What do we do after Christmas?

I've decided the week between Christmas and New Year's is absolutely the most depressing week. EVER. All of the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over; suddenly, there are no more parties.  The presents have been opened; you've stuffed yourself with so much food that even eating no longer sounds appealing.  You've paused and reflected on the Christmas story numerous times; your decorations and tree are starting to look droopy.  Your children have played with their new stuff so much that some of it's already broken. 
Are you depressed yet?
Maybe the depression after Christmas is the reason New Year's resolutions are so appealing.  We are so down in the dumps over Christmas being over that the only thing we know to do is day dream. Day dream about what we will do in the new year, the new person we'll become, all the wonderful things we'll accomplish.
I, for one, don't want to make a bunch of goals and resolutions out of depression.  I am going to pray that God leads me toward the places I need to go, and away from the things that are coming from a selfish heart. Dear God, as the Christmas season comes to a close, please keep me from dwelling on negative thoughts.  Help me look to You and all that You have for us in the new year.  I commit myself and my family to You, Lord.  Here I am...

There Are No Words

There are no words.
No words to bring comfort.
No words to bring peace.
No words to give answers.

As the mom of a 6-year old girl that's in first grade, I have been deeply effected by the events that took place in Connecticut on Friday.  Thoughts have been swirling in my head.  These mommies that lost their children...what are they going through?  How did they tell their other children that their brother or sister is not coming home?  What about the next day, when the children left in the home don't understand why their sibling is not there to play with them?  How do you plan a funeral for your first grader?  How do you pick out clothes for the family to wear to that funeral?

There are no words.

What about the Christmas program at church that they've been practicing for months?  What about the birthday party that they were planning?

There are no words.

What about the house, when it's so quiet, missing the sound of their little ones feet happily running around? The sound of them playing with their favorite toy? The sound of their voice, asking for a snack?

What about the fear their child must have felt when they saw a man holding a gun? What were the last thoughts of their child?  Were they able to think of happy memories, or were they just so terrified that no thoughts came to their minds?

There are no words.

What about that Christmas present that they bought on Black Friday, hiding it from their little one's sight for several weeks, but secretly so excited to see them open it on Christmas morning?  What about all of the family plans and traditions that were being planned for this very week? This very night?  The Christmas pajamas that they had been wearing.  The toys they loved to play with. Their clothes that still carry their scent. Their bedroom and bed that still holds a sense of their presence.

There are no words.

Oh, dear Lord...I am so heartbroken for these mommies and daddies, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, church families, that are mourning right now.  God, please hold them together.  Give them strength to get through each moment.  When they think they can't go on, when their heart is aching so much that they just want to rip it from their chests, God please, please hold them together.

And Jesus, please kiss those precious children for all of us remaining on earth that never met them, but feel so connected to them.  Hold them in your arms, and let them play games and be free and have fun.

And help me, Lord, to never, at any time, take for granted my little girls.  Let me remember that they could be taken from me at any moment.  They belong to You.  You blessed me in letting me care for them while we are on this earth.  Thank you for reminding me that their lives, their smiles, their laughs, their hugs and their love are the very best blessings you have bestowed on me this Christmas.

Oh, God...there are no words.

Honesty. Definitely the Best Policy.

Is honesty always the best policy?

