Once upon a time, there was a sweet baby girl who was born on a very special day:

  November 1st.

The Solemnity of All Saints. 

This same little girl grew into a bright, blue-eyed toddler who was never very far from her pacie or her Pink Dolly and was more considerate of the feelings of others than of herself.  That toddler skipped through her childhood stealing the hearts of many with her determination and her eagerness to please. 

She has never met an animal she didn't like, especially of the equine variety.  Nor has she ever heard an Irish tune she couldn't figure out on her fiddle.  She appreciates her few genuine friends and her brain's capacity to dazzle folks with brilliant facts is amazing.

She is now on the cusp of turning thirteen. 

Tomorrow I have a shopping date with this sweet baby girl.  As is the tradition in our family, a rite of passage at this special age, she will get her ears pierced.  We will get her her very own tube of mascara, her very own blush, and her very own lip gloss.  Mommy will splurge on an expensive perfume that is light and young and not too overpowering.  We may even find some clothes that will work.

Lucky lucky lucky me.
Happy birthday sweet Number Three.

Our 'nearly 13' year old.

can't wait to see what's in store for next week!

no.1's big week

- voted to Homecoming Court by fellow students of class of 2013
- accepted to Mercer University with guaranteed scholarship
- second runner up to Homecoming Queen as voted on by student body
- accepted to Auburn University

thinking bigger

We give.
A lot.
Or so I thought.
Recently the Lord has repeatedly put on our hearts to give more. 

I gotta tell ya, I have not been exactly a willing participant. 

King first said the words aloud.  Those words resonated with me.  I had already heard that message.  It had been placed on my heart.  But I had kept silent until then.

I grumbled and groused with King, both of us knowing we were being called upon to act.  We had both seen the amazing way 'you can't out give God,' but wasn't there a threshold we didn't have to cross? 

Me: But Lord, there's not only the care and feeding of a family of 7 on one income, there is all the time and talent I share, there is what we give to the Church and other charities, there's the tuition at the high school, and in a few short months, there is going to be an amazing amount we will have to cough up for college. 

Him: (unchanging)

Me:  Come on, Man.  Don't push back on my heart like that, it might break...er... what's that?  How did I just happen to stumble upon this "hardness of heart" scripture?  Wait, why do you keep showing me how stubborn I am.  (stamps foot like a 2 year old) I am NOT stubb... er...

He has my attention now.  Sigh.

I am stubborn.

But, more so I am obedient.

Me:  Yes, Lord, I will give more.  Even though the world tells me I need it.  Help me to drown out the world, I pray. 

Him: (silence, except for the sound of what I swear is a smirk.)

Me: Do I have to be happy about it?  At least for now, if I promise to keep it to myself, can I please be grumpy?

Him:  Of course.  But you'll see.  Just like I have shown you before. 

Me: See what You did right there... that whole 'just like I have shown you before' thing?  Arrgh. 

(insert the sound of a layer of pride cracking. breaking off.  falling to the floor.)

Me: Just promise me that everything will be ok. 

Him: Have I ever let you down?  Even once?

Me: (wondering: is there a way to eye-roll behind God's back?)

auction mode

T minus 24 days and counting

Got anything to donate to the auction?
Want tickets?
Call me. 

In other news:
-College visit to Mercer University went well.  Even though we are Auburn People, we have fallen in love and can definitely see our girl as The Bear.
-Homecoming Game is Friday.  #1 on the Homecoming Court.  A first for our family.  We are very proud.
-#2 is coaching a Powder Puff game today.  Part of the fun-filled Homecoming Week line up of activities. 
-#3 and I attended a Family Honor course recently.  She gets it, y'all.  Amazing young woman she is.  The other day I asked King, "Where's ...(no 3)" and he said, she is upstairs writing a letter to her husband.  Wow.  See what I mean?  She routinely thinks outside of herself.  Always has. 
-"Wiggly" teeth all over the mouths of my two youngest.  They are starting to look like Jack-o-lanterns. 
Oh, hell, that reminds me:  I've gotta put together Halloween costumes. 

