into their living room. And should I ever need a reminder that it gets colder the more north you travel, I can just look at the picture that Michael sent me from his and Bekah's back porch in Massachusetts. Thanks, but no thanks!!

A week ago, we got to watch as Matthew helped coach the boys varsity basketball team at Harrison to a region championship. It was an exciting game and here's a picture right after the team was presented with their trophy. They begin state playoffs tomorrow and we'll be there cheering them on. I missed being able to do that when we lived so far away.

Oh my - I almost forgot! The Friday I drove back to Florida to be with Tiffany while she was sick, Hamp called me to tell me that our apartment complex was on fire. Thankfully, it wasn't our building but it was the one right across from us where Joey, our nephew lived. The firewall kept their apartment from burning so they didn't lose much except for a few water damaged items, but most people lost everything. These were some pictures Hamp took with his phone that night and then the next morning in the light of day.

Today I got a very vivid reminder of how perspective totally changes what life looks like. Here's a gorgeous tree blooming across the parking lot from our building.

And here's the same tree a few feet to the right from where I took the first shot.

Sometimes life's surroundings seem empty and burned, but when seen from a different View, only the beauty of His creation can be seen in the remains. I want to remember that truth and I will definitely have the opportunity to as that will be what we see every time we leave our apartment for the next several weeks and months.

I probably need to head to bed for now because not only do we have a basketball team to cheer for tomorrow, but our family is gathering to celebrate our nephews' birthdays. Joey and his twin brothers were born on the same day seven years apart and six years after the twins were born, my brother's son, Grant, came along. With Tiffany's birthday in early February, it makes for a busy birthday month!

I'll leave you with a few pictures that I took this afternoon that prove Spring really is coming. It's been a long, dark, winter and I'm ready!

The Three R's

2011-01-30T22:56:00.002-06:00

Good Sunday evening to you! I must begin this post with a confession - I skipped church tonight. Hamp got an unexpected gift of two tickets to the Tech basketball game so he and Matthew went. Gracious and supportive volunteer leaders at church assured me I wouldn't cause a hardship for them if I took the evening off, so I did. It's been somewhat productive, but not as much as I had hoped. I feel like Billy in the The Family Circus comic when he gets sidetracked through the house with the little dotted line showing the million things he does besides what he's been told to do.

One thing I did after I passed some brave little yellow flowers blooming by the back gate to our apartment community as I came home from my Mom's was grab my camera and go take their picture. I love that God makes so many early flowers yellow - it's such a happy reminder that winter really won't last forever!

This weekend has been such a treat with blue skies and sunny days. Both are still a little weak, but each day brings them both closer to the equinox assistance they need.

So.....I have been on quite a journey in the last several weeks and if I had been given a choice in the matter, I would have said, "No!" But I was not and as with all difficulties in life, there have been things to learn in spite of my rantings at the unfairness of it all. As I was reflecting this morning on where I have landed for now, I might be able to somewhat concisely explain it. I guess we're about to find out.

In a healthy world, I think life would look something like this: First, you would have a relationship with someone. That could be anything from a sibling to a parent to a love interest. Once a relationship is established, there is an appropriate emotional response to the other person ranging from friendship to respect to romantic love. Once that connection is established, responsible actions follow. Those could range from care and protection offered by a parent to obedience in a child to the selfless love demonstrated by a spouse. Sadly, we don't live in a healthy world and most of our families don't experience this kind of order. As I've had to deal with my Mom's illness and subsequent care, I've realized that I'm working backwards in these three R's of life.

Because of my parents' alcoholism, I became the textbook oldest child caretaker in my family and never really had much of an emotional childhood. I learned to hide by not rocking the boat and trying to keep the waters calm at home. The motivational drive of my life was that there was no one to take care of me so I had to do it myself...and I did. I knew my parents loved me and they made sacrifices to take care of us, but the emotional connection wasn't there very often.

After becoming a Christian as a young adult, God slowly began to heal some of the broken places inside of me and I have truly been able to forgive my parents for some of the ways we were not loved well. But that doesn't automatically create a loving, caring, family dynamic and since the drinking never stopped, decades ticked by with not much changing.

Now all of a sudden, my mother is recovering from colon cancer surgery and life as she knew it is over for now. She has a colostomy bag (which we have affectionately named Penelope Pouch just because we could). There were existing financial difficulties, we had to move her to a smaller apartment, insurance bills are starting to come in, and she is dependent on her family for most everything. As her only child not working and the one that lives the closest, I have become the primary person responsible for all of these things....and there it is - the first R.

Because she is my Mom and because I am available, I have chosen to be a caring human being and assume a lot of the responsibility for her needs. It wasn't because I wanted to, but there was nobody else that could. Most of you haven't been around me lately, but if you had been you would have heard a lot of fit-pitching, whining, anger, and just general selfishness over this recent development in my life. I was mad because my life was suddenly and unexpectedly interrupted and it hasn't been pretty. Because of the last four years of life and the faithfulness of God already experienced, in the depths of my soul I knew He was up to something, so I did occasionally ask Him what that might be. Enter the second R - emotional response.

As I've watched my Mom deal with the fact that her existing life ended, I have grown to respect her as a person. She's had lifelong habits forcefully taken from her and I haven't heard one word of complaint. She has accepted the circumstances she's been dealt with a lot more grace than I have and she's the one that has to deal with major health adjustments. She's at the mercy of others for just about everything and she's appreciative and thankful. Respect is growing into admiration for her courage and I can feel the desert in my heart beginning to blossom.

I don't know yet what the final R will look like. Will we end up with a mother/daughter relationship like I share with Tiffany? Can a lifetime of neglect be erased in what might only be months or a few years? I don't have an answer to those questions, but I do know that the God who said He'll restore the years the locusts have eaten is capable of anything. I know there are hard times ahead and these amazing years I'm supposed to be enjoying ministering to others and influencing my grandchildren don't look like that for me right now. Sometimes that's hard for me as I watch my friends experience those things, but this is where God has me for now. As Steven Curtis Chapman sings, "this is where we are". Or put another way, "It is what it is".

Life is easy for some and heartbreakingly difficult for others. And then there are lots like me that fall somewhere in the middle. But someday things are going to made right, spring really is coming, and in spite of the headlines, God is still in control...and He is good.

"Ooh!" said Susan, "I'd thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."

"That you will, dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver; "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."

"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.

"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

~C.S. Lewis, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"

Still Here!

2011-01-27T22:56:00.003-06:00

Greetings! I'm heading to bed for now but wanted to let you know I haven't fallen off the planet and really do plan to get a new post up in the next day or two. Life has been very busy with my Mom and what little bit of down time I get, I end up spending it like a vegetable on the couch doing important things like watching "American Idol". I have a lot I'm thinking about these days and hopefully I can get those thoughts into words when I'm not so tired.

For now, I'll leave you with a couple of interesting tidbits that you may or may not find useful to know.

1. The cooking spray Pam can be used to spray into a colostomy bag to help the contents drain out easier.

2. I don't like winter anymore. I think Baltimore and the two record-breaking snowstorms last year did me in.

3. Free time is a precious gift and you don't miss it until you don't have it anymore. Don't take it for granted.

4. When you reach the end of yourself and can do no more, God is just getting started.

5. Never say never.....ever! You will eat your words if you do.

Random and unrelated, yes, but this is a sampling of the randomness that is my life now.

Here's a fun picture and quote from when I was trying to keep the other blog going. Check back soon!

"We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be."
~C.S. Lewis

After Night, Comes A Light

2011-01-16T09:47:00.000-06:00

"After night
Comes a light
Dawn is here
Dawn is here
It's a new day, a new day
Oh, everything will change
Things will never be the same
We will never be the same"
~David Crowder Band, "The Glory Of It All"

This is a great song to begin a day of sunshine and warmth after a week of cold and ice. Click here to listen to it. It is one of my favorite songs because I've sung it in faith believing it will be true of my life again someday and I can sing it now because it was.

I only have a minute because we're moving my Mom's stuff from one apartment to another this weekend so it's been busy. But it's also the weekend that marks what would have been Tiffany's 5th wedding anniversary if Jeff had not left. Again, this song pretty much sums up the journey we've all been on, but she also wrote a blog about where she is now. If you want to read it, click here for the link to it. She would tell me I'm biased by saying this, but I will anyway - I think she's amazing and I love how God has loved her well!

I'm closing with a picture that looks like it fits with the day when you look out the window. Have a great day!

Thawing

2011-01-13T11:54:00.002-06:00

As this cold Thursday slowly moves forward, the sun that is finally shining is bringing about a barely noticeable thawing. When I was keeping up with Pixy Prose, I found several quotes about winter that I liked. Since I'm not working on that blog right now, I thought I'd share a few of the pictures I took on our walk the other day along with a couple of my favorite winter quotes. Enjoy!

"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape. Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn't show."
~Andrew Wyeth

"In the depth of winter I finally learned that there within me lay an invincible summer."
~Albert Camus

"Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart."
~Victor Hugo

Things To Say

2011-01-12T15:32:00.001-06:00

Greetings from the ice and snow covered South! Who would have ever thought that living in Atlanta was too far north to stay mostly warm in the winter? Not this girl. Tiffany looks smarter with each passing day with her decision to move to Orlando.

I have a lot to catch up on and if I tried to document the last month well, I'd be here the rest of the day and you would quit reading. So I think I'm just gonna start and see what happens.....

I think I told you that our family Christmas gathering was in mid-December because that's when we could get everyone here. It was a great time together and I have a few pictures that were taken with my camera I can show you. Tiffany has the rest of them and I've lost the CD she put them on before she left. Sad.

Here is a good picture of our kids - notice we now have four!

Cousins...along with one girlfriend.

My brother with Carla.

And my sister with Piglet - a gift from her Disney dwelling niece!

My mom opening her gift. (Little did we know the adventure we were about to embark on with her.)

There was a light dusting of snow to help mark the festivities which gave Tiffany a chance to wear her Great White North purchased puffy.

It was a little hard to see everyone leave town again, but we were going to be heading to Orlando with Matthew to spend Christmas Day with Tiffany while Michael and Bekah had their first Christmas together in Boston. Yeah, that didn't exactly happen.