I was recently asked this question as it relates to marriage.  My answer - yes and no.  Yes, honesty is the best policy if there has been hurt that needs healing; honesty is best if you have sinned and are repenting; honesty is best when telling your spouse why you fell in love with them, how wonderful they are, and how grateful you are that God brought you together. 
Honesty sometimes is not the best policy in marriage.  It is not becoming of a husband or wife to comment to their significant other how "good looking" or "hot" another is...even if it's someone famous that you'll never meet.  And even if your spouse claims they don't care.  It's best to just not go there. Honesty is not best when comparing your spouse to someone else.  Honesty is not best if it's pointing out all of the negative things about your spouse.
So often, we think we can say whatever we want, as long as we tag a "just being honest," or a "just sayin'" at the end of our comment. (Lysa Terkeurst, Unglued.)
This is not true.
Our tongue can do serious damage.
We must learn to control it.
We must force it to be quiet.
Those are the times when honesty is not the best policy.
But when honesty is the best policy -
we must force our tongue to speak - in love.
This is true for marriage. It's true with our children. And it's true for our friends - no matter if it's your best friend, just a good friend, or an acquaintance. 
You're hurt.  Your found out your friends went to that Farmer's Market (or the mall, or to lunch, or...fill in the blank) that they know you've been dying to go to, and they didn't invite you.  You feel like you've been punched in the gut.  In the book Grown Up Girlfriends, they describe this as an emotional fear button. There are certain things that happen to you that push this emotional fear button, and it causes a reaction in you that is physical.  This physical reaction can, in fact, point you to your emotional fear button - so any time you feel punched in the gut by something someone did or said, you know that your emotional fear button has been pushed.
Everyone has emotional fear buttons.
For some, it's the fear of being rejected.
For others, it's the fear that nobody could truly like you.
For me, it's all of the above.
I am so sad when I see girls my age that get so hurt by other girls.  (Yes...I am 32 going on 33, and my friends are all around the same age...and we are still girls!) And then they are afraid to speak up, because who wants to be that one that is always getting their feelings hurt?  I've been there - and I sure don't!  So we sit and stew in our silence.
Our silence of rejection.
Our silence of fear.
That silence can destroy us.  It can destroy our relationships.
This is when we must force our tongues to speak.
Pick up the cell phone.  DON'T TEXT!  Instead, find your friend's name on your contact list (you don't even have to punch in a phone number anymore - it's so easy!) and hit the call button.  Have a conversation with your friend.  A real, honest conversation. Not out of anger, or passing a judgment on your friend that you really have no idea if it's true or not.  But a gut-honest conversation.  It might go something like this: "You know, I've gotta tell you...I was hurt that I didn't get invited to the Farmer's Market with you...and I just need to know if there's a reason that I wasn't asked to go along.  And if there is a reason, I would like to know how I can help fix it."
Your friend might respond with something that will take you by total surprise.  Perhaps she had no idea you were free to go anywhere (because you're regularly a pretty busy person!) Maybe there is a reason you weren't asked, an issue you may not have been aware of.  Not that you are unliked; not that you are not good enough; not that you are rejected.  If you feel safe in the relationship, you will have the ability to be honest without fear of the other person rejecting you.
I encourage you to force your tongue to speak - or force your tongue to be quiet.  And before you decide which is the best thing to do for your particular situation - spend a moment asking Jesus what He thinks you should do.

It's all about God!

 

I had the hardest time coming up with a lesson for Sunday at the retreat. What do I want women to learn?  The most important thing I could ever teach is for them to love Jesus.  To seek to honor and glorify Him in everything we say and everything we do.  Before we react, before we fly off the handle, before we say anything, we need to pray and ask God to help us.

So what have I been learning?  Over the course of a few years now, I’ve learned that life is not fair.  You may have learned that a long time ago.  And I guess I’ve always kind of known it.  But I had never experienced it.

I grew up a very normal life.  I have Godly parents, we went to church and were involved, we didn’t have any major issues at least that I knew of. 

At the age of 15, I knew I wanted to somehow work in ministry as an adult.  I couldn’t think of anything else I wanted to do.  I also knew at age 16 that I wanted to marry Dustin Janney.  It was just meant to be, and I knew it with my whole heart. 

I did marry Dustin Janney and we did start working in ministry.  And things happened that weren’t fair.  I don’t want to make this all about me.  It’s not a “whoas me, I’m so sad.”  But I’m sharing this to come to another point.

Things happened in my family, pretty much all across the board, that weren’t fair.  People in ministry that we thought loved us, well, it turned out that they didn’t.  They said mean things. 