(juggling clowns & circus music much?)

keepin' it real

Although Answers dot com tells me it can't happen, I swear I am an adult who is developing Autism.  My brain has turned from one that craved being involved with lots of friends, family, hubby and kids - wonderful interpersonal relationships -  to one that is just made of wheels, gears, cogs, and lists off of which items need to be checked.  A brain that releases serotonin only when projects are completed... which is hardly ever.  Sad.

Apparently I am not the only person who suffers with this same fear, because when I started typing the words, "can a person develop" the option popped up for "can a person develop autism in adulthood." 

So, whether it's Autism or early onset 'something' or 'another', I am going to convince myself that it's just a phase and that one day it will all be just fine. 

on the bedside table

Here are the books in the stack by my pillow that will be getting me through many hours during this beautiful, brisk Fall (and possibly into Winter):

Till We Have Faces - C.S. Lewis
Swept Up by the Spirit - by Gary Garner
Everybody Needs to Forgive Somebody - Allen Hunt
Confessions - St. Augustine


Author Allen Hunt is pretty 'spesh' in my life.  He is a deep thinker who loves the Truth.  Even though he is older and balder than I am, my maternal instincts sort of kick in when I am around him because of the time he told me that if it weren't for (insert lame-in-hindsight reason here) he would be Catholic.  With the zeal of St. Monica I began praying.  I rejoiced mightily when he came into the Fullness of Christ.
Allen happens to be married to someone I really love.  Someone who I cherish spending time with because she has the gifts of wisdom and counsel.  I first noticed it the day  her words gave my grieving heart wings.  When I am lucky enough to be able to steal a snippet of time out of her busy life, it never fails that as a result, there are countless "God moments."
Also, her uncle was one of my favorite people on the planet.

Gary Garner, whose book Swept Up by the Spirit was recently published, is a friend of mine. An amazing Christian. When you meet him, he radiates Christ's love. The patina of his soul is simply beautiful. This is his first book.
He is also a woodcarver and, aside from the walls of the church in which I met this lovely man, another of my favorite 'holy places to be' is inside his workshop.  His skillful hands not only create crucifixes and crosses, but have made Sanctuary furnishings (altars, pulpits, fonts, etc). 
I may have shown these to you before, but I went to his place once and remembered my camera:

 

 

"it" happens: a story told with images

Sometimes potty stories are really funny.  So, if they offend you, please stop reading and come back another day.  You were warned.

~

The girls and I decide it was such a nice, bright day that we would go to the library and gather up an armload full of wonderful books for no 5's whim, no 3's pleasure reading, and no 1's senior research project.  We decide to go to the one nearest our house, one that was once a grand, Greek Revival style family home, and was generously given to the local public library system in the 1950's. 

 

 



discheveled lady walks out of the library bathroom


oh.
my.
stars!

what was it that crawled out behind her?!?

pure. evil.

surely that is what the poor souls smell when they knock on Hell's front door and the Evil One opens it to see "who's there?"

quite frankly the odor of Fire and Brimstone

Eau de Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth.

~

The answer to the question, "How fast can the mother of a 5 year old, whose mouth filter has not fully developed, whisk said child out of a public place to avoid anyone in a 3000 square foot radius suffering any further mortification?", is completely and totally dependent upon the age of, speed of, and sense of smell belonging to the librarian. 

Come on, you know disshit be funny.

be jealous

"This is my Mommy.  She('s) great and sweet like a dum-dum.  She likes to hug and kiss.  She is good at snuggle-bugging.  I think she's a great creation of God."

I'm not sure why I look like an Andrews Sister in each of the heart-shaped snapshots, but I'm pretty sure that I love the fact that no. 4 and I are in our fancy-dress-ball clothes and that in the last heart, we are star-gazing.


*No comments from the Peanut Gallery in reference to any other similarities I may or may not have to a dum-dum.