If you read regularly, you've had a glimpse into the days following our weekend Christmas gathering. Mom is still in rehab gaining strength every day and if the weather cooperates, we'll be moving her stuff into a 1BR apartment over the weekend. There are lots of doctor follow-up visits ahead and adjustments to changes in her daily routine as we wait to see if she'll be able to work again. It's what I haven't talked about that's been the most draining for me.

It's like this....I grew up in an alcoholic home with both parents drinking for as long as my memories go back. While physical needs were never unmet, the reality is that my brother and sister and I were not parented well. We knew we were loved, but emotionally we were left to navigate life pretty much on our own and we took our coping mechanisms into adulthood. While some are more socially acceptable than others, when used to avoid emotional connections in relationships, they keep the harmful cycle going.

We're all trying to deal with the conflicting emotions that have surfaced as the physical needs of our mom have evolved. Believing in the value and sanctity of every human life hasn't always been helpful at times as I've battled anger, resentment, and frustration because my life has been interrupted by someone who couldn't be bothered to be involved in mine most of the time.

Each day presents a choice of what I get to deal with as the future unfolds: medical as we learn how to deal with the colostomy bag that will probably be permanent, financial as we determine if she'll be able to work again to supplement her fixed income and what to do with her existing debt, emotional as we wonder how or if she can deal with addiction withdrawal and what that choice will bring, and logistical as we wait to see if she'll ever drive again and how dependent she'll be on us.

In two days, the calendar will tell me that Tiffany was married five years ago on that date. The choices of her ex-husband provided the opportunity for us to walk through the valley of deep darkness where we found God faithful. Instead of just being a belief that He would be when life was hard, we now know it to be a truth settled deep in our hearts. I am thankful for that experience now because while not as deep, I am in a valley that's not very bright. I don't want to be here and I'm still whining a lot that I am. But because of the last five years, I know that one day I'll look around and I will be on the other side and I will be changed for the better because of it. For now, though, I'm praying that faith will arise as I pour out my heart and remember that God is faithful forever. And I'm thankful for friends and family who love and understand me and are there for me even when there's nothing that can be done.

(For a link to the Chris Tomlin song, "Let Faith Arise", click here)

In With The New

2011-01-03T07:19:00.003-06:00

"Only that day dawns to which we are awake."
~Henry David Thoreau

So Long, Farewell!

2010-12-31T10:11:00.003-06:00

2010 is almost at an end. Can I get an "Amen" or two for that fact?? The last two weeks have felt like I've been trying to get a drink of water from a fire hose aimed straight at my mouth. But I am happy to say that things do appear to be improving. My mom is now out of the hospital and at a rehab facility to try and get her strength back. Unless there is an unexpected setback, she'll likely be out of there in a week or so. We may be moving her into a one bedroom apartment so she won't have as much to keep up with and also to save her some money. So while there are aspects of life that will be easier, a new adventure is most definitely on the horizon. And guess who lives only five minutes away from her mother? Yep, that would be me....and the things God has been teaching me are so many and so profound that it's going to take the rest of my life probably to process them all. If and when I ever get some uninterrupted time, I'll attempt to share with you some of what that has been.

Today I am getting things back in a somewhat orderly state in our own apartment before I go see mom and then head downtown to Atlanta. Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but a while back Hamp and I had volunteered to work at Passion 2011. I had to back off from my original commitment, but with mom's move to rehab, I'm going to get to join Hamp for some of the conference and we will get to spend New Year's Eve together. I know it will be tiring, but I'm ready for a different kind of exhaustion and I think this will be a refreshing time for both of us.

One last thing before I put things in high gear. At the beginning of November I started another blog called Pixy Prose. For years I've wanted to create a line of greeting cards but haven't had either the time, resources, knowledge, or equipment to do so. I discovered I could satisfy that creative part of me by simply using the internet and a new blog. Of course, millions of others have discovered that blogs can be an expression for lots of things as well, and I never really got many looks on it. That humbling reality combined with my mom's health issues have forced me to stop it for now because I don't really have the time to invest in it. While I don't have a ton of people who read this one either, there are more views of it probably because it's been around a while. Once I have time to remove the Christmas background, don't be surprised if this becomes a combination of the two. I'm not sure it's a good idea to squelch something that surprisingly met a need for creativity I didn't realize I had.

So as a beginning to the new year and a goodbye to the old, here's to discovering what God has placed within us!

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us."
~Henry David Thoreau

What Does This Make Possible?

2010-12-21T02:39:00.002-06:00

I am sitting in a hospital room in the middle of the night listening to my mother mutter unintelligible words as she reaches for things only she sees. I know I'm not the first person to deal with tough issues like this, but the part that makes this hard is that the majority of her problems are a result of choices she's made throughout her life. What began as a medical situation that required surgery to be corrected has become the least of the issues threatening her life in every way. I truly believe that as long as a person has breath they have value not only in God's eyes but in the world they live in. But I'm not gonna lie; dark thoughts come unbidden especially when it's dark outside.

A few weeks back some friends of ours were telling us about the difficult time they'd been through recently. They've been involved in ministry for the last 30+ years and as victims of deception and ultimately betrayal, they had to uproot their lives and begin again. One thing they shared with us that they had taken from the experience was instead of asking the question, "Why?" to ask the question "What does this make possible?" I've thought a lot about that question and how it's a much more productive one to ponder when life doesn't go the way we thought it would or should. It's somewhat helpful to think about as Tiffany will now be spending Christmas alone due to our inability to travel because of my mom's health. And as Matthew recovers from his 7th surgery on the same knee, the hope is that the answer is "a lot!". But as I think about the many possible ways this scenario could play out with my mom, all I really know is what is no longer possible for her.

At some point I'll get some pictures up from our time together as a family a couple of weeks ago. Sadly, my mom wasn't feeling well even then and left before we could get any pictures of her that day. But I do have one from her birthday that we took at Publix where she was working that day and it's one of my favorites of her. So I'll close with that and hope that memories will eventually erase the scene in front of me as I type.

December Madness

2010-12-12T05:59:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the pre-dawn creation of today's post. I am up because my poor body can no longer digest all of the food I'm putting in it in a timely manner and so sleep has become the thing to go. I remember now why I began Weight Watchers online last year on January 1st - I was simply tired of eating and feeling terrible. I have reached that point again and will gladly stop the holiday feeding frenzy most of us succumb to each year. Why we do that in our country could be a fascinating thing to ponder when there is time someday...

As I type, two of our children, the cold-fighting, sweet spirited spouse of one son, the cat, and the hubby are all sleeping in our relatively small apartment. Such is life in our new normal of recent years. It might be fun to actually create a game to predict where we will be living next Christmas and how we'll celebrate as a family. The rest of my side of the family will be here in about six hours and we visited with some of Hamp's family yesterday in Newnan at Sprayberry's Barbeque. (The onion rings with their accompanying grease are last night's prime suspect in the stomach distress that awakened me an hour ago.) Then tomorrow brings not only predicted zero-degree wind chills, but the departure of the Disney daughter and the Great White North couple to warmer temperatures than they will leave. The local coaching son will be counting down the hours before his Christmas break and also probable knee surgery once again. His poor knee just gets messy inside about once every couple of years as little cartilage fragments splinter off and get stuck under his knee causing lots of pain.

I left you with my upcoming trip to Baltimore pending and I did have a good visit. The meeting that needed to happen went fine and I got to see several friends for short visits and eat a crab cake lunch. While southern crab cakes can be good, there is nothing like a Maryland crab cake and anyone who has discovered them will agree.

It was mostly cold and gray while I was there so I didn't get many pictures. But I do have these which make me smile every time I see them.

Aren't those faces the cutest?? And the guinea pigs are pretty cute too.

Hamp and I got our tree up last weekend and Kit has enjoyed hanging out underneath it as usual. Tiffany got her as a gift on Christmas morning 15 years ago; my, how time flies!

As Christmas Day rapidly approaches, we find ourselves actually thinking beyond it. We're volunteering to help with Passion 2011 which will be held in Atlanta from January 1-4. Hamp took a couple of days off so we could help the whole time and we're excited about it. We may or may not get to hear some of the speakers and/or music, but it's not about that for us. The heart of the volunteer staff is to be a door-holder in the Kingdom so that the college students coming will be able to focus whole-heartedly on what God might have for them. There are still volunteers needed and the only requirement is that you are at least 26 years old and have a willing heart. Being able to function with little sleep might be helpful too. :) If you want to learn more about the conference, click on this link and it should have a place where you could volunteer if you're interested in doing so.

I should probably "officially" begin my day as our little household will begin to awaken soon. Have a good Sunday and bundle up - the weather is not going to be our friend in the next three days or so. My only consolation in the upcoming forecast is that the extremes don't last as long as they did when we lived several hundred miles further north.

Hopefully this calendar page I turned to the other day won't be your experience in the coming days, but if it is, make sure you get a picture!

Coming and Going

2010-11-30T23:06:00.000-06:00

I don't have long but wanted to say hello...or maybe it's goodbye? I've been home a day from our Thanksgiving travels and I leave in a few hours to fly to Baltimore for a quick visit. As I'm listening to the wind pick up outside and as I watch the massive rain coverage that soaked us today move northeast, I have to confess I'm a little nervous about flying in the morning. I'm fully prepared to be delayed and truthfully expect to be. Oh, well, it will make for a good story, right?

The leaves will be gone and so our little cove that was beside our apartment building won't look quite like this, but I'm excited to go back and see some of the sights and especially the people we left behind.

The good news is that it won't look like this either!

Sometimes it's hard to believe that we ever lived there, because the time went by so fast, but then I think of the friendships we left behind and I'm reminded again that home really is where the heart is. Sometimes quotes can be a little cheesy and we don't stop and think that maybe they've survived the test of time for a reason. Not to keep bringing this up, but that's one of the reasons I've loved creating Pixy Prose. Not only am I learning more about photography, but I really enjoy researching quotes on various topics and finding the perfect fit. I'd love for you to check it out and maybe become a regular follower or reader. It's a challenge sometimes to have it ready each day but I discovered that you can schedule a post to be published when you want it to be and that's helped a lot. Should you want to see if it's something you'd be interested in, click here for a link to the page. Who knows, maybe someday if I really do get a card line created, you can say you saw it here first!

Time to try to sleep for a little while. You'd think I'd have the preparing to leave/packing thing down to an art, but I think of too many things at the last minute and end up staying up too late every time. Maybe one day I'll figure it out......