And I found out that life is not fair.  There are some deep, dark valleys.  Your husband may not love you.  You might not love your husband.  You might have gotten a horrible report from the doctor.  Your financial life might be in absolute ruin.  Maybe you did nothing to contribute to that at all.  But you’re still paying the price.

You might be getting persecuted at school.  Your parents weren’t/aren’t nice to you.  You may have lost someone dear to you.

It might not even be that big.  Maybe it’s just daily life.  You work so hard to make others happy.  And they just never are.  You feel like you can’t do anything right.  You spin yourself around and around, and you tiptoe around, hoping you’ll say things just right so you don’t make anyone mad.  But you end up doing it wrong (although you might not even know what was wrong about it) and then you feel bad and you beat yourself up about it. 

Life is not fair. 

If you know me, you know I like to run. Well, I like the feeling after a run.  One reason I like to run is that I like to get out of the house in the outdoors and it’s just so beautiful outside.  I love the neighborhood I am blessed to run in, and the sights of the big tall trees, the rabbits on the outskirts of the woods, the pond and the sun rising on the horizon…I love it and I think of God and I feel so close to Jesus when I am out there.  I sometimes am begging Him to help me get through my work out. 

But there was one particular day that I was running and I was feeling so sad.  I was just honest with God.  I said, “God, it is just not fair!!!! I don’t think You even wanted that to happen.  And I’m not even upset for me, but all the other people it affected…it’s not fair, God, it’s just not fair!!!” 

And I promise you, as clear as He could be, God said to me, “Brooke, it’s not about fair or unfair.  It’s about ME.”

And I was so stinkin’ humbled at that.  I felt like an ant.  I felt so small and just thought about Job and how God took everything from Him, and when Job started the same game I was playing, God put him in his place with saying things like:

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?  Tell me, if you understand.  Who marked off its dimensions?  Surely you know!  Who stretched a measuring line across it?  On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?  Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt?

Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? 

Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?  Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?  Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?  Tell me, if you know all this.”

So I thought about Job on my run and how God said all of that, and more, to him.  How Job lost so much more and God basically said, “I am God.  I know more than you.” 

And in that moment, when I realized that life is not fair or unfair, it’s just really all about God, I had this freeing moment.  What would life be like if we didn’t walk around saying everything bad that happened to us is unfair?  If we had this foundation before the storms came, that we were safe in God?  And that brought me to think, why are we not safe in God? 

For me, it’s because I get scared.  I’m scared of bad things happening.  I get terrified and I can let my imagination run.  And I probably don’t totally trust that God has my best interest at heart. 

I haven’t come to a place where I continually long for Him.  I have times in my life where I do.  But not all the time.  I’m not always safe in Him.  I don’t always  trust Him with my whole life.  I hold back. 

But He is GOD and I AM NOT.  So I should not hold back.  I need to read Job every day.  I need to realize that bad things are so going to happen.  It’s a result of sin and the fallen world and there’s not one thing I can do to change what was set in motion in that garden thousands of years ago.

I also need to realize that everything I do is for HIS glory.  The neighborhood I live in is to bring Him glory.  The people I meet when I run is to bring Him glory.  Not so I can get a cool medal when I do a really long race. 

When I pick up my girls from school, when I do laundry, when I cook for my family, when I don’t have an emotional meltdown at the drop of a hat, it’s all for HIM.

One of my youth girls that is here this weekend, one time told me that after youth camp, she had to clean the bathrooms at home. She hates cleaning the bathrooms. But this particular time, she cleaned the bathrooms and thought, I’m doing this for God. And it made cleaning the bathrooms better.

I can’t really tell you the purpose of me writing this except that I believe it’s what God had for me to do.  And I say that with all of the humbleness in me. I do not have all of the answers.  I am so not perfect.  My mom and sister are here, and you can ask them.  I question God.  I don’t know why He has done some stuff.  I get scared of things and I realize it’s because I’m not trusting in God enough.  That I even draw away from Him at times because of fear.  I definitely have issues.

