Picnic with Grammy

We are soaking up all the time we have with Grammy here at CedarRock.  The kids took her a "birthday cake" to celebrate her eternal life-changing decision, and soon after we planned a playground picnic where she hung with whatever we were doing.  Swinging, practicing our selfie poses, lunch on a picnic blanket (surrounded by hundreds of harmless, but scary looking bugs), she's pretty cool, our Grammy.

Beach Trip

Our first family-of-six vacation

Panama City Beach, Florida

June 2015

Straight from the van to the water, the looks on these two faces when they saw the ocean in real life for the first time was priceless.  Neither of them were scared at all.  They both went right in the water with the rest of us.

Hunting for ghost crabs at night was one of my favorite things to do as a kid when we went on beach vacations.  It was pretty great to introduce that tradition to my own kiddos, although those ghost crabs have grown much bigger than the ones I remember.  

Somehow we lucked up with the penthouse suite (23rd floor, for the love of skyscrapers) which was the nicest place!  It even had these bunk beds for the littles stashed in the dining room closet.  So fun!

Who knew the beaches at the state park were the place to be!?  After a tip from the locals, we loaded up and changed beach scenery for a day, and it turned out to be a great idea…until the rainstorm came.

I wish I had words to describe the relationship with this girl and her dad.  It's really something.

Snorkeling for sea urchins

In the rock quarry lived a family of raccoons. Everyone was feeding them and getting pictures made with them.  I guess I lost my mother mind when I let me kids do this too.  But, never fear, all the sweet "mommas" in my life, including my own, reminded me how dangerous this was and that I should never do this again.  Check.  And, they are right.

Family Photo 2015

My little ghost crab hunter chose to spend his beach money on a crabbing hat to help him catch more.  I never dreamed Sam (and Evan) would enjoy catching these little guys this much!

First trip to the beach with the little people, very much a success!  I'd love to do it again every year.

Skin-boarding candids of the bigs

Another Year Wiser

Another year under my belt. I don't even know what to say.  They say growing older and wiser go hand in hand, and I guess that's true.  But I think it would be more accurate to say that with many trials, comes great wisdom.  All in all, the Lord is good to me, and I am so blessed to celebrate this birthday with the ones I love.

And what does every middle-aded wise woman get for her birthday?!  Why, her very own selfie stick, of course!  Kayden and Cameron sure know how to pick the perfect gift to make me smile.

And this guy, my better half.  I'm looking forward to many more birthdays him for sure.

Zoo Day

Getting the most out of that family zoo pass this year!  Let's do this!

This little guy is about 9 months old and has just started coming out of his mother's pouch.  There was another joey there this time in the pouch and he kept peeking out from time to time.  

Can't leave without brushing the goats.

Nothing says successful zoo trip like being asleep before leaving the parking lot.

Baseball Star (in the making)

My boy is growing up, and this year, he decided he wanted to play baseball.  In case he becomes a raving big star, here's his very first picture in a baseball uniform, for comparison. 

Daddy even decided to become one of the assistant coaches.

Sam's first baseball team.  It was a slow start, but our little sluggers started winning some great games by the end.  Of course, they had no idea who won or lost, we went for ice cream afterwards either way.

Sam's fan section at the baseball award ceremony 

(at 1:00 in the middle of a Tennessee summer with no shade in sight, for the love of Daisy Duke)

My boy gets his first trophy.  He'd been dreaming about that all season long.

Very proud of all our baseball stars this summer!

First/last day of school

My the difference a year makes…

                      First Day of School                                                  Last Day of School

Sam was asked to be a part of the end of the year program at Barnyard Kids.  They needed an extra tin man, and he was perfect for the job.  Love this boy so much.

He practiced his dance moves for months getting ready for his part of the program.  I may be biased, but I dare say he rocked it and was the best dancing tin man I have ever seen!

The Parent is in the Elevator

About a month ago, I had the privilege of loading up with one of my soul sisters and taking a road trip to a women's conference out of town.  Featured speaker, Jen Hatmaker.  Y'all, I love her.  I wish we lived closer together because I would totally exhaust all efforts to be friends with her.  We would totally click; I just know it.  See, don't we look like we all belong together?!

Anyway, she was telling a story at one of the sessions about her son Caleb.  When he was small, somewhere around 4 years old, he developed this crazy, irrational fear of elevators.  It wasn't his life he feared every time they were faced with an elevator ride, but his little sister Sydney's.  Each time he was convinced surely this would be the elevator ride that took Sydney out.  Every situation included screaming, sobbing and persistent pleading not to get on the elevator, which was a bit embarrassing considering it was usually in front of a public audience.  One particular time when Caleb was mid hissy-fit, Jen stopped him and grabbed his shoulders and said, "Caleb! I am right here. I am the parent.  I am holding her fat little hand.  The parent is in the elevator!"

And suddenly, I wasn't hearing a story about Jen's boy anymore.  It was God speaking to me.

...because I am the ridiculous, irrational four year old.  

I have been living in quiet fear since Michael's heart attack in January.  The additional problems it revealed still remain unrepaired, and I worry about something more serious happening before those repairs take place.  The doctors all agree that if the anuerism were to burst before surgery, we'd only have minutes.  "Minutes" is not enough time to get to the help he would need.

While I haven't spoken these fears out loud, Michael knows.  He now begins every text or voice mail with "This is not an emergency, but..." or "Everything is ok with me, but..." Recently, I was outside jumping on the trampoline with the kids while Michael got ready to leave for work inside.  I know his routine and know he leaves the house by 6:40 at the latest. When I looked down at my phone and saw that it was 6:42 and he hadn't come out yet, I abandoned my children in the backyard and ran inside like a crazy lady, certain he must be lying in the floor gasping for his last breath while I was outside, unaware.  Ridiculous, irrational fear.

It was Jen's words, her story, but God used those words to tell me, "I am Right Here!  I am holding your fat hand, Jennifer!  The parent is in the elevator!  I can handle this; don't be afraid!"

There is a reason we are told 365 times in the Bible not to fear or be afraid...because we struggle with being afraid!  Praise God that he loves the ridiculous, irrational four year olds (like me) and lovingly reminds us that we are not alone.  There's no one else I'd rather have holding my hand through this uncertainty.  I don't have any idea how this will all end, but I do truly believe that God is good, all the time, and He loves me and won't leave me.  I'm uncertain, but He's still good.

So, I'm learning to calm down, because the parent is in the elevator.