Think of me as I head out tomorrow. Hopefully flying the friendly skies will be just that!

Christmas With Mickey

2010-11-28T12:02:00.001-06:00

Hopefully this entry finds everyone recovering from gluttony and looking back over the Thanksgiving holiday with.....well, thanksgiving. I know it's a hard time for a lot of people as memories are stirred because of empty seats at the table. For others, like us, everything looked totally different than usual as we made adjustments to life as it is for now. With rumblings of international unrest being heard even as I type this, there are always reasons to be thankful as long as we have breath and I'm hoping that's where you are this afternoon.

Speaking of afternoon, at the risk of alienating pretty much everyone we know, I probably shouldn't tell you that the cold front that dropped temperatures like a brick all across the nation lowered them here in the Sunshine State to the low 70's. It's a gorgeous day outside - low humidity, mostly sunny skies, and a gentle breeze is blowing. In a couple of hours, we're heading to Disney World for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party which is a must see extravaganza according to Tiffany. There's a special ticket price and you're allowed in the park from 4:00 to midnight. They limit the number of people so there's pretty much no waiting in line. There's free hot chocolate and cookies set up all over the park, the parade and fireworks display are unique to these days, and it even "snows" on Main Street. We're quite excited and it's the reason we're still here instead of sitting in traffic trying to drive north on I-75. Hopefully we'll have lots of fun pictures to share once I'm back home and can get them downloaded.

We are jump starting the holiday madness as soon as we hit home tomorrow beginning with me flying to Baltimore on Wednesday for a few days. I still help out with Gallery Church administratively just a little and it became necessary to gather everyone together for some cyber paperwork. I'm not complaining, though, because I'm quite excited to see lots of people we've missed since moving back south. I'll be dusting off the wool coat and scarf, however, because the highs are only supposed to be in the 40's. Moving back south should be proof that I'm not quite as dumb as I appear sometimes. :)

I hope re-entry back into the real world goes smoothly tomorrow for everyone and as we head into the official holiday season, my prayer is that we all remember that people are what really matter. Yes, even those who cheer for UGA every Thanksgiving when they play Georgia Tech. Sigh.....maybe before I'm too old to care, Tech will have a run that will cause the emotional upheaval we've had to endure for way too long. One can always hope, right?

Thanksgiving Orlando Style

2010-11-24T11:53:00.000-06:00

Hamp and I are doing a little bit of work on our respective computers and then heading out to the mall where Tiffany works to say hello and do some pre-Black Friday scouting. For those of you who read this in various places of the country, I just had to share this.

We are in shorts and capris respectively, we are wearing flip-flops, the AC is on in the car and the homes we go in and out of, and the thermometer won't stop moving upward until it reaches 80+ degrees today. The forecast for tomorrow is 85. We might not be going over the river and through the woods in a horse-driven sleigh, but we will be together (well, most of us) and for that we are thankful.

Along that line, Tiffany updated her blog last night with a reflection on where she finds herself as the holidays approach. It made me realize yet again what amazing beauty comes out of the ashes of life and I thought you might enjoy reading it for yourself. If so, click on this link and it will take you to it.

Ellis has just wandered back into where we are, so I'm going to go play with her. She's quite lonely with Tiffany working as much as she is right now, so we're trying to be extra sensitive to our grandkitty. Yes, we have issues....and that's OK!

Disney Daze

2010-11-22T10:04:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving week! We will be heading to Orlando tomorrow to spend the week with Tiffany and Matthew for part of it. In keeping with a Disney theme, I am beginning the week as one of his more beloved characters.

Yes, I am sleepy. That tends to happen when one sleeps for two hours, is awake for the next three, then sleeps for a couple more before being awakened for the busy day ahead. My hope is that I resemble only this endearing dwarf for the rest of the day and don't morph into another one that's just as recognizable. I'm not holding my breath, though.....

I'm already planning my newest addiction for later in the day to keep me awake. Have any of you tried the Starbuck's Peppermint Hot Chocolate? It is yummy!!

We're quite excited about heading to Orlando for several reasons. Of course, getting to spend time with Tiffany and Nikki and Jenn and her family are at the top of the list. After much enthusiasm on Tiffany's part, she's convinced us that going to Disney's Christmas Party is worth the effort, so on Sunday we'll be doing that. Between now and then, she has to endure preparing for, working, and surviving Black Friday at one of the busiest malls in Orlando. Hamp and I will be entertaining ourselves a couple of days while Tiffany will probably not be wishing that people would "eat mor chikin". The reward will be snow on Main Street as Christmas music plays and the whole park is decorated for the holidays. Lots of fun pictures will be forthcoming, I'm sure.

I'll let Walt Disney himself close us out today along with a recent picture of Tiffany from a trip to Disney. Part of the fun I'm having with Pixy Prose is all the quotes I'm discovering, even if they never make it to the new blog.

"All your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them."

Giving Thanks

2010-11-21T12:13:00.004-06:00

With Thanksgiving travel ahead of us and since I had the time this morning, I decided to decorate my blog to greet what I consider the onset of the holiday season. We won't get to see Michael and Bekah until December, but the rest of the family is heading to Florida this week to share turkey day with Tiffany. Her Chick-Fil-A schedule at one of the busiest malls in Orlando prevents her from going anywhere. Such is the life of a grad student.

The following sentence might not seem like a connected thought, but hang with me and you'll see that it is. Chris Tomlin had a new CD released this week and I've been listening to it. As usual, all of the songs are worshipful reminders of who God is, but there's one in particular that has captured my heart. It's titled "I Lift My Hands" and the words to the chorus are what have impacted me the most. (For a link to the song, click here)

"I lift my hands to believe again
You are my refuge, You are my strength
As I pour out my heart, these things I remember
You are faithful, God, forever"

Quite simply, this is what thanksgiving is all about. Recognizing that God has been and will always be faithful. Does life look like we thought it would? No. Will there be loved ones missing at family tables this holiday season for various reasons? Yes. But while both of these are true, it doesn't preclude the fact that God is and that God loves. Even if there is no other reason, we can be thankful for that life-sustaining truth.

That being said, be alert for those around you that might be hurting as the holidays approach. For every instance of peace on earth and good will to men there's a broken heart to be comforted, a hungry mouth to feed, or a lonely soul that simply needs to be seen. We are God's hands and feet here on earth for now and it's a sacred privilege we've been given. Sadly, we usually don't have to look any further than our own family and friends to find the greatest need. Wherever we find ourselves this week, may God grant us the ability to see with His eyes and to love with His heart. And may God bless us, every one.

Sunday Afternoon

2010-11-14T13:19:00.001-06:00

Greetings on this waning stretch of perfect fall weather we've been experiencing. Rain and cooler temps are heading our way for a couple of days, but we need the rain, so no complaints. I've had a couple of outings this week where I took some pictures of the gorgeous color around us, so I thought I'd share a few with you.

All of these were taken near our apartment building and aside from a little editing, this is what we see right now when we go outside. Very soon, however, the limbs will be bare and our little corner of the world will pull in for a necessary time of rest before it blooms again. I don't think it's an accident that our lives reflect the cycles of nature. We have seasons of growth, periods of letting go that usually involves decay, and times of being dormant. Then one day there's a bud of hope and new life appears.

I feel like our lives right now are mirroring the world outside our window and I'm actually looking forward to a time of forced stillness as we wait for what God has next. Is our time back in GA temporary or will we put deeper roots down again in the next year? As Passion City Church continues to move toward a permanent building, will new friendships begin and grow? Most of the time, I'm OK to just wait and see, but I confess to occasional impatience too.

For those who might be visiting for the first time in a while, here's a link to a new adventure I've begun titled, "Pixy Prose". Right now, it's just a blog with a daily photograph that either I or someone I know has taken along with what is hopefully a thought provoking quote. I've had fun creating it and have enjoyed the research and editing required to keep adding entries. Who knows what it might lead to, but for now, I hope you'll stop by and check it out.

I have to get ready to head out for church soon, so for now I must depart. If any of you might ever be interested in checking out Passion City Church, click on this link and you'll be able to keep up with what's happening. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Condensed Life

2010-11-08T22:01:00.001-06:00

Wow - it's been a while, hasn't it? It's been busy, but not so busy that I couldn't have stopped to write. So why haven't I? I actually have an answer and I'll give it to you at the end of this post. (Don't you hate it when people do that??)

Before I share that, however, I'll catch you up on the happenings of the GA Joneses. Most of the month of October was filled with perfect fall weather. I love the change of seasons because each one brings something special with it. The cooler days (finally!), crisper air, bright sunshine, and changing leaves have always been invigorating to me. One of the things our family used to do was make an annual visit to Burt's Pumpkin Farm in the north Georgia mountains but that wasn't possible for several reasons this year. One, half of us don't live here anymore. Two, if you don't go on a weekday in the fall, you have to sit in traffic and fight large crowds. Three, Hamp had already taken a day off so we could go to Savannah and he couldn't miss work again. So, I did what any enterprising pumpkin seeker would do - I went by myself. As I've mentioned before, the last couple of years have taught me that being alone is not a bad thing and there's lots to learn in times of solitude. I knew that if I took my camera that I would enjoy the day....and I was right!

I remembered that Amicalola Falls State Park was right down the street, so I decided to go there also and hike up to the waterfall where I got some more great pictures.

It was a good day, but not without emotional consequences. There can be a price to pay for sharing places you love with those you love on the off chance that they'll leave you one day, but after time to consider the alternative, to me it's worth the cost.

So, what else have I been doing with my time? Well, after looking at my pictures from my day in the mountains, I decided to try and do some editing using the very limited resources I have at hand along with my very limited knowledge. I ended up being pleasantly surprised with the results and in the process discovered that I had tapped a creative vein I've been neglecting for too long. Accepting the limitations at hand, I realized that my ultimate dream of creating a greeting card line would still have to wait. However, using what I did have available, I created the next best thing - a blog that has one entry a day complete with a picture and thought provoking (hopefully!) quote. I started it on November 1st but didn't want to make it public until I was sure everything was working okay. I won't have anything personal on it, but you can still leave comments if you want to or become a follower. I think if you do that, then you're updated for each new entry. For those of you that use Google Reader, you can add the blog site as a new subscription and get the update from there.