But I’ve learned, and am continually learning, that life is for Him.  On a day that I can see with my spiritual eyes instead of physical, that is a successful day.  When I can see that I handled my emotions correctly, I treated my daughters with loving respect even while disciplining, I love my husband even when I think he’s wrong, I’ve bit my tongue instead of spilling gossip, I’ve prayed before I said what I wanted to say/email/text/Facebook comment…that is a day that I feel like I’ve brought Him the glory He so much deserves.

It is not about fair or unfair.  It’s only about God: El Shaddai, the Lord Almighty, El Elyon, the Most High God, Adonai, My Lord and Master, Jehovah Nissi, The Lord my Banner, Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord that Heals, Jehovah Shammah, The Lord is There, and Jehovah Jireh: The Lord Will Provide. 

Two Baby Teeth Gone!

Today was the day!  The first two baby teeth were pulled.  Carley was so brave.  The dentist and assistant took the spots on either side of her, so dear ole' mom was told to wait in the lobby.  Um, no.  I said, "do I HAVE to leave?" And the dentist said it was okay for me to stay.  So I did.  I have a history of passing out and I get super queasy when anything medical is involved, so I stood and prayed that I wouldn't pass out.  I tried to not think about what they were doing, but I saw the needle for the numbing shot and my head started to spin.  So, I did the only thing I could do...pulled out my phone and posted a status on Facebook! As soon as  I did, a couple of really good friends/family members (Thank you, Tracy, Mindy, Nancy, mom and Amy!) started praying, too.  I was able to keep control of myself. Then it hit me that Carley might pass out.  This is the first time she's ever had any kind of procedure, so I really wasn't sure how she'd react.  According to the dental assistant, she didn't even flinch when the shot was given.  Um, yeah...a little braver than her mom!
At that point, I felt good enough to watch, so I watched the dentist get pliars and basically yank her tooth out.  She did make a little noise, but again, no screaming or thrashing around or anything like that :-)
And with that, the assistant hands me a baggie with 2 tiny teeth in it.  One of them had the whole root attached (eek!) which sent my head spinning a little more.  But we made it out to the front, paid, and were on our way.  When we arrived home, Carley seemed to be in a lot of pain but after a couple of hours, she seems pretty normal. 
I am praying that her other teeth just get loose...I wouldn't mind if I never have to watch that happen to my girl again :-)

The More Busy I am, the More I need the Lord

My planner.  I love my planner.  I don't know what I'd do without it.  No, I do not keep my schedule in my phone.  Rarely do I keep it on the computer, although I do love www.cozi.com to organize things!  (You can set it up to send you text reminders for ANYTHING! It's wonderful!)
But I really love my planner.  It's pink.  It has a calendar in it, with lots of space to write things each day.
Something interesting about my planner is that when I look ahead to October, there are hardly any entries.  That's how September looked about a month ago.  One or two things here and there. But now, September is full.  Many appointments, meetings, trips, LADIES RETREAT (!) and things I didn't expect to come up.  Something tells me that October will be the same.  It's not very full now, but give it a couple of weeks and it will be full of fun things to do.  And maybe some not so fun things.
I am not alone. I am not important because I have all of these things to do - we are all pulled in many directions, and I know most people's calendars are full. I know that because we've probably tried to get together and couldn't find a time that we're both available!
So what to do when things are so busy?  These are the times that I rely on God the MOST.  I need Him to help me get through the day, to help me get from point A to point B, then C,D,E,F...and so on.  I need Him to keep me sane.  I need Him to keep me from having an UNGLUED moment.  Or at least help me through my UNGLUED moment so that I don't make a complete fool of myself (which trust me, has happened.  Chances are, most of you have seen me in an unglued moment. I apologize.)
I desperately need PRAYER in these times.  God keeps me calm.  I don't know how He does it.  But when I don't pray, I feel like I'm drowning.  And then I can whisper to God, "please help me, Lord.  Please help me have the right perspective today, and get through all that I need."  And He is faithful to give me peace.  Praise God for that!
About 8 years ago, Dustin and I attended a seminar at Discovery Church. It was a seminar that was being broadcast from somewhere else - we were joining by watching on the big screen.  I believe it was Bishop Kenneth Ulmer from Los Angeles speaking.  He said something that I've repeated to myself since that time.  "For every appointment, there's an anointment."  If God makes the appointment, He will anoint me to do it.  I might be tired, but I'll get through it and (hopefully) bring honor and glory to His Name.
So, here's to a very busy September and a possibly busier October.
To God be the glory!

The Adventures of Carley's Teeth...cont.

For those of you following the adventures of Carley and her baby teeth (see my post http://janneyfamily.blogspot.com/2012/08/baby-teeth-and-growing-up.html), we have new developments!  On Monday, Dustin noticed that Carley has 2 adult teeth growing in behind her baby teeth. And her baby teeth are not loose...at all.  The same thing happened to Dustin as a kid; he had to have all of this baby teeth pulled. 
So, it was back to the dentist we went.  They did an x ray, the dentist checked, and sure enough, Carley's baby teeth are not coming out on their own.  She has to have them pulled on Friday.
One step closer...to that symbol of adulthood in her mouth. 
In other Carley news, she is having a great school year so far.  She is loving her teacher and class.  She and Baileigh are both taking gymnastics classes and are learning new skills each week.  And she is doing Awana for the 2nd year at church, and of course loves it!  She is super excited that her best friend, Ella, is joining her at Awana this year.
Now only if we could freeze time...
Cherish the time.  I remind myself every day!

Unglued

I started a new Bible Study at church this morning with some dear friends.  "Unglued" is the name of the book, and it is gonna be a good one! I can already tell! 
The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy.  And things will not be slowing down anytime soon.  This study is sure to help me remember to ask God for help in controlling my emotions...using His truth to guide in how I deal with people...and PRAY for people!  Emotions can pretty much rule me if I let them.  So, self-control is something very needed!  I will be talking more about this study in the coming weeks!

Starting the School Year with Prayer

Some sweet ladies gathered this morning at Avalon Church and spent time praying for the upcoming school year.We prayed for the students, teachers/administrators, parents and schools.  One of my spiritual goals this year is to pray more in depth for my girls and their schools.  I'm excited to see what God does this  year!

Retreat is coming!!!

The ladies retreat is so close, I can taste it!  I am so excited about a weekend away with sisters in Christ - at a beautiful resort - with a wonderful speaker - and lots of fun times!  I am nervous, but I'm going to pray really hard that I don't get totally stressed.  What do I need to remember?  That this retreat is not about me, Melissa or Brandee (the planning team!)  This retreat is about God and bringing glory and honor to His Name.  Oh, Lord, let me serve the ladies of Avalon with love and may they see YOU and not me.

This year we are having break out sessions - for the first time ever!  So excited!  Our theme is "No Place Like Home."  Each breakout session is a little lesson on something to do with that theme.

I met last night with the session leaders, and God brought everything together so beautifully.  Praise His Name!  It's gonna be a great weekend!

Grown Up Girlfriends

This is the topic I am doing as a break out session for our ladies retreat in September.  I am so excited!  And nervous!  God has been convicting me of our need as women for real, honest friendships.  Not fake, surface relationships that leave you feeling empty and insecure.  But as sisters in Christ, we are to build each other up and learn about ourselves, and Christ, together.
I've already learned so much from the book I'm using, Grown Up Girlfriends, written by Erin Smalley and Carrie Oliver.  I can't wait to read the rest of it and develop some thoughts to share with the ladies of Avalon.
Here is a small excerpt from the book, just to get you excited!
"Be careful to avoid using your personality preferences as excuses for behavior that is not godly or helpful.  If I am an extrovert, I could blurt out angry-or accusing-sounding statements and then say something like, "That's just the way I am."  This is not acceptable.  We are never to use our personalieites to manipulate or control another person."  