The name of the new blog is Pixy Prose. The word "pix" is plural for "pic", which is an abbreviation for "picture" and the word "prose" just means an ordinary form of the spoken or written word. It's not world peace, but it's a way I can pull together several creative ways to express myself and it's free. :)

So welcome to those who want to check it out and you can do so by clicking on this link. It will take you to the latest entry, so to see all of them you'll have to scroll down. When you get to November 1st, you'll know you've reached the last (first?) one.

I plan to keep up with this blog too and hopefully more often for those few of you that seem to want to keep up with our little family. And if you get a chance, you'll have to let me know what you think of Pixy Prose.

Going to State!

2010-10-27T22:38:00.002-05:00

I only have a minute because I must get some sleep, but I wanted to let you know that I'm heading to south Georgia in the morning for the fast pitch softball state tournament. I know, I'm a wild one, aren't I? :) But Matthew is the assistant coach and we live close enough to go, so I am. It used to be a yearly trip for the team but like all dynasties, things change and it's been a while since they've been. On paper, they shouldn't get very far, but the Braves showed us what teamwork and chemistry and heart can do when talent might not be evenly matched. So we'll see what happens. But as we all go to bed tonight, there are 8 teams hoping to become the state champion and at this moment, we're all on equal footing. Go Hoyas!

Birthday Blog

2010-10-20T11:00:00.000-05:00

It's official - I have lived to see another year begin in my life! Most of the time I'm glad about that, but I have to admit that the older I get, the more I long for the day when everything will be made right. There's so much sadness and pain in the world that sometimes it makes my heart hurt. That's when I realize that God's patience with us is greater than I'll ever be able to comprehend.

I know I haven't been updating my blog regularly and I really do hope to get better at it again. To catch you up, I'll hit some of the highlights of the last month.

~ I last left you with the Braves making the playoffs. Alas, we didn't make it out of the first round and we had to officially say goodbye to Bobby Cox as manager of our Atlanta Braves. Tiffany wrote a really good blog about the season ending, so I'm going to be lazy and just put a link to it here and then I won't say anymore about it. Well, except that it's only about four months until Spring Training and I live close enough now that I can drive there for a couple of games next year. :)

~ In September, our friend Annie came to visit from Baltimore. We had a lot of fun having her here and enjoyed showing her some of the nearby sights. Even though Maryland is pretty far north, it is still south (barely) of the Mason-Dixon line thus keeping them from officially being Yankees. But I never saw any magnolia trees while living there, so we had to show Annie what the true south was like.

Of course, one cannot visit Atlanta without being introduced to the Varsity.

If it's baseball season, then a Braves game is a must also. Brooke got to join us so we had a mini Baltimore reunion even though she's back in GA too.

We also went to Stone Mountain to show her the giant rock east of Atlanta. (Did you know that it was formed by a volcano that never quite erupted and that most of it is still underground? You learn something new every day.....)

Thanks for visiting, Annie! We'll see you at Passion 2011!

~ Moving back to Georgia reunited us with Matthew who still teaches and coaches at Harrison. Being the supportive parents that we are, we've been to several fast-pitch softball games and helped cheer the Lady Hoyas to victory as region champs this year. They're currently in the second round of the state playoffs and if they win that, then I'll get to visit my friend Liz in Columbus next weekend.

This was what was left of the water cooler contents after they were poured over Matthew. He's one of the assistants, but I guess the girls figured dumping ice water over their pregnant coach wasn't a good idea, so he was chosen.

~ Even though we're back "home" in GA, life is very different than it was before we moved. All of my friends are now grandparents and at different places in life than we are. Two of our kids are in different states and with the economic downturn, our income has decreased which makes traveling more infrequent. I'm still pondering what to do with my free time - do I look for a job? Do I take a class or two? If I'm not careful, I can get discouraged by what I see, forgetting that the unseen is where life is really being lived. But the extra time is allowing me a lot of solitude which I just learned from Tiffany is a spiritual discipline. (Side note - I've been learning a lot of interesting things from her as she shares some of what she's studying!) Being comfortable with yourself and with God in the quiet is something we miss in our age of information and instant everything. So I'm trying to receive this time and quiet as the gift that it is knowing that seasons pass and there is growth in all of them. I took some time last week to just walk around the apartment complex on a perfect fall day and take some pictures. These were some of my favorites.

This is the evil goldenrod, better known as ragweed, that tries to kill us every fall.

~ Time to get busy! If you're able to, give your kids (or parents) a hug today. You never know when you'll live too far away to do so.

Playoffs!

2010-10-10T12:34:00.000-05:00

Greetings on this fun numerical day of 10/10/10. It's been a while since I've posted.....sorry! I only have a minute today but will catch back up in the next couple of days. For now, I want to just say that THE BRAVES ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is what the excitement looked like on the field a week ago when the Giants beat the Padres to guarantee the wild card spot for the Braves.

And this was what it looked like in the clubhouse with the players and coaches. (photos courtesy of ajc.com)

There's just something about pulling for the underdog in life no matter what the situation is. Even Cinderella's rise out of the ashes was coined into its own term of "Cinderella Story". But even Cindy probably didn't expect it to apply to a baseball team many decades down the road.

Anyway, we're about to leave so I must go. I just wanted to say hello on this beautiful fall day and wish you all a very happy Sunday. Oh, and go Braves!!

"We Can Do Hard"

2010-09-24T10:19:00.002-05:00

This is the 200th post of my blog and I've been wondering what it would end up being about. I mentioned last entry that life's been a little hard the last couple of weeks. I'm still having adjustment issues and it seems like everywhere I look these days, life is hard for somebody. I love the title of this entry and I can say that because it's not mine. Mary Beth Chapman coined this phrase as she's helped her family navigate through the tragedy of losing little Maria a couple of years ago. Watching God bring beauty out of ashes in their family has been an encouragement to so many because of His amazing faithfulness. Should you want to follow her journey yourself, here's the link to her blog.

Since moving back to Georgia, we've been going to Passion City Church. This week, Louie and his sister, Gina, had the sad but wondrous experience of being with their mom as she slipped into eternity to be with the God she faithfully served while here on this earth. We know according to Psalms 116:15 that "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones", but for those left behind there's a loss that won't be fully healed until they're reunited someday. Here's the link to the Passion City Church blog if you want to know more about what God is doing in Atlanta through this ministry.

Today, my heart is especially heavy for a friend of Tiffany's that she graduated from Furman with. I introduced you to Emmett and his family several months ago and shared how they had learned very unexpectedly that he had esophageal cancer. They started a blog to keep friends and family updated and I've been following their journey of faith and struggle. Earlier this week, they went for another CAT scan to assess the chemo effects and got discouraging news. If you'd like to follow their story, here's the link.

I'm going to let Wendy's words (Emmett's wife) close this entry. Sometimes life is hard, but because of God and His love and grace, we can do hard.

"You see, if you read the Bible as I do, from the slightly cynical angle of someone who started walking with God later in life, then quite often Jesus answers questions in a way people vastly misunderstand. Pretty much every conversation he has makes sense in light of the cross, but if you think about the context, then people’s perplexed reactions make perfect sense to me. I am completely and perfectly aware that I may have misunderstood the Lord’s answer to my prayer that day because I want to believe Emmett will get well. I completely understand that I cannot see beyond my circumstances and ten years from now I may understand that prayer differently than I do now. But for now, we’ve made the choice to take him at his word, which is very difficult for me. Because you see, as I write this, thousands of women are being or have been raped in the Congo by rebel and government soldiers, with no one to turn to for safety. Children in southeast Asia are being sold as slaves into the sex trade, and thousands of people around the world are going without food, medicine, or clean water. So why would God have mercy on us? There is absolutely no reason he would. Suffering of all kinds exists because there is sin in the world, and sin multiplies just like the aggressive cancer in Emmett’s body. And the love of Christ, which he has chosen for now to demonstrate through his church, seems as impotent as the chemotherapies used to fight Emmett’s advanced cancer. The beautiful mystery is that God’s love will triumph over evil on this earth, and millions of people throughout history who don’t deserve the love of God will find true healing in the blood of Christ. So we’ve chose to believe in physical healing because that’s the only way we can find the courage to face each morning. We weep often because we find it difficult to balance apparent reality with a hopeful faith."

Smiles

2010-09-14T08:03:00.000-05:00

I have found that when I stop to look for them, there are lots of things that come our way to make us smile. It's when I quit looking that life seems to get bleaker. I'm sure that's part of the reason Jesus reminded us to come as children because who better sees life's wonders?

It was a quiet weekend for the most part, but a couple of things got my attention and reminded me to be wonder-filled again.

First, we went to the Braves game on Saturday with some friends and strong storms were in the area. Fortunately, nothing hit us until right about the time we got to the car after a brisk walk/run. But it did create an opportunity for a cool rainbow appearance. I only had my phone to take a picture with, but if you look closely, you can still see it.

The game ended up going into extra innings and in the bottom of the 12th inning, the Braves won it with a walk-off homerun! Yay for exciting baseball games that we win!! The celebration at home plate was definitely something to smile about!

For those of you who are pet owners, I know you'll agree that they brighten our days often. Kit is very old - she'll be 15 in November and she's definitely slowing down. I know the dreaded "day" will come sooner rather than later, but for now she's still healthy and enjoying life. One of her favorite things to do is sleep on/near/beside her human of choice. If I'm around, it's me but Hamp serves as a great alternate. This was her keeping me company a couple of nights ago. How can you not smile at this??

This week's smiles will mostly be brought to me by what has been dubbed "Theme Park Therapy" by Tiffany and Nikki. I'm heading to Orlando for two days of Disney adventures, including the newly-opened Harry Potter world at Universal. They discovered last year that there's a brief window of time right after school starts everywhere when the parks are hardly crowded. I'm not working right now and they're only 7+ hours away, so......what's a girl to do? Stay tuned for pictures to come!

Edits

2010-09-09T22:13:00.001-05:00

This has been a hard week. Life is just not easy sometimes and when that's true for those you love, it makes you want to ask the age old question, "Why?" While I often ask that question, I rarely get an answer and if I do, it's always after enough time has gone by that I'm looking in hindsight. I try to instead ask "What?" so I can be on the lookout for what God may have for me in any given moment.