See, I told you...good stuff!!!

Going Back to School? Read This!

A new school year is a new beginning.  Whatever you were last year, can now be changed.  You can dress different.  You can have new friends. You can be in new clubs, and try out for new sports.  If you weren't popular last year, you can try to be popular this year. You can get better grades.  You can do your homework on time.  You can study for tests in plenty of time instead of cramming at the last minute. 
If you're going back to school, you probably have goals...whether you've recognized them as goals or not, you have them.  It may be something I mentioned above, or it may be different.
If you consider yourself a follower of Christ, allow me to ask you a question.  Have you considered what your spiritual goals are for this year?  After all, our whole lives are about one thing: bringing glory to God.  Somehow, education seems to get in the way of that.  We start believing society...that education is the most important thing in our lives.  If we don't go to a good college and get a degree in something extraordinary, we are worth nothing.  What makes me so very sad is that many Christian parents have even bought into this.  Their goal is to bring glory to God, but their goals for their kids?  Well, their kids need to get straight A's, number one priority!  Then, excel at some extracurricular activity, art, sports, whatever...then somewhere down the list is God, youth group, church, etc.
How do we fool ourselves in this way?  We believe God is central to everything else except this thing!  We think society has everything wrong except this. 
I've worked with students for 9 years now, and it drives me crazy (crazy, I tell you!) that students bog themselves down with a million and one AP classes, athletics, clubs, etc. etc., to the detriment of their relationship with Christ.
If a student doesn't care about grades, then it's friends.  Or popularity. Or whatever...fill in the blank.
Am I saying getting good grades, AP classes, athletics, friends, are bad things? Absolutely not, and I believe we honor God by being diligent in our lives.  But I also believe that we miss the mark more often than not.
So, if we truly believe our number one goal in life is to bring honor and glory to our Creator and Maker,  how do school and academics fit into that?  Simply this: you are at your school for one purpose: to bring honor and glory to God. If you try out for a sport, it is for one reason: to bring honor and glory to God.  So before you try out, evaluate your purpose.  Am I trying out to be more popular?  Am I trying out because I think it will make me rich when I get older?  Or am I trying out because I have faith that somehow, I will bring glory to God and honor Him with all I do while playing this sport?  Maybe you'll meet someone that you are supposed to share God's love with.  I don't know why God has you where He does, but I know it's for His glory. 
Students, remember your purpose.  What are YOUR spiritual goals this year?

And so it begins...

First grade is quickly approaching, and there's not one thing I can do about it!  So I'll stop complaining and remember to "cherish the time..."
Carley was so excited to meet her teacher...a little nervous, but excited.  Her teacher just graduated college in May, but she did her internship with the lead first grade teacher last year at Stone Lakes, and they liked her so much that they hired her!  So we feel pretty good about her.  Carley is in the same class with 2 classmates from last year, Isabella and Zach.  Back in April, a new family with 3 children moved in a few doors down from us.  We found out their son, Tanner, is also in Carley's class! Praise God for new friends!
We got to visit Carley's teacher from last year, Ms. Michalopoulous, who came back to teach after taking a half year to take care of her mom.  Carley diligently prays for Ms. M's mom every time she prays. 
We are excited about what this year will bring - we are praying, just like we did last year, that we can be a light at Stone Lakes Elementary to all of the families that need the Lord, and an encouragement to those that do know Him!