I thought about that a few days ago as I was experimenting with some editing features on my computer. I really know very little about it and don't have any of the good software to really try and learn. I'm hoping to change that in the near future, but for now I'm very limited in what I'm capable of doing. That being said, I was able to get some interesting looks to an original picture I had taken in Baltimore last year. As I was looking at the results, I had a small epiphany. (Side note - isn't that a cool word? It's one of my favorites and it's just not one you get to use on a regular basis.)

What was this insight you ask? I'll see if I can explain it by first showing you the original picture I used in my editing experiment.

It was an ordinary scene made extraordinary by the perfect combination of a full moon and a clear night and great timing. Now look at several more pictures of the same scene, but this time with various editing techniques.

The picture is always the same, but with editing the overall look was changed and also how one might perceive it. I realized that the same is true with God. He allows different exposures, color adjustments, and tints in our lives that might change our overall look, but they still keep us the person He created without changing our purpose.

Psalms 138:8 - "The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting ; do not forsake the works of Your hands."

Something To Think About

2010-09-09T16:23:00.000-05:00

~Mary Engelbreit Daily Calendar, September 3rd

September Smiles

2010-09-01T21:46:00.001-05:00

Poor August, there's just not a lot you can say that's very nice about its presence in the summer lineup. There's stale air, excessive heat and humidity, and no holiday to break up the monotony. Then comes September. Just hearing its name evokes images of cooler weather, changing leaves, bonfires, football games, marching bands, pennant fever for a few lucky baseball teams, and the beginning of school for those of us who liked to go.

And speaking of pennant fever...just to keep you updated, the Braves are still in first and are beating the Mets again tonight. There are 29 games left and fans are daring to believe the magic could be back in the ATL again.

In keeping with the theme, I wanted to share a few of the things that have made my heart smile in the last few days.

~Pets - Tiffany started class last night in the new adventure she's embarking on of getting her master's degree in counseling. Nikki gave her a balloon to mark the occasion and Ellie the wonder cat decided it was her new toy. I've seen her before with one and she'll take the string in her mouth and walk it around the room like she's walking a pet. It's really quite funny and had Tiffany in hysterics as she watched Ellie. She took a couple of pictures, but so far I've only seen this one and it makes me laugh out loud every time I see it.

~Memories - Hamp and I went for a walk the other day around the track of what used to be my old high school. I spent many hours in that track area as a drill team member during football season and a soccer fan in the spring. As we passed the far corner near the scoreboard, I remembered when we had our pre-season pictures taken for drill team at that same spot. In scanning some pictures earlier today I came across it and while there is proof othewise, I couldn't help but think that it feels like yesterday when it was taken.

~Pictures - I suppose this could fall into the category of memories too, but having pictures that have documented our lives is a gift I take for granted often. I was the obnoxious mom that always had her camera pointed at the latest happening, but now those same pictures remind us of connections from days gone by. Here are a few I came across as I was scanning some to save.

When they were around five and six years old, Tiffany and Jack were in a wedding together as the flower girl and ring bearer. The photographer captured this shot and it's one of my favorites. I love the typical girl/boy differences that each of them is showing.

I think I've shared this one of Tiffany we had taken when she was three months old. She was a "healthy" baby and did all of her growing early!

Then I found this one of me when I was two months old and realized we actually look more alike than I thought we did.

~Changes - Just thinking about a new season underscores the approach of a change coming. I don't think I'm as afraid of change as I used to be, but it's still not something I lean into. If things never changed, however, we would miss the new adventure, the new friend, or the beauty that can only come with eyes wide open to now. Without change, I would have only seen this

and would never have seen this.

A New Look

2010-08-30T21:11:00.000-05:00

Good Monday evening to you! We're watching the Braves beat up on the Mets tonight which is a nice change after the recent nail biters. There are just a little over 30 games left in the regular season and then the playoffs begin. Pennant fever is heating up even as football season is beginning. Now for the weather to cooperate and actually feel more like fall.

If you're a regular reader, then obviously you noticed yet another change to the look of the blog. I really don't know much about design, templates, etc. but when I have time, I like to see if I can find something I like. Sorry if you're not a fan of green. I'm not sure I am either, but for now we just have to put up with it until I have another chunk of time or a patient daughter who will help me.

I had a mini revelation a couple of weeks ago when I made an unplanned trip to Orlando. To better explain it, I have to share some background.

I already had a trip on the calendar in a couple of weeks to specifically go with the girls to the parks. There's a brief window of time between everybody going back to school and fall activities gearing up where the lines are basically non-existent. But when a friend needed to meet her daughter down there a couple of weeks ago and didn't need to take an extra car, I offered to drive us down and use the time to spend a couple of days with Tiffany. Since the trip was unexpected, she was working and didn't have a lot of time off. I had my GPS and was fine going places by myself and just learning more about the area where they work and live.

One afternoon, I was driving back to their apartment and was thinking how random it was that I was actually in Florida. And then it hit me - when I had the chance to spend some time with my daughter, I rearranged my calendar without thinking a lot about it and just went. My motivation was simply to be with her in her world, even if it was only for a couple of days. And like a gentle brush across my spirit I heard, "I wait just as expectantly for you to take time to be with me."

The difference is that God is always there and doesn't have to drive seven hours to be with me. Yet, how often do I take that for granted and fill my time with other things knowing that He'll be there when/if I get around to it?

My parent heart responded two weeks ago. Will I respond to my Heavenly Father waiting for me? It gave me something to think about.

Living In Between

2010-08-25T20:54:00.000-05:00

Summer is beginning to slowly lose its grip here in the south, at least for a few days. A couple of "cold" fronts moving through lowered the humidity a lot and temperatures a little and it's amazing how much that can refresh a weary soul. Only 28 more days until the official beginning of fall, unless you count all the football that's about to start. I grew up a block away from the high school I would later attend and at an early age the drums from the marching band did more to announce the change of seasons than the calendar did.

I have been recovering from a bad sore throat the last few days and am now finally feeling better. I mostly stayed home which sometimes can make life seem a bit melancholy and I'm finding that to be the case again. But I used the time of rest to read a couple of books and can heartily recommend them to you.

The first one was "The Blind Side" by Michael Lewis which is the story of Michael Oher and his rescue from poverty and rise to football stardom. It's been made into a movie that I'm sure most of you have seen and the movie is very good. But Hollywood always has to tweak things a bit to fit into a neat package of approximately 120 minutes and real life really doesn't cooperate very often. For me, the book got a bit tedious at times with football details, but they actually help set the stage for why he was so pursued as a player and the details were necessary. It was a refreshing reminder that sometimes the good guy wins and I'm looking forward to cheering for the Baltimore Ravens this fall and Michael Oher.

The book I read today was a much different story that is still waiting for the complete fulfillment of the happy ending.

I've written often about Steven and Mary Beth Chapman's journey in the last two years as they've struggled with the loss of five year old Maria Sue in a tragic accident. The material in the book wasn't really new to me because I've followed blogs, music, interviews, etc. along the way. But the added details and struggles of the entire family broke my heart all over again. It was a very courageous step for Mary Beth to take to relive not only the last two years, but go back and look at her whole life, and I believe God will use it to heal her in greater ways and bring glory to Himself even more.

Pain and suffering are universal conditions that all of humanity deals with at one time or another and sadly, it's something that some use as a reason to run from God. One last book by Randy Alcorn that I've begun reading addresses some of that and while not one to read quickly or lightly, I'm suspecting that it will be worth the journey.

All of this input in recent days, along with my life in general in the last several years, can be summed up by this quote from Randy Alcorn's book, "If God Is Good":

"We live between Genesis 3 and Revelation 20, between Eden and the New Earth. Things are not all right with the world....Adam and Eve's fall, Cain's murder of Abel, Noah's flood, the tower of Babel, the patriarch's sins, Job's tragedies, Egypt's oppression of Israel, David's psalms of lament, Israel's rebellion and exile, the suffering of the prophets, and the long, lonely wait for Messiah - it goes on relentlessly, so that when Jesus finally comes as the Lamb of God, He comes not a moment too soon. And when He returns as the Lion, again it will be not a moment too soon - nor too late."

That's where I find myself these days - living in between - after evil has entered the world and before God makes all things right. I don't know exactly what that will look like for me or my family, but I think I'm ready for the adventure to continue.

This Is Braves Country

2010-08-22T17:09:00.000-05:00

It's Sunday afternoon and I've been sick all weekend with a bad sore throat and no energy. Very sad....

But I just watched the Braves beat the Cubs 16-5 which prompted me to look for a video of a commercial I've seen titled, "This Is Braves Country". Here is the link to it if you'd like to see it and get ready for the pennant race. :)

I know I've been slack recently in posting and I think it's time for some tweaking. I first started this blog almost two years ago for friends to keep up with us as we moved to Baltimore. As time has gone on, most of those friends don't really read anymore because they all visited at some point while we were there and now we see each other fairly often. We do have a couple of Baltimore friends who check in occasionally, but the reality is we're just not a reality show type family. While we've had our fair share of adventure in the last couple of years, we just don't have a lot of excitement, I suppose. So if I keep going with the blog, it will be with a little different focus of which I'm not sure yet. I'll keep you posted and you can let me know if it even matters to you.

For now, have a good beginning to your week and I'll be back soon for either a last post or a new direction. I'll leave you with a couple of fun pictures from our last few weeks.

This is Hamp, Ellis, and Caleb cooking some of the fish they caught when we went to visit last month.

This is Caleb, Ginger, and Lauren as we enjoyed yummy Pitango Gelato.

This is the ending song of the American Idol Concert that Ginger, Lauren, and I went to. It was actually a well done show and we had fun.

Last, but not least, here's a picture of my kids in 1991 when I let them skip school to go to the Braves parade to celebrate their worst to first season. We almost got trampled and couldn't see anything because of the crowds, but there was confetti and community spirit and hopefully we'll get to experience something like that again in a few weeks.

Milestones and Memories

2010-08-03T16:32:00.073-05:00

Today is Sid Bream's 50th birthday. The reason I know this is because I just saw it in an article from our local newspaper. If you're not from Atlanta or have never cheered for the Atlanta Braves, then you'll wonder who this man is. If you know, the same two words unite us all as we remember his importance to Braves history - "The Slide".

And this brings me to another reason why I love baseball and sports in general, I suppose. Every once in a while, things come together in such a way that a family, a community, a city, and sometimes a region are joined together by a common thread and for a little while we forget how hard life really is.

That happened to Atlanta in 1991 when the Atlanta Braves went from worst to first in their division. They won again in 1992 and 1993...and well, for 14 consecutive years. But in the early years, it was sometimes not decided until the last game or the last out or with a fateful slide home.

And Sid Bream, in the twilight of his career and slowed by bad knees, catapulted to fame in Atlanta with a breathtaking slide home to send the Braves to the World Series in 1992.

For those who'd like a trip down memory lane, here's a link to what might be one of Skip Caray's most famous calls ever made as a broadcaster.

I have a friend whose daughter has three children in various stages of life and they recently enjoyed a Rome Braves baseball game together as a family. When I saw the pictures she had posted on her blog about their trip, I just had to borrow them to further illustrate my point. Sometimes it's fishing or hunting or building something together that joins the hearts of the young to their daddies. But sometimes it's sports and I'll close with these shots of memories being made and traditions begun through the wonder of baseball.

Heading South

2010-07-29T06:48:00.002-05:00

I only have a minute because Hamp and I are getting ready to leave for Florida this morning to visit our girls there. Yes, we've been traveling a lot this last week and no matter where we've ended up, it's very hot!! At least that makes going south not as undesirable - it's not cool anywhere right now.

Anyway, I have some great pictures from our Baltimore trip to share and I'll hopefully get to that soon. For now, I just want to say that the American Idol concert was actually really good. The producers did a great job with the stage set up, the screen graphics, etc. and the singers all sound much better live...well except for Sibhoan. Maybe she can sing a note really high and really long and maybe she's unique and refuses to compromise who she is for anyone. That doesn't mean I have to like it, though. :)

I'm leaving you with a teaser picture so you'll check back soon. Lauren had these shirts made for us to wear to the concert and can I just say that they were the best Idol shirts we saw all night?

They say, "Go, Lee" at the bottom because that's who we cheered for during the season to win...and he did.

Braves, Baltimore, and Idols

2010-07-21T20:10:00.003-05:00

Good evening to you all! As I'm typing this, we're watching the first place Braves play on television. It has definitely been great timing to return to GA during baseball season, especially this year. The Braves have been in first place longer this year than in the last four years added together. We have the largest lead in any of the divisions and our scrappy team just keeps on winning. (For example, Chipper just got a hit that drove in Prado and Heyward and then McCann followed with a home run and now the Braves are winning 4-2 instead of losing 2-0.) Just so you know, I plan on celebrating my October birthday by watching the Braves win the World Series. :)

Hamp and I leave tomorrow to fly to Baltimore for a long weekend visit. We're looking forward to seeing friends and getting to enjoy some of the fun things to do (and eat!) in the city. At the top of my list are crab cakes and Pitango gelato. It really is true that Baltimore has a unique crab cake and after eating them there, I don't want them anywhere else.

The main reason we're going this particular weekend, though, is for an event being held in Baltimore on Saturday night. You need a little background to fully appreciate our upcoming attendance at this event. In the cold and dark winter months this year, American Idol became our entertainment on Tuesday and Wednesday nights starting in January.

Ellis and Ginger's daughter, Lauren, became my Idol Buddy and we shared popcorn, hot chocolate, and other treats as we often watched the show together.

Then with only 4 weeks left, I moved away and abandoned her as the season finale approached. We were both very sad at the timing, but thanks to her parents sharing their cell phones, we stayed in touch via texts and calls as we critiqued the remaining contestants and cheered for our favorites.

On the last night as we waited expectantly through the two hour finale, I remembered that the top ten finalists go on a summer tour each year after the show. Yes, you guessed it....this Saturday night Lauren and I (and her mom who is graciously joining us) are going to the American Idol Tour in Baltimore. Laugh if you must, but just in case you wondered, our pick won so we must have learned something along the way. Congratulations to Lee DeWyze; we'll see you Saturday night.

Dysfunctionally Fun

2010-07-19T18:07:00.000-05:00

I have always loved illustrated calendars. When I was growing up, I used to get a Joan Walsh Anglund calendar every year to hang on my wall. Her pictures were always so whimsical and delicate and they made me smile whenever I saw them.

Years ago I discovered Mary Engelbreit and immediately became a fan. Her illustrations have a similar feel to them, but they often have a famous quote or something of her own creation on them. I started buying the desk calendars when they became available because it's fun to have a new picture begin each day. And the timing of some of the things a page will say leads me to believe that God has a much greater sense of humor than even I give Him credit for sometimes.

Today was one of those days. Here's what greeted me on this Monday morning.

If you know me or my family at all, you know that there's probably not a more appropriate word to describe us - dysfunctional. I've gotten old enough to no longer fret that this is true and have decided to embrace the reality and run with it.

Perhaps this information will be explanation enough when I show you what I ate for dinner on Saturday night.

You can probably tell it's something with ice cream on it, so I'll fill in the details. It was homemade pound cake by Hamp's dad topped with fresh strawberries smashed with just a taste of sugar topped with Breyer's vanilla ice cream and crowned with Hershey's chocolate syrup.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a first-born, rule following, middle aged woman's attempt to put the fun back into dysfunctional. And what a grand experiment it was! I think I will be doing more of these things as the days go by; anyone want to join me?

Courage

2010-07-18T19:58:00.001-05:00

It's Sunday evening and we're resting in the quiet after a busy week and before a busy ending to the month of July. Living back in the suburbs has added MANY more hours of driving and I'm not a fan. All of our friends, doctors, and familiar haunts are 30-40 minutes away, so we're hoping as time goes on that we'll do life closer to home more often and spend less time on the road. But for now, that's the way it is.

There's been a lot going on recently that has prompted me to think about the word "courage" and what exactly that means to me. A logical place to look for a definition is in the dictionary, so I thought I'd do that just to see what it had to say.

"Courage - the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery"

Those of us more mature adults might have this picture pop into our heads (complete with a remembered snarl and growl) when we hear the word courage:

A little more modern picture might look more like this:

But I have to say I don't agree with the thought that courage involves facing difficulties without fear. Instead, I think this quote is more accurate:

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." ~Ambrose Redmoon

I have a friend whose judgement that physical health and emotional peace were more important to her than fear. This determination has given her the strength to choose loss which ultimately is leading to life.

I've recently watched a young man only weeks away from his wedding determine that spiritual and emotional health were more important than fear. At a high cost to himself and others, he's choosing to seek God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength as he navigates an unknown future.

For over three years I've watched two beautiful young ladies choose to believe that what God says about them is greater than their fear. They've invested time and resources in learning to dream again because to stop dreaming means they've stopped living.

A couple of weeks ago I was reading a book and came across this sentence that resonated within me and I've decided that it's my new philosophy on courage:

"It takes courage to live everyday lives."

Here's to the sacredness of the everyday.

Family, Freedom, and the Fourth

2010-07-08T18:47:00.004-05:00

Keepin' up with the Joneses has become somewhat difficult in recent weeks as is evidenced by my lack of posts for you to read. It's just been hard to find a chunk of time on a regular basis to jot a new brilliant thought or pondering. Then next thing I know, two weeks have gone by and there's too much to say. So I'll just write for a while about whatever decides to surface to the forefront of my brain and you can read if you'd like.

First, can I just say that it's hot outside? Seriously, having the number 100 being thrown around as the temperature for the day is just not my idea of summer fun. Today has found me inside trying to keep the thermostat as high as possible so it won't run non-stop for 12 hours. We're discovering that having a top floor apartment is not the best choice in the summertime. Hopefully come winter, we'll reap the benefits of the fact that hot air rises.

Well, the 4th of July has come and gone and with it another celebration of our country's freedom. I must confess I wonder how much longer we'll be able to do so, but that's a topic for another day. We had a quiet day with my brother and sister and some of our kids joining us at different times throughout the day as we grilled out the mandatory hamburgers and hotdogs and then went to watch fireworks at Marietta Square. We did have a couple of small adventures that are hopefully exclusive to our family. I can't imagine anyone wanting to experience these, but I suppose you never know.

For starters, after we ate mid-afternoon, we decided to go to Publix where our mom works on the weekends in their Apron's Program. She loves her job and they've been good to her, so she doesn't like to take days off if she can help it. Consequently, we have had several small family reunions in front of her station inside the store as different ones of us have come in and out of town. Maybe we should be a little embarrassed, but as the years have gone by we seem to be getting bolder in our appearances as you're about to discover.

Three cousins making the best of the circumstances.

Joey pointing out steak sauce.

Matthew flashing his buns.

And Grant with my purse.

Here's the surprised and happy mother with her three kids.

And the proud grandmother with some of her grandkids.

Somehow, this isn't what we envisioned holidays looking like. :)

Because we were going to Marietta Square, we three kids decided we wanted to go to the National Cemetery to see my Dad's gravesite. With all of the traffic and blocked streets, we knew we would have to walk. What we didn't foresee was that the "shortcut" my sister boasted of knowing would take us on a rather interesting walkabout in the nearby neighborhoods. Once we emerged into safer surroundings, we found ourselves about a block down from the main opening so we did what any respectful American would do - we jumped the rock wall surrounding the cemetery and headed to our destination. I'm pretty sure Grant will never be the same as he observed the behavior of his father and two aunts. Joey and Matthew never missed a beat so I'm not really sure what that might say about them...or us.

Matthew taking in the view which is actually very sobering.

After taking a much more direct route back to the square, we sampled a too greasy funnel cake,

and settled on our blankets to enjoy the cooler weather that had moved in as we waited for the fireworks.

In past years, we've experienced the 4th of July with over 50 people in our home to sharing it with only 2 others last year in Baltimore. But each year I always think about the cost some of my countrymen and women have had to pay so I can still live as I choose and I hope to never take it for granted. Yet even in that recognition, I realize that there's an even greater price that's been paid for my freedom and sadly I take it for granted way too often as well.

"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." ~Galatians 5:1

There's really nothing else to add to that reminder, so I won't.

Not So Extreme Home Makeover

2010-06-25T09:54:00.002-05:00

Before I get to what I wanted to share today, I'll repeat the obvious. As you can see, I decided it was time for a change in the design of my blog. I really wasn't actually planning to be quite so drastic, but my limited knowledge of designing forced me into it when I couldn't undo my experimenting. Oh well, it's summertime and a season of bright colors, right??