Baby Teeth and Growing Up

Carley went to the dentist last week.  They did x-rays on her, and afterward, I sat next to her while the dentist looked at her x-rays on a big screen by her chair.  And I almost cried.
Call me sappy. Call me over-emotional.  Call me what you will.  But let me explain.
Carley has not lost any teeth yet.  Much to her dismay, she still has all of her baby teeth, and seemingly, no loose teeth.  She so desperately wants to get a loose tooth, and have the Tooth Fairy visit her and leave $1 under her pillow.  It's happened to her friends, but it hasn't happened to her yet.
I am also a mom that is not a huge fan of my kids growing up.  I know, I know.  You told me it would happen.  When I was pregnant, you said, "it goes by so fast! Cherish every moment!"  But, I, like so many other moms, didn't totally believe you.  After all, my pregnancy stretched on for what seemed an eternity.  Day after day, week after week, month after month, of a stretching belly that I am pretty sure almost popped right open before I could even go into labor.  And then she was born, and as precious as she was, and as in love as I was, I kinda wanted her to grow up.  I loved her sleeping on my chest, I loved feeding her bottles. I can't say that I loved panicking that she wasn't breathing in the bassinet or worrying that I was ruining her by letting her sleep on her belly after she turned 2 weeks old (gasp!).  So, I kinda wanted her to grow up...I was excited to see her crawl, for her to eat baby food, to see her toddle around the house and play with toys.  All of that happened quicker than I thought.  You kept telling me how fast it would go by, and I was starting to maybe believe you.  At least a little.
Pretty soon, we added another little girl to the mix, and I will say I was less anxious about her growing up than I was with Carley.  I had learned my lesson.  Kinda. Sorta.
And then I blinked.
Carley turned four. She started and finished VPK.
Then I blinked again.  She started and finished Kindergarten.
Which brings me to (almost) crying at the dentist.
Have you ever seen a child's mouth in an x-ray right before they start losing their baby teeth?  Well, I hadn't.  It turns out that you can see all of their grown up teeth up in the gums just waiting to come in.  All of them. Perfectly aligned.  Waiting to come in. To Carley's mouth. Grown. Up. Teeth.
So there it is.  A symbol of her grown up life, sitting right there in her mouth.  But wait!  I was just pregnant with her for (what seemed) 52 months!  And I was just lying next to her staring at her new born face, making sure she was still breathing! And we just went to the big sister class where they taught her how to get ready for a new little sister!  And I just took her to her first day of kindergarten!
Where did my baby go?
She's starting first grade in less than a week.
In five years, she will be in youth group.
Then she'll drive.
Then she'll move away.
And get married.
And have kids.
And I'll be a grandmother.  And I will tell Carley to cherish every moment, because it goes by so fast.
...and she won't believe me. 

Back to School Shopping

Lesson learned last year: Do not take the kids back to school shopping!  So today, I have lined up my dear hubby to watch the girls while I venture out to do some back to school shopping.  I hope I find some good deals! 

Summertime, Vacation, the Beach...FAMILY

I love summer.  I've loved summer since I was little and it meant being out of school for 3 whole months.  I love summer now that I have a school-aged child, because it means spending time with my Carley girl when I feel like I didn't see her all year.  I love the lazy mornings, sitting around and sipping coffee and letting the girls stay in their pj's for an ungodly amount of time.  And I love.love.love. family vacation!
Since I was a baby, we've been going to New Smyrna Beach.  Now as an adult, we've chosen to vacation at St. Simon's Island with my family, tagged onto the end of a trip to Sea Island with Dustin's family.  We do this trip at the beginning of June, and then at the end of July, we take a trip to NSB with the girls in the family and our kiddos.  You would not believe the fun the kids have together on this trip.
Our family has been through a lot.  I recently re-visited some emails back from 2008...yes, I saved them.  I have emails between us girls and devotions we shared and words of hope that God would not see fit to take Leigh Anne yet.  We know now that He did take her.  And we've struggled with that.  But we are still family.  And we still have fun together.  And we still know the importance of loving each other.  Friends come and go, but family is always there for you.  Maybe that's why we have such a bond to each other.  We know that no matter what, we will defend each other.  No matter what, we will love each other.  No matter what, we will support each other.
I see this same loyalty in my husband, and I am so thankful for it.  I pray that my girls have the same bond to each other and to their families.