I've spent the last week or so continuing to sort, reorganize, and unpack so we could finally be settled. It's amazing to me how attached we can get to stuff and when you have to make decisions, you realize how little is really needed to live. If nothing else, the moves of the last two years have been worth it to simplify life.

One of those items we've been waiting for "someday" to deal with was a painting that Tiffany gave Jeff as a wedding gift. The one she chose was named "Stillwater Cottage" by Thomas Kinkade and this is what it looks like.

While she like the actual painting, it was his description of why he painted it that drew her toward it. This is what it said:

"Still waters run deep; the waters of this crystal pool offer balm to the soul. Here, in this tranquil glade, God's perfect peace reigns....I wanted Stillwater Cottage to come alive for you as a place of refuge. The light pouring from the widows suggests that a family dwells at peace within....In this place, God is surely present; we feel the comfort and protection we can only know when we are in His hands."

If you know her story, it turned out that the painting ended up being almost a mockery of her hopes and dreams and while she didn't necessarily want to keep it, leaving it with the house was not an option when she had to move out. For the past 3+ years, it has hung on a wall in our house or been propped up against a wall in an unused room waiting for "someday".

Fast forward to the present and we realized it was time to see if the gallery would work with us on some kind of exchange for something Tiffany wanted. After a couple of phone calls and an amazingly gracious visit, not only did they exchange it, but they gave us credit for the leftover amount and we were able to get something for our living room as well.

God has used where we've all lived in the past 3 years to be part of our healing. From the north shore of the New England coastline to Baltimore, to Cinderella's castle in Disney World, He has been faithful to not only heal, but restore our hearts so we can fully be who He created us to be. As I leave you with our latest reminders of His love and grace, I hope you take a moment today to look for them in your life.

A New Day At The Cinderella Castle - "Two of the dream-memories we take from childhood on our life's journey, if we are fortunate, are the wonder and excitement of Disney World and the soaring majesty of castles. Perhaps that is why the Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World, Orlando, is such an enchanting inspiration to young and old."

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."
~Walt Disney

"The Sea of Tranquility - How true it is that we often sail to distant shores seeking that which lies hidden in our own heart, our own home. The Sea of Tranquility is not a place; it is all places, for it is buried deep within all people. Inside each heart is a private refuge; a place of serene rest which Christ referred to as "the peace which passes understanding."

Experimenting

2010-06-23T07:58:00.000-05:00

Not to overstate the obvious, but I'm working on tweaking my blog design. It is a far more complicated task than I envisioned and I am out of time for now to keep at it. So if you've wandered here today to see what's been happening lately, I apologize for the blueness. If nothing else, this will be a fun experiment don't you think?

Pieces of May

2010-06-14T13:17:00.014-05:00

With sincere apologies to Three Dog Night for tweaking their song title, "Pieces of April", I have returned to the world of blogging. I know I've been very inconsistent in recent weeks and I'm expecting that to change as we're FINALLY starting to feel somewhat settled again. I don't think I'll ask if my ramblings were actually missed, but even if they weren't, I still enjoy this 21st century way of recording life as I know it so I'll keep it up for now.

I just looked at my calendar and it was seven weeks ago today that we were packing a too small truck in Baltimore getting ready to drive away from what had become life for us. Then I think about what has transpired in those 7 weeks and I no longer wonder why I haven't had time to do much of anything except survive.

So, the month of May, huh? You know a little bit of it already. We arrived in GA and unloaded into apartment number one which is now not-so-lovingly referred to as the smoke apartment. (It's a new addition in our family history to a house that we lived in for a brief stay and was appropriately dubbed the "pee house". Maybe someday I'll share that story...)

After being here less than two weeks, we went to Boston and celebrated Michael's graduation from seminary. When we returned home, we moved from the smoke apartment into a different apartment and met the emergency room staff of the local hospital as they stitched my head from a nasty fall in the parking lot during the move. A little over a week later, we celebrated Michael and Bekah's marriage with family and friends here in GA. Since that time, we've slowly begun to relax some, continued the unpacking of stuff that you never know what to do with, visited with friends, and sweated...a lot. I moved to Baltimore while it was still winter and we came to the south right before summer. Something's wrong with that picture.

Speaking of pictures, I've realized that I am beginning to see life more and more as a series of snapshots. I have always enjoyed photography and like Julia Ormond's character in the movie "Sabrina", I think I've been taking pictures in my head all my life. So for the rest of this entry, I'll share a few of those with you and by the end, you should be current in your quest to keep up with the Joneses.

Snapshot #1 - Reading

I have always loved to read. My mom made sure books were in the house from the time we were little and it has remained one of my favorite ways of relaxing. In recent months, I haven't read much and I think that contributed to the desert state of my soul. From light and whimsical to classics to inspirational to romantic - somehow the world is a little brighter when a book is closed with a satisfied sigh. And since God chose the written word as a significant means of communicating with His people, I think He understands. With summer here and perhaps some beach or pool time available to you, I highly recommend Robin Jones Gunn's SisterChicks series. While easy to read, be prepared for thought provoking truths along with lots of laughs.

Snapshot #2 - God's world

We had some impressive sights surrounding us while we lived in Baltimore and you've seen a lot of them if you've been keeping up with us for a while. This view from our living room window was a favorite picture of mine, even though we had to look over the parking lot first.

But as time went on, I realized I really missed the color green. Sure there were snippets of it here and there, but when you live in the city, you're just not going to have wide open spaces or unencumbered views of a tree framed sky. This is what I look at when I sit on our very small porch and I've been amazed at the peace that permeates my soul as I just absorb the well...greenness.

Snapshot #3 - Pet smiles

A lot of people are pet owners and for those that are, there's no need for explanation. For those that aren't (and for those who think that cats have no personality) I just have to say that you're missing out on many smiles that are available to you through them. I'm starting to think more often about Kit's life ending because she'll be 15 years old this November. But she's still very healthy and while she does sleep a lot now, she adds much joy to our household and is patiently tolerated by my faithful friends who are allergic to her. I have been enlightened on more than one occasion by the wisdom she possesses as she quietly lives out her days. Here are a few examples of that.

Naps are always a good idea, especially when you get to sleep on a princess blanket covering your favorite person.

It's OK to be cute.

Sometimes the best place to weather a storm is hiding in the closet.

Taking time out of your day to rest recharges your soul.

Snapshot #4 - Braves baseball

I love baseball and I've finally decided that it's OK if no one else understands that about me. I grew up in a sports filled family due to my dad's career and because I grew up in Atlanta, the Braves have always been a part of my life. Until the 1990's, I should have been embarrassed to admit that, but when they combined winning with America's favorite past time, they validated an entire generation's loyalty.

Our move back to Georgia has coincided with Bobby Cox's decision to retire at the end of this season. Not that I needed it, but that has added extra incentive to be at some of the chosen games honoring him, former players, or just because. It also helps that they are currently in first place! My dream is to celebrate my birthday as the Braves win the World Series and you'll be the first to know if that becomes a reality this year.

Snapshot #5 - Home

The last three years have taught me that home really is where your heart is. They have also taught me that our hearts can be spread in more places than one thought was humanly possible. But moving away from all that is known and familiar and then returning has also verified the age old truth that there really is no place like home. And yet, even as I type those words, I know deep down that while Atlanta will always and forever be home for me, should God move us elsewhere again, I would be OK.

As I've driven the roads and been to places that hold memories of people and times forever gone, I've come to the realization that what happened in the past really is in the past. I don't feel sadness anymore at what no longer is. Instead, there is a quiet reassurance that God will make all things right someday and meanwhile He's completing what He's begun in me and those I love...just like He said He would. I've spent a lot of time in the recent years fretting over my lack of extreme emotion about anything. But lately I've wondered if maybe what I've thought was unhealthy detachment might actually be a greater understanding of the reality that life and therefore God, just is. After all, that's how He described Himself to Moses - as the great I Am.

That's probably enough for now. My goal is to have shorter entries more often which will be easier on all of us. :) Hamp and I will be heading soon to a hot and stuffy gym to watch Matthew as he coaches his summer basketball team. I missed not being able to support him that way when we lived so far away, so I'm looking forward to being able to do that again.

Stay cool and check back soon!

Sleepless In Smyrna

2010-05-21T03:42:00.011-05:00

It's 4:45 a.m. and I should be sleeping. Obviously, I am not. And this is the second time this week that 3:00 a.m. has been my wake up time. I think my body has reached its limit in how much stress it can take and it's telling me "enough"! My counselor friend whom I chatted with a couple of days ago told me the same thing. So my immediate and short term goal is to rest...in every way. And I will - as soon as there's time. :)

It's been another interesting week in the Jones household. As you know, we began the moving process from our first apartment last Friday night and I went to bed at 3:00 a.m. Then Saturday we moved all day and around 10:00 that night as I was helping Joey unload my car after a quick run to Target, catastrophe struck. My foot caught the concrete barrier meant for the end of a parking space (but due to restriping years ago, was randomly in between two parked cars) and I fell, landing on my left brow bone area. Six hours and nine stitches later we finally called it a day. Almost a week later, the stitches are now out, but the remaining purple eyelid ringed with yellow and green looks like a 70's makeup experiment gone terribly wrong.

I also skinned my right knee and sprained my left arm that apparently helped break my fall, so most of the week has been spent taking Advil, bandaging wounded areas, and recovering. My glasses broke in the fall so an overdue trip to the eye doctor was worked in as well. It could have been so much worse and I'm truly thankful it wasn't.

Let's move on to other news, shall we? I did have the presence of mind to capture a couple of pictures of how we removed the smoke smell that was in EVERYTHING we owned. Most of the clothes were just washed and dried, but when it came to the hanging stuff, drycleaning everything was too expensive of an option to consider. So first the items were lightly sprayed with Lysol and then they were hung outside in the breezeway where a nice cross breeze replaced stale smoke with fresh air. I'm sure the neighbors thought Sanford and Son had moved in, but it worked!

The same Lysol spray was lightly applied to mattresses, furniture, and all sorts of items and they were left outside for a while before they were brought into the new apartment. But I am happy to say that we are now in a smoke free environment and I'm working on being able to say that it was all worth it.

I guess it's technically Friday, so I have to now say that yesterday was Matthew's 30th birthday. We had dinner with him and Lindsay and her family and she did a great job of bringing decorations, etc. to make everything very festive for the occasion. If I had time to really think about it, I'm pretty sure I'm mostly astounded that I now have two children who are in their 30's.

Tiffany wrote a really sweet blog entry about her brother, so if you'll click here you can read it. Hamp and I echo her sentiments with a hearty "Amen!" and we continue to be so thankful for all three of our children and the additions God is bringing to our family. Here are a few pictures from the birthday dinner and we'll be celebrating again next week when we're all together for Michael and Bekah's shower.

Thunder is rumbling in the distance, so I think I'll head back to bed and see if I can add to my night's sleep total. In talking with my counselor friend this week, she told me how her son had coined the phrase "defrag" for us as humans and I realized it was the perfect description for where I am and what I need. If I don't answer the phone or return calls immediately or commit to much in the near future, just know that I'm defragging in the hopes that my operating system will work as it was designed to when the process is complete.

Can't Keep Up

2010-05-14T09:33:00.018-05:00

Another week has passed in the lives of the Jones family and my, what a week it has been! I really wish I could stop the world and just get off for a few days. Or weeks. Or maybe for good. It depends on what day it is as to which I would choose.

Our trip to Boston for Michael's graduation was nice. The weather, not so much, but we decided since it was 75 in mid-March for his and Bekah's wedding that we couldn't really complain about rainy, windy, and cold. As many told us, after all it is New England. (Which is why most of our family is now back in the sunny south!)

Here is a picture of the more educated Michael.

With his new wife, Bekah. :)

And with his proud parents (one of whom had already changed into winter clothes because she was freezing!).

Tiffany with her "little" brother.

We missed Matthew and Lindsay not being able to be there, but they were not forgotten!

Bekah's parents came for the weekend to support Michael which meant a lot to all of us. I continue to be so thankful for the godly family he's been blessed with in Bekah.

Tiffany battled a stomach virus all weekend, but she and I did get to enjoy some of the beauty of the area. Most of our appreciation came from the car windows, but it did start to warm up right before we left on Tuesday (of course) and she got great pictures. She would say I'm biased, but I think Tiffany takes great pictures. She has a natural eye for seeing beauty in unique settings and it's showing up more and more as God restores her heart. I love watching that childlike joy and wonder of His creation shine through her from the inside out. Here are a few of my favorites.

While the trip was basically a good one, there was an undercurrent of dread knowing that we were going to have to deal with the stale smoke smell not going away in our apartment once we returned to Georgia. That fact was ever-present because when we opened our suitcases after arriving in Boston, we realized that everything smelled like smoke. So to make a very long story short, I really should be gathering and packing instead of writing this entry. We're moving into another apartment in the same complex beginning later this afternoon and throughout the weekend. I'm still surprised to find that we haven't completely run off any remaining friends we have in various states, but they continue to be loving and kind and supportive...and they keep helping us move. Hopefully this one will last for the next 15 months, but we know at least one more awaits us then. But like a true southerner, I will think about that tomorrow......

I would like to tell you the insightful things I'm learning through all of this, but I cannot. I have reached a point (or maybe been there for a while) of complete numbness and I don't feel anything anymore. I'm not surprised by sad, tragic, or bad news anymore and I don't get excited about happy, exciting, or good news. I'm just here. And yes, I know that's not healthy nor the way I was made to live, but it's where I am. I'm hoping the next few weeks will find a thawing of my emotions as life settles down. But then again, I'm not sure that will be happening any time soon. Between Matthew's 30th birthday next week, wondering about his job for next year, his upcoming wedding, Michael and Bekah's next chapter, their belated Georgia wedding shower, Tiffany's entry into grad school and the life changes that will bring, and figuring out life in a new area, I'm not seeing anything settled about any of it.

So for now, I must begin the washing and de-smelling of all the bed linens so we can sleep in our new apartment tonight without coughing. If there's something to pass along from this latest experience it would be this: don't rent an apartment without looking at the specific one they want you to move into, even if it's being renovated and they say you can't. Should you find yourself in a situation where something is not acceptable, don't be nice and worry about being a nuisance. Assertiveness is not the same thing as aggressiveness.

Have a great weekend and good luck keeping up with the Joneses - if you can!

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

2010-05-06T23:38:00.006-05:00

I realize it's been quite a while since I've updated my blog - I just haven't had the time to get to it. We've been in our apartment a week and in just a few hours we leave again to fly to Boston for Michael's graduation from seminary. I seriously can't believe it's been almost 3 years since we drove in a family caravan to move him and Tiffany there. As you can imagine, we're quite proud of this latest accomplishment and now the wait begins for what the next bend in the road will be for him and Bekah. It will be the first time we've seen them since the wedding and her parents are coming too, so it will be fun. Tiffany will get to join us but Matthew cannot due to his school schedule.

So on a totally random side note, can I just say that the state of Georgia has lost its mind in how its handling the economic struggles in education. Excellent teachers are losing their jobs and careers while bureaucrats pad their pockets in the local and state offices. And we wonder why Georgia sits at the bottom of the national average in education. Matthew didn't even consider trying to attend Michael's graduation for fear that taking a day off would jeapordize his job. He'll know in the next week if a career change will be forthcoming. No pressure.......

Our adjustment is going okay. The apartment is smaller than the one in Baltimore so it's been interesting trying to figure out where things will fit. We still have a long way to go, but it will be waiting for me when I get back. We're surrounded by green and trees and birds and Kit has enjoyed looking at it all again.

There might be some time to catch you up more in the next few days. Tiffany and I are staying until Tuesday to visit some of our favorite places since we don't really know if/when we'll go back. Between the two of us we'll have lots of pictures and adventures. Our biggest adjustment will be the temperature. She's going from 90's, we've had 80's, and the warmest we'll be is in the 60's there. We like the south for a reason. :)

I'm leaving you with one of the cutest pictures I've seen in a while that Ellis sent us via his iphone.

We're missing our Baltimore kiddos and the wonderful friends God gave us there. Right before we left, we were introduced to duckpin bowling and had a blast. I think my favorite part, though, was watching Albert prop my camera up on Robert's car to get a group picture. I was impressed with his final result.

I need to try and get a few hours of sleep before we head for the airport. To close, I want to encourage each of you to think about how intentionally you're living our your days. This move made us realize anew how we have great intentions about getting together with people or visiting somewhere nearby, but we let the busyness of life distract us and don't follow through. Don't let the last memory you have of some you love be in the back of a moving truck as you prepare to drive away.

Last Leg....For Now

2010-04-28T06:10:00.002-05:00

Quick update - we didn't leave Baltimore until 9:00 p.m. Monday night. Yes, I know that's not the ideal way to move, but work week loading limits one to those available to help. I'm still not sure our amazing friends have recovered yet. We only went far enough to get around D.C. and then stopped for the night. Yesterday we slept in a little and took our time and made it almost to TN. Soon we'll be driving the last 5+ hours and hope to arrive early afternoon and will begin the unloading process. Again, work week arrivals limit help, so hopefully my Facebook plea will result in a couple of brave souls. :)

Thanks for the prayers as we've traveled. Kit has done really well especially since my car is packed to the brim and she basically has no room. I feel a little bad that we've brought her into hotels both nights with clearly marked signs that say, "No Pets Allowed", but it couldn't be helped. Pictures will come as soon as we get internet access in our apartment which will hopefully be tomorrow. One can only hope......

I've learned never to say never, so I'm sure we'll move again at some point in our lives - like in 15 months when our lease is up. Maybe it won't be as far next time. I guess we'll see, won't we?

On The Road Yet Again

2010-04-26T22:41:00.002-05:00

There are a few minutes left in this very long Monday we have just lived. At 9:00 tonight, we finally pointed the UHaul truck and my car south and left the city of Baltimore. We might get this right if we keep practicing, but for now here are a few pointers.

1. Whatever size truck you think you need, you probably need one bigger.

2. Many hands make light the work. Whoever first uttered those words was very wise.

3. No matter how well you prep, there will always be last minute things to do that can't be done until the last minute. Maybe that's why they're called that.

4. Animals have more sense that people do. They hide in safe places when life gets too chaotic around them. The people just keep making it worse.

5. It's hard to drive in the dark when you're tired...so don't.

6. Get a good night's sleep before a long day of driving. It makes everything look better.

Pictures will follow at some point. But for now, I'm acting on the wisdom I just shared with you and going to bed.

Disengaging

2010-04-22T21:50:00.021-05:00

Well, it's begun. The ability to be a spectator of my life the past week or so has disappeared and the realization of reality has set in. Endings are taking place with goodbyes right around the corner. And I'm not looking forward to it...at all. For every "welcome back" awaiting us, there is a "goodbye" being said. We will leave part of our hearts in Baltimore and take part of the Charm City with us.

We were supposed to be here a minimum of two years and we will actually be driving south the exact same weekend we headed north for the final move a year ago. I don't know why I am still surprised how God's ways don't usually follow my ideas of what life will look like, but I am.

So the disengaging has begun. While we'll stay connected for a while to help with the transition, new people are being trained and life will go on for everyone. We're all richer for the new friendships that have been made and I fully expect to be able to introduce some to Georgia in the coming weeks and months. But for now, the difficult part has arrived - knowing that the inevitable goodbye has to be said for now.

Thanks, Baltimore, for the memories and for the life lessons we're still learning. And thanks, Gallery Church, for letting us join you in being a display of God's greatness in a city that so desperately needs Him. We will miss you.

The Calm Before the Storm

2010-04-21T10:10:00.004-05:00

Good morning! I thought I'd give you a quick update on how things are going so far. Does this give you an idea?

Not much is happening yet that would disturb Kit's morning slumber, but hopefully that will be changing soon. I worked all day Monday and Tuesday trying to get things in a good place to pass along to my replacement at work which means I wasn't home. Today will be spent getting our paperwork lives in order so the packing can begin. The forecast isn't very nice as you look ahead for when we'll need to load a truck and drive, but maybe it will change. We're fortunate that we're not in a giant rush so if it takes longer because of wet roads, that's OK.

As a Braves fan, I have to leave you with this small but important fact - right this minute we are tied for first place in our division with the Phillies who we stole a game from last night. While life changes and moving are not at the top of my favorite things to do list, I have to admit I'm quite excited to be living where I can turn the Braves game on a television and not have to sit in front of my computer.

And on that happy note, I'm off to disturb poor Kit who has no idea what's